Something Fresh

By: P. G. Wodehouse

Narrated by: Frederick Davidson

As Wodehouse himself once noted, "Blandings has impostors like other houses have mice." On this particular occasion, there are two imposters, both intent on a dangerous enterprise. Lord Emsworth's secretary, the Efficient Baxter, is on the alert and determined to discover what is afoot - despite the distractions caused by the Honorable Freddie Threepwood's hapless affair of the heart.

Freddie is engaged to marry the daughter of a wealthy American who is a passionate collector of ancient Egyptian relics. When one treasure goes missing and a thousand-pound reward is offered for its return, Blandings becomes a madhouse as friends turn rivals in the scramble to retrieve the object.

Right ho, Jeeves: listen to more from P. G. Wodehouse.(P)1995 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"Wodehouse is the greatest comic writer ever." (Douglas Adams)
"For Wodehouse there has been no fall of Man...the gardens of Blandings Castle are the original gardens of Eden from which we are all exiled." (Evelyn Waugh)

Fredrick Davidson and P. G. Wodehouse: perfect!

This is a great pairing between the book and the reader. Davidson is also great reading LeCarre.

Amusing story, so fresh even written in 1915

Read by one of the best, Frederick Davidson. As an American, I just love the accent!

Great Intro

This was a great introduction to the Blandings world of P.G. Wodehouse. Looking forward to more.

Old fashioned yet fun.

even though this was written long ago and is dated. It’s a fun read. The upper crust British accent it’s read in suits both

Blandings A-borning

In the intro to the book, PG Wodehouse tells us that this was his first big sale. He and his wife felt quite comfortable with their savings of $175, then he sold this book to (IIRC) The Atlantic for the unbelievable fortune of over $3000! He goes on to help aspiring writers of serial novels by telling them some lessons he learned (be vague about dates and locations - if you're still writing 50 years later you don't want the characters to be centenarians who live too far away from London to come up for a day trip.)

The story concerns the residents of Blandings Castle, pre-Empress, with (as usual) imposters visiting in order to steal something. The Earl, though absent minded and none-too-bright, is not the anti-social idiot we've come to know and love. His sister Ann is serving as chatelaine, and unlike his other sisters, is of an extremely retiring nature, seldom leaving her room and her voluminous correspondence. Baxter is there, determined to get to the bottom of things, as well as assorted pairs of mismatched lovers.

It will surprise no one to learn that, as always, skulduggery and love triumph at Blandings.