What Ho!

Welcome to the website of The P G Wodehouse Society (UK). PG Wodehouse is widely regarded as the greatest comic author of the 20th century. Hilaire Belloc, no less, called him ‘the head of my profession’. This high respect from his peers, past and present, is principally for his supreme command of the English language.

Wodehouse wrote more than 70 novels and 200 short stories, creating numerous much-loved characters - the inimitable Jeeves and Wooster, Lord Emsworth and his beloved Empress of Blandings, Mr Mulliner, Ukridge, and Psmith. His humorous articles were published in more than 80 magazines, including Punch, over six decades. Oh, and he was also a highly successful musical lyricist.

The Society celebrates the life and works of this multi-talented man in numerous ways, including a much praised quarterly journal, regular events, meetings and excursions, and close liaison with Random House, his publishers.

We hope you will find everything you need on the pages of this website, which includes:

• a membership application form (click here), should you wish to join this flourishing society of around a thousand members;

• what’s in Wooster Sauce (click here);

• up-to-date news of Society activities;

• answers to questions about Plum, his life, his books;

and much more.

Take your time, linger a while, and you may discover something completely unexpected. We hope you will visit us regularly, so till next time, in the words of Bertram Wooster Esq. – pip, pip.

Our President

Alexander Armstrong is President of the Society. Read the announcement of his appointment in 2017 here.

For a message from our President, click here. Alexander Armstrong tells how he was introduced to PGW by his father round a winter's fireside (first printed in Wooster Sauce in March 2017)

For a message from our Society patron, HRH The Duke Of Kent, click here.

Our Website Editor is happy to receive your thoughts and feedback. To make contact please email websiteeditor@pgwodehousesociety.org.uk.

Memorial Stone

This stone was dedicated at a Service in the South Quire of Westminster Abbey on 20th September 2019 by The Dean of Westminster. HRH The Duke of Kent, on behalf of The P G Wodehouse Society (UK) of which he is a Patron, invited the Dean to receive the memorial into the safe custody of the Dean and Chapter. An Address was given by the Society’s President, Alexander Armstrong. Hal and Lara Cazalet, step great-grandchildren of PG Wodehouse, sang, accompanied by Stephen Higgins. Lucy Tregear, Martin Jarvis and Alexander Armstrong read extracts from Wodehouse’s works.

Hilary Bruce, Chairman of The P G Wodehouse Society, said: “We are thrilled that the Dean agreed to this memorial in the Abbey, and on behalf of all our members and the family of PG Wodehouse, we thank him. This is an honour we had always hoped for, and we are pleased and satisfied beyond words that the man whose life’s work was to make people happier will be commemorated amongst other great writers in this important and historic place.”

The Address, readings, and songs from the Service of Dedication can be read here.

Disposal of Your Collection

The Society is often asked for advice on the value of collections of books and related material by Wodehouse. Sometimes the Society is the beneficiary of Bequests and Donations of Wodehouse collections. There is detailed advice on these subjects in the Reference Materials section of our website which we think will be helpful to both members and non-members.

Latest News

2022 Essay Prize: The Winners
The winning entries and two ‘Honourable Mentions’ have been published in book form. Copies cost £12.50 including postage. Please send your name and address with a cheque payable to The P G Wodehouse Society (UK) to Tim Andrew, 1 Codmore Crescent, Chesham, HP5 3LX. Note there will be an additional postage charge for copies sent overseas.

What Ho Wodehouse
Fareham Library, Friday 15 March 2024, 7.00pm. Jonathan Goodwin performs in a brand new comedy, adapted from some of the early writings of PG Wodehouse. More details here.

Perfect Nonsense at Ilkley
The Ilkley Playhouse is putting on Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense at 7.30 on March 7-9 and 11-16. More information and tickets can be obtained from here.

Gift Membership
Membership of the Society makes an excellent gift. Details here.

Blandings and Beyond: PG Wodehouse’s England
In which Robert Bruce charts the very English world of PG Wodehouse. A large-format map charts locations both fictional and real: Blandings Castle, Brinkley Court, the Drones Club, Dulwich College, and the bank where he endured a brief, unhappy period working as “the most inefficient clerk whose trouser seat ever polished a stool”.
PG Wodehouse avoided using real-life locations, yet close reading reveals clues. Making use of all available scholarship, and a lifetime absorbed by the world Wodehouse created, Blandings And Beyond is your passport to what Evelyn Waugh called “Mr Wodehouse’s idyllic world”.
The map is available from Herb Lester here and costs £12 plus postage.

Revised editions of Wodehouse books - a word from the Society’s chairman, Tim Andrew
”Among our membership there will be a wide range of views, many strongly held, about the proposed changes and, as among the general public, I see no consensus. What is more, anyone who has commented has done so in a vacuum since I know of no one who has seen the proposed changes. From what I read it is unlikely they will be extensive, for Wodehouse was never one knowingly to offend his readers and perhaps only two of his many books will be affected. Our president, Alexander Armstrong, explained this but his comments were, unfairly in my view, characterised as accepting or even supporting the changes. This is not his, my or the Society’s position. What I say is ‘Read Wodehouse’; his timeless humour is the ideal respite when, as on this occasion, discussion has generated more heat than light.” The Chairman’s full statement can be read here.

Essay Prize results
We are delighted to announce the winners of the Society’s inaugural Essay Prize. Details here.

Emsworth Museum Reopens
Extensive improvements have been made to the museum including re-positioning the PG Wodehouse display centrally around the original Town Hall fireplace, complete with a desk and a touch-screen display of some of his correspondence with Lilian Barnett (his housekeeper from pre-WW I days when he lived in Emsworth) with whom he corresponded until her death in 1974. Society members and friends are encouraged to visit this fascinating small museum in Emsworth, Hampshire. Further details about the museum, its exhibits and how to get there can be found on the museum’s website.

Pelham Grenville Wodehouse; "The Happiness of the World"
The third volume of Paul Kent's trilogy gets to the heart of Wodehouse's comic vision, explaining his enduring appeal to readers all over the world. Copies can be bought from here or by emailing sales@canofworms.net.

Nothing is Simple in Wodehouse, by Tony Ring
Tony Ring, a committee member since the Society’s inception, has published a new book, Nothing is Simple in Wodehouse. Running to 400 pages and 75 chapters his paperback covers a wide range of topics and discusses questions received from Society members over the years that turn out to be more complicated than you might expect. To buy a copy, contact Tony by email (ring.tony@yahoo.co.uk), telephone (01494 864848), or by post at 34 Longfield, Great Missenden, Bucks HP16 0EG. It costs £14 plus £4 postage to addresses in the UK.

What Ho, Jeeves!
A Tour of the London of PG Wodehouse
Richard Burnip conducts regular guided walks. Details here.

The Empress of Blandings
The Empress of Blandings, a pub at Copythorne in the New Forest (click here for details), offers members a 20% discount on all food orders. Bring a copy of Wooster Sauce as proof of membership.