ROMANCE

Lord Emsworth Acts for the Best

by P.G. Wodehouse
4 CDs. retail ed. abridged. 5 hrs. Canongate. 2012. ISBN 9780857865762. $18.96; digital download. F
COPY ISBN
These nine stories, all but two written in the 1930s when Wodehouse was arguably at the height of his powers, are delightful. While the Blandings Castle stories are not as perfect as the Bertie Wooster or Mr. Mulliner tales, they still display the master's verbal wit and unrivaled skill at plot contrivance. Clarence Threepwood, the ninth Earl of Emsworth, and his son Freddie are bumbling but charming oafs constantly getting into spots of bother over a butler, a gardener, a small girl, a pig, several attractive young women, and numerous dogs. The material could be deflated by a hammy delivery, but the sublime Martin Jarvis both understands and respects the benighted characters. Probably the best interpreter of Wodehouse, Jarvis outdoes himself here with an amazing variety of voices.
VERDICT Even those unfamiliar with Wodehouse should be entertained.
Reviewed by Michael Adams, CUNY Graduate Ctr. , Apr 26, 2013
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