A Pint-Sized but Top-hole Biography of PG Wodehouse

A h, what a jolly jape fate played on Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, eh? Born in Guildford, 1881, son of a magistrate in Hong Kong, wouldn't you know it! Ancestry traced back to the Boleyns, no less, though I daresay they wouldn't have recognised him in his spats and Panama hat.

Now, Wodehouse, he went on to become quite the chucklehead, wouldn't you say? One of the wittiest blokes on the page, his stories like well-tailored suits - impeccably constructed, full of elaborate plots and enough slang to make a Bertie Wooster blush.

Wodehouse aged 23

Speaking of Bertie, that was Wodehouse's crowning achievement, wouldn't you say? A jolly gentleman of leisure, forever getting into scrapes and relying on his spiffing valet, Jeeves, to extricate him. Jeeves, mind you, inspired by a fast bowler, no less! Though the real Jeeves met a sticky wicket in the Somme, poor chap.

But Wodehouse, he wasn't one for just a single trick. He conjured up a whole cast of corkers - Psmith, the immaculate chatterbox; Lord Emsworth, forever fussing over his prize pig; Ukridge, the disaster-prone bounder; and a gaggle of others, each more comical than the last.

He was a prolific chap, our Wodehouse, churning out books like Bertie Wooster churned out crumpets. Even Kaiser Wilhelm, bless his pointy helmet, enjoyed a good chuckle at his stories, though he wasn't too pleased if you didn't laugh, mind you.

Wodehouse had a dab hand at writing for the stage too, you know. Collaborated with a chap named Kern, wrote musicals that had all of London humming. And don't forget the silver screen! He penned scripts faster than a Bertie Wooster dodging Aunt Agatha.

Now, life threw Wodehouse a few curveballs, wouldn't you know it? Wartime jitters, misunderstandings, all that rot. But he kept his chin up, never lost his sense of humour. Even when things got sticky, he emerged a jolly good sport, finally getting a knighthood in his twilight years.

Sadly, a heart attack snuffed him out in 1975, but his stories live on, a testament to his wit and wonder. So next time you're feeling glum, pick up a Wodehouse, and prepare to have your sides splitting – just don't forget your monocle, eh wot?

Source Encyclopedia Of Trivia