Book description
A P. G. Wodehouse novel
Château Blissac, on its hill above St Roque, is in a setting where
every prospect pleases. But it doesn't please its current occupier, J.
Wellington Gedge. Mr Gedge wants none of it - and particularly none of
the domineering Mrs Gedge's imperious wish that he should become
American Ambassador to Paris. Instead he pines for the simpler life of
California, where men are men and filling stations stand tall.
Mrs Gedge has powerful allies - including the prohibitionist Senator
Opal. But will she get her way? And will the Senator's delightful
daughter Jane get her man?
In a plot which involves safe-blowers, con men, jewel-thieves and
even a Bloomsbury novelist, few are quite as they seem. But the heady
atmosphere of France in the 1930s makes for one of Wodehouse's most
delightful comedies.
The author of almost a hundred books and the creator of Jeeves,
Blandings Castle, Psmith, Ukridge, Uncle Fred and Mr Mulliner, P. G.
Wodehouse was born in 1881 and educated at Dulwich College. After two
years with the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank he became a full-time writer,
contributing to a variety of periodicals. As well as his novels and
short stories, he wrote lyrics for musical comedies, and at one stage
had five shows running simultaneously on Broadway. At the age of 93, in
the New Year's Honours List of 1975, he received a long-overdue
Knighthood, only to die on St Valentine's Day some 45 days later.
