Gather The Luck Of The Bodkins Formulated By P.G. Wodehouse Version

is underrated in literature and life, Plum provides it. The pace was off on this it dragged, Nothing wrong with the prose, but the plot wasnt particularly inventive, And as MacGuffins go, a plush Mickey Mouse is no Empress of Blandings, Read for Anglophiles group. This is a topnotch Wodehouse, Oh, sure, it doesn't have Jeeves and Wooster or Lord Emsworth and the Empress or even Psmith, but who cares It does have Monty Bodkin whom I encountered in sitelinkHeavy Weather as one of Lord Emsworth's endless string of secretaries and an extra complicated, extra delightful plot, which takes place mostly on a ship from England to America.


Wodehouse is at the top of his form with his marvelous idiom, beginning with the very first, irresistible sentence: "Into the face of the young man who sat on the terrace of the Hotel Magnifique at Cannes there had crept a look of furtive shame, the shifty, hangdog look which announces that an Englishman is about to talk French.
" It's sheer hilarity from cover to cover, and wonderfully, it's even a little longer than most Wodehouse novels, a lovely bonus, A French farce with English reserve , best describes this saga well not too much, . . after all it was written by the great P, G. Wodehouse Mr. Montague "Monty" Bodkin a wealthy but idle British bachelor with a romantic problem, it seems Gertrude Butterwick, . . love these peculiar names the gentleman's lady friend has a strange daddy , who insists that rich Monty gets a job or no marriage to his pretty daughter , and the really strange part is she will obey his ultimatum , this transpires in.
. . things have changed a little, Troubles send our fragile hero to the Riviera, in Cannes, to calm his nerves in a resort hotel , even during the Depression the affluent need to relax, The adoring Bodkin is writing to his love a letter of his passion for her, but he is not the brightest bulb in the neighborhood, and tries to ask a fat man at a nearby table to help him with a spelling problem, turns out this is a Hollywood Mogul fighting with his pesky sisterinlaw Mabel Spence, she has a ghastly message from scary Grayce.
. . pardon me the rotund gentleman is called Ivor "Ikey" Llewellyn, a most unpleasant person to be around and the interruption causes a stormy reaction, to put it mildly, . . This episode permits the paranoid, Movie studio boss to have bad thoughts a plot by his young, former actress wife, Grayce , safely in Paris, to smuggle her pearl necklace by customs in New York without paying taxes.
. . he is petrified, fears jail , could this moron be a spy for them Bodkin did get a job as a detective, a telegram, don't know what that is arrives and the recipient Monty is crushed, his girlfriend has called off the engagement.
Nevertheless this man is a Bodkin, stout heart noblemen , not officially but they should be, he will fellow his dear on an ocean liner, the R, M. S. Atlantic to America. NOW THE FUN BEGINS Three couples on board, they can't leave, . . fighting , loving mostly hating each other, temporarily of course the combatants are Monty and Gertrude, you have already met, . . Reggie Tennyson a charming Englishman without a penny in love , her name is Mabel, yes that one and last but very far from least his big brother Ambrose, a novelist who's books are sadly not read.
. . yet Lotus Blossom a big movie star, in Mr, Llewellyn 's studio, is enchanted with him, This mob is always in and out of their staterooms, things are said and taken back, love follows hate and returns to hate, with a few tears , in between and many laughs, a family feud begins, Reggie and Ambrose are Gertrude's cousins.
. . a continuous struggle for the happy ending, . does it exist The stressed out Llewellyn offers everyone a contract, . . The nosy room steward, Mr, Albert Peasemarch dominates the story, he stirs and the damage is inflicted, he means well though but is clueless, like a man walking in a dense fog, this will keep the narrative very interesting, if not boiling and we should not forget grumpy Wilfred.
. . who is Wilfred. . the pet alligator of Miss Blossom, every movie star has their eccentricities, .
IF YOU LIKE TO LAUGH THIS IS FOR YOU, The Luck of the Bodkins tells the continuing story of Monty Bodkin and his engagement to Gertrude Butterwick which relies on his remaining in someones employ for a whole year.
We last met Monty at Blandings Castle where he was employed as secretary for Lord Emsworth for the length of Heavy Weather rather than the length of a year, Monty left Blandings after gaining employment with Percy Pilbeam at the Argos Detective Agency, Monty is on Holiday at Cannes but follows Gertrude on board the RMS Atlantic after receiving a Cable breaking off their engagement,

The RMS Atlantic acts as a typical Wodehouse stately home for the purposes of the farce with state rooms replacing the usual bedroom setting for the misunderstandings and complications that litter farce like so may discarded gloves.
The RMS Atlantic has the usual domestic staff with steward Albert Peasemarch undertaking most of the business usually entrusted to butlers or under footmen, Trying to summarise the plot in less than the three hundred pages Wodehouse uses would rather miss the point of this type of book but in essence Monty loves Gertrude, who thinks he likes Lotus Blossom, a movie starlet whom adores Ambrose, who thinks she has fallen for his brother, Reggie, whom has definitely got it bad for Mabel Spence, sisterinlaw to movie mogul Ikey Llewellyn, whom has been charged with smuggling jewels for his wife Grayce.


If the plot appears complicated you should try the resolution, And you really should try the resolution, The Liner setting allowed Wodehouse the unusual point that all his cast need not be aware of each over at the start of the voyage and allowed him to dispense with making half of them unwilling imposters.
Definitely one of the masters most overlooked master pieces and my own personnel favourite,

“Into the face of the young man who sat on the terrace of the Hotel Magnifique at Cannes there had crept a look of furtive shame, the shifty hangdog look which announces that an Englishman is about to speak French.
”

It is such sentences that make me an ardent fan of Wodehouse, He was a master of the English language,

BTW, I get this look whenever I am about to speak Hindi!,

Well, I was always a little apprehensive at the prospect of reading Wodehouse, Not sure why. Perhaps I felt I wouldnt get the humour Whatever the reason, I really shouldnt have worried!

"Into the face of the young man who sat on the terrace of the Hotel Magnifique at Cannes there had crept a look of furtive shame, the shifty, hangdog look which announces that an Englishman is about to talk French.
"

From the very beginning, I was completely taken in by Monty Bodkins, his hilarious manners and incapability to spell, as well as by the colourful cast, which includes an actress with a pet alligator, a Hollywood film magnate, a hockeyplaying sportswoman and a loquacious ship's porter to name a few.


This is as comedy weaving numerous convoluted plot strands revolving around the smuggling of a necklace, but really what shines through are its welldrawn characters and witty dialogue.
Most of the action takes place on a ship crossing the Atlantic from Southampton to New York, which adds a little flavour of the stage, Imagine riproaring scenes full of misunderstandings as well as a good dose of filmmaking injokes,

I did enjoy this enormously, surprisingly, giggling throughout the entirety of the novel, and even bursting into laughter a couple of times I shall never look at the word inexplicable in the same light.
If like me you were unsure about Wodehouse, do try this novel, I recommend the audiobook to get the full effect, There are two other stories with Monty, one prior to this one sitelinkHeavy Weather and a sequel sitelinkPearls, Girls And Monty Bodkin, which I shall be trying :O
Monty Bodkins is in love and engaged to Gertrude Butterwick, now that he has finally managed to figure out how to appear gainfully employed despite being independently wealthy.
Her cousin Ambrose Tennyson is engaged to the beautiful American actress, Lotus Blossom, and his brother falls head over heals for Grayce, the sisterinlaw, for the man who owns the picture company Lotus acts for.
In the meantime, this man, Ivor Llewellyn, is highly stressed because Grayce has let him know, in no uncertain terms, that his wife wants him to smuggle an expensive necklace across the border so she won't have to pay duty the fact that they could afford it be darned, and just at that time, Monty comes by to ask how to spell a word.


The farce begins in France, moves to England and then onto a transatlantic liner as Ivor frets that Monty, who was already booked on

this ship, is certainly hot on his trail, Gertrude convinced Monty is actually in love with the assertive Lotus Blossum, and a certain cabin steward becomes embroiled in the mix.
This is the first of the Drones Clubs books I have really enjoyed, right up there with the Wooster and Jeeves' books and, indeed, better than a few of those.
What can one say Wodehouse is an angel in human shape, dispensing joy and laughter whenever he sits down at the typewriter, I adore him. This book It's the usual penicillin, I'm going to go out on a limb here and rank Luck of the Bodkins as my third favorite Wodehouse novel, just below Leave it to Psmith and Code of the Woosters.
It's the longest Wodehouse book I've read yet and probably has the most twists, Highly recommended. Monty Bodkin's wooing of Gertrude Butterwick on the R, M. S. Atlantic is not progressing as it should, And the cause of all the trouble is Miss Lotus Blossum, the brightest star in Hollywood's firmament, The easy camaraderie of Miss Blossom, coupled with the idea that Monty is the only person who can send the errant Ambrose back to her welcoming arms, is causing Mr Bodkin moments of acute distress.
If you're a fan of early cinema this bookoriginally published inis for you, There's plenty of injokes geared towards producers, nepotism, and actors, At one moment in the book I had to pause because Monty Bodkin the Lucky Bodkin of the title was compared to Leslie Howard and Clark Gable, both of whom were to star in Gone With the Wind four years after Wodehouse mentions them.
Shall we give P. G. a pat on the back for smushing such stellar talent together before Selznick

I know what you're thinking and, no, you don't have to be a fan of movie history to enjoy this story.
It just helps.

There's plenty of riproaring trouble, Monty Bodkin wants to marry Gertrude Butterwick, who misunderstands a tattoo of his and breaks their engagement, As he tries to win her back over the course of a six day crossingoftheAtlantic he has to thwart movie starlets and boy, does Wodehouse nail the speaking patterns of the early megawatt actresses like Katherine Hepburn/Bette Davis in Miss Lotus Blossom novelists, movie producers, and the good intentions of his best friend Reggie.
Mickey Mouse plays a part, as does Wilfred the Alligator,

The most enjoyable part of this book is spending time with the characters, Each one is so welldrawn that you don't lose your place, which is tricky with a "cast" of this size, Gertrude is a hockeyplaying sportswoman who can handle herself, Lotus "Lottie" Blossom is star of stage and staterooms, Ambrose Tennyson is "not the right Tennyson", Ivor Llewllyn is a threechinned, Customsfearing movie producer, Peasemarch is the feudal serf who can't keep his nose out of anyone's business, And Reggie is the intelligent blighter who somehow manages to pull everyone together,

If you're looking for something to make you smile, this one'll do it, Part of it is inexplicable,

No, literally. Part of it is the word "inexplicable, "

Jenny
sitelinkPlace For The Stolen
sitelinkUnder Ground Writing Project One of my favorite Wodehouses, Monty Bodkin and his beloved hockey playing fiancée, Gertrude Butterwick set sail for New York, But oh, what adventures there are to be had on a cruise ship! Smuggling, spies, broken hearts and renewed hopes for happiness just the things a Wodehouse novel should have.
All that and an alligator named Wilfred, What could possibly go wrong Jolly good fun, At first I did not like the fact that this took place on a boat instead of a lovely stately home with aunts, pigs etc, However it soon grew on me and the humour was relentless, Misunderstandings keep the plot afloat and there are a few too many humdrum lines that don't come up to the usual Wodehouse mark, This is theth book I've read of his, I don't know, I guess I'll give him another shot to see if I like his work, lol!,for this audiobook edition, narrated by Jonathan Cecil,

Prime Wodehouse fare, with romantic entanglements, misunderstandings amp colorful characters, One of the most delightful of Wodehouse's novels, which is saying something, The likeable, idlerich Monty, still in pursuit of winning his beloved's heart by holding down a job for a year, ends up on a cruise ship pursuing her to America after a little understanding.
As a result he is drawn into the complicated affairs of the Hollywood elite, and ridiculous twists and turns follow before the happy ending, Brilliantly funny, wellwritten and full of sunshine, And alligators. "Into the face of the young man who sat on the terrace of the Hotel Magnifique at Cannes there had crept a look of furtive shame, the shifty hangdog look which announces that an Englishman is about to speak French.
"

Some moments of fine Wodehouse compete with an ocean of pretty middling stuff here and, in the final analysis, lose, In short, not the best P, G. I've ever had the pleasure to r, Both belong to that gem of a quote above,

Glancing at the average rating, I feel like I must have missed something, Finding myself in need of some cheer, I reached for Wodehouse, knowing that he has the goods, It was my first encounter with Monty Bodkin it was also the first time for me that the Wodehousian story took place on a transatlantic yacht, Wholesome and fun just about sums it up, .