Wodehouse; a life – Robert McCrum

I never knew how involved Wodehouse was in Broadway, having collaborated at times with such luminaries as Jerome Kern and Cole Porter. Although the middle part of this biography could have done with a bit of a prune, there are some nice details about showbiz, including a couple of stints in Hollywood.

Of course, the main reason for reading a Wodehouse biog is for an explanation of the calamitous Berlin broadcasts during WWII. The book argues, successfully in my opinion, that “Plum” was essentially a political naïf and had no understanding of the consequences of his actions. The Edwardian world of his imagination, so delightful in his fiction, was utterly inappropriate in new circumstances, and he suffered for his decision perhaps too much.