The Divine Comedy of P.G. Wodehouse

PG Wodehouse is my favourite comic author, and I was delighted when the Spectator invited me to have a conversation about his books with Charles Moore, sometime Editor of the magazine. It was a warm, light-hearted conversation, which I like to think would have pleased the great writer himself. I hope you enjoy it too. And if you are a Wodehouse fan yourself, you might take a look at my own attempt to write a Jeeves story. It’s up on Substack and the title is “The Great Bus Mystery”.
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[@ritawing1064]

Fill your mind with P.G.Wodehouse, it will overcome intrusive negativity and unwanted shadows.

[@hayleyanna2625]

I adore P.G.Wodehouse! ❤ They never fail to cheer me up.

[@Henri79]

P. G. Wodehouse is an amazing author. I feel so lucky to have discovered him. Hopefully this video will encourage people to pick up one of his novels.

[@pjflynn]

Thank you. P.G. Wodehouse was in my parents' library in their flat in Buenos Aires. Whenever I was home from boarding school I would read them. His books still crowd my shelves today, and together with Mark Twain's writings, they are my favourites.

[@lindacampbell6581]

Wodehouse is a blessing. I've read 60 of his books thus far and intend to read all 99. I love the man. None better.

[@davescupper5789]

I've read about 40 PG Wodehouse books. I can picture him laughing to himself when he wrote them as he makes up the situations and creates his metaphors. Piccadilly Jim is my favourite, you think you might lose the plot of it when you read it because of its twists and turns and the false identity of the character, but his narratives are beautifully written to keep you in check. A brilliant writer😊

[@architechofreality]

I adore Wodehouse and still re-read his novels and listen on Audible.

[@davidallsopp4030]

Love P.G.Wodehouse!

[@GrumpyYank26]

Love learning more about PGW!! Fry and I are also fans of Georgette Heyer’s novels which some have described as a perfect blend of PGW and Jane Austen. -usa

[@mb3503-o4e]

That was so wonderful

[@JackT13]

I have never read a character that is so suited to an actor quite like Jeeves is suited to Stephen Fry

[@doloresgiusto1659]

For me the very, very, very… BEST on KZbin is Trickynicky Marts. I have become addicted to his elegance, flair and sheer intelligence. Hours in the company of a delightful and cleverly self deprecating Bertie.

[@ChrisOgunlowo]

Beautiful, Gentlemen 👌🏽

[@williammorris7279]

I love Wodehouse, and am most relieved to hear the clarification about the Nazi allegation. Because of that, I always felt a slight guilt about enjoying him so much. Also now a bit ashamed I had not delved the allegation myself.

[@ginabisaillon2894]

I discovered PG Wodehouse thanks to my roommate who was British. We used to read the novels to each other at night and laughed so hard that the upstairs neighbours would knock on the floor!

[@chrisandsheila1974]

A pleasure to listen to two enthusiasts discussing Wodehouse. I cannot, however, agree with Prof. Dawkins' recommendation of Stephen Fry's rendition of the stories. The actor with the ability, subtlety, intelligence and understanding to do real justice to Wodehouse's work is the sublime Jonathan Cecil. Listen to Fry and you hear Fry; listen to Cecil and you hear Wodehouse.

[@BeauStucki]

You are correct -- several excellent narrators have tackled Wodehouse (Fry, Jarvis, Lithgow, Davidson, etc.) and they all have their merits, but Cecil (for Wodehouse's work specifically) was the greatest.

[@rahinc]

Who is conducting the interview? I don’t think we got an introduction.

[@BeauStucki]

She's called Lara Prendergast, an executive editor at The Spectator

[@johnbanwell]

Stephen Fry is so-so on Jeeves/Wooster. You need to go with Jonathan Cecil for the best audiobooks.

[@adamfontana537]

I love the blandings story’s.

[@baysideharpy8350]

Stephen Fry is good but supreme narrator of Wodehouse is Jonathan Cecil

[@MikeM-uy6qp]

I was about to say that. He's extraordinary.

[@BeauStucki]

I agree - Fry is an excellent writer and wit and many other things, but the greatest Wodehouse narrator is Cecil

[@CaptainCuttle-mi5rt]

I love Plum, I liked the TV versions of Jeeves and Wooster, it's almost impossible to put the books on the screen because the comedy is not always in the dialogue but in the writing. I think Clive Exton did an admirable job of transposing the stories for TV, and Fry and Laurie were great as Jeeves and Bertie. (Exton also wrote many of the TV Poirot episodes) I can't say the same for the attempt at doing the Blandings Stories those were awful.

[@inamorata966]

I don't exactly disagree with Mr. Dawkins viz the Jeeves and Wooster TV series, but I do enjoy them. Furthermore, they inspired me to read PGW's novels. It is true, however, that the scripts are a mash-up of scenes from Plum's stories. Found that out the hard way, after I began my reading. God bless you all. Peace.

[@aucourant9998]

Who was the young woman who was doing the interview? She has the most beautiful husky voice.

[@sinaashraf666]

پروفسور سلام اندیشه های شما تو ایران میان قشر روشنفکر نفوذ داره ولی زیرنویس فارسی در ترجمه خودکار وجود نداره و ما از ترجمه دیگر کانالهای atheist مطالب رو استخراج میکنیم که اغلب کلیپ ها برای مصاحبه های 8 تا ۶ سال پیش شماست و از برنامه های جدید شما زیرنویس فارسی در ترجمه خودکار وجود نداره میشه رسیدگی کنید برای مخاطبان فارسی ممنون پروفسور تا ما از علم شما بهره مند بشیم

[@raoultesla2292]

You want some comedy, and wit, get that Penn Gillette guy, maybe even Lewis Black.

[@blockeighteen1059]

PG Wodehouse is one of the greatest - and most perceptive - writers of any era. But as for far-right fanzine The Spectator … very disappointed that Richard has anything to do with it.

[@donello430]

I'll have to check out this paper The Spectator. Sounds based!!

[@BeauStucki]

I know Roger Ebert, another erudite man of “The Left,” was also an avid reader of The Spectator

[@CaptainCuttle-mi5rt]

The Spectator is not far right, don't be silly. Unless you are far left of course....Then everything seems to be far right.

[@blockeighteen1059]

@@CaptainCuttle-mi5rt they’ve supported 14 years of industrial-scale corruption, incompetence and idiocy from a Conservative Party that’s run the UK into the ground (and put the son of a KGB agent into the House of Lords) - hence “far-right fanzine”.

[@paulredhead8603]

What would your opinion be of someone who read both the Spectator and New Statesman ?.......Open minded ?

[@michelangelope830]

Emergency! The greatest knowledge is atheism is a logical fallacy that assumes God is the religious idea of the creator of the creation to conclude wrongly no creator exists because a particular idea of God doesn’t exist.

[@jaybee9269]

What does that have to do with Wodehouse.

[@persistenthomology]

The only logical fallacy here is yours. Atheism does not conclude that "no creator exists", it is the conclusion that there is insufficient evidence for the existence of a creator.

[@victorhiggins2118]

Nonsense

[@daleneparole1502]

My "Creator"s are my Mother and Father. Plain and simple

[@lervish1966]

The universe is a thought-form projected from the mind of God.