The Small Bachelor
ISBN: 9780099514145
Description
It's America during Prohibition and shy young George Finch is setting out as an artist - without the encumbrance of a shred of talent. George falls in love with Molly, whose imperious stepmother Mrs Waddington insists he's not the man to marry the stepdaughter of one of New York's most fashionable hostesses. Poor George - he doesn't seem to stand a chance.
How George eventually triumphs over the bossy Mrs Waddington makes for a dizzying plot featuring some of Wodehouse's most appealing minor characters - Mullett the butler and his light-fingered girlfriend Fanny, J. Hamilton Beamish, author of the dynamic Beamish Booklets, Officer Garroway the poetic policeman, and Sigsbee H. Waddington, the hen-pecked husband who longs for the wide open spaces of the West.
Reviewed on 11th August 2012
Another delightful tale from PG Wodehouse in which people fall in love and in doing so get terribly confused. To me this is where Wodehouse is at his best - similar to Piccadilly Jim in theme and entertaining throughout.
The characters are the usual mix of loveable rogue, stern matronly woman, pining middle-aged gentleman, disapproving butler etc. in a combination so twisted it's hard to understand how the author makes everything flow so seamlessly together and allow the reader to follow what's going on despite the characters' confusion.
I can't find anything to criticise about this book - I really enjoyed reading it after being rather bogged down by the last novel I read. Wodehouse's writing continues to be a relaxing entertainment in today's world.