PG Wodehouse

my favourite reads of September 2025

The Collected Short Fiction of Ngaio Marsh (1969)

Contains essays on Alleyn and Troy as well as the short stories “Death on the Air”, “I Can Find My Way Out”, “The Little Copplestone Mystery”, “The Hand in the Sand”, “The Cupid Mirror”, “A Fool About Money”, “Morepork”, and a telescript of “Evil Liver”.

I prefer her novels, but overall I liked it.

The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham (1929)

A weekend house party in the country turns into a trap and the guests are held hostage by a gang of criminals.

Suspenseful, good pacing, clever plotting – I really liked it.

Dear Writer by Maggie Smith (2025)

Advice mainly geared toward poets, but lots of value for any writer.

Maggie Smith has a friendly, easygoing and encouraging way of writing that makes you feel not only that you could write, but that you should.

Died in the Wool by Ngaio Marsh (1945)

The body of Florence Rubrick, a brash politician in wartime New Zealand, is found stuffed in a bale of wool sent for processing by the sheep farm she shares with a bunch of dubious characters. Alleyn, in New Zealand on official spy-hunting business, is brought in to investigate.

Enjoyable.

The Little Nugget by PG Wodehouse (1913)

The rich, estranged parents of a horrible child, nicknamed The Little Nugget, are engaged in an ongoing war over the boy, with each side using spies and kidnappers to steal him away from the other.

Not quite as joke-packed as many Wodehouses, but there are still many very funny passages. 

Your To-Die-For Life by Karen Salmansohn (2025)

Essentially memento mori and therefore live accordingly, but it has lots of good advice and was a quick, pleasant read.

my favourite reads of August 2022

The Call by Edith Ayrton Zangwill (1924)

Ursula Winfield is a bright young scientist who abandons her scientific work to become a top suffragette. 

Her struggles to be accepted by the male-dominated scientific community and the horrors inflicted on suffragettes make for pretty compelling reading, but then the story focuses on Ursula’s stilted romance with Tony Balestier and I kind of lost interest.

Death at the Bar by Ngaio Marsh (1940)

An over-confident lawyer is killed by a poisoned dart in a bet gone wrong.

Very enjoyable.

Death and the Dancing Footman by Ngaio Marsh (1942)

Wealthy old bachelor Jonathan Royal invites a group of people (who have multiple reasons to hate each other) to his country house for a weekend party and then is shocked when someone ends up dead.

Suspenseful and good fun.

Doctor Sally by PG Wodehouse (1932)

Bill Bannister falls madly in love with beautiful Dr Sally Smith, but, thinking him a wealthy playboy, she isn’t interested.

The story is a bit thinner than most Wodehouses, but there were many very funny passages.

Fanny Burney’s Diary: A Selection from the Diary and Letters, ed by John Wain (1961)

A best-selling author as a young woman, Frances acted as a personal attendant to Queen Charlotte for five years, before marrying and having a child.

The entries in which she marvelled at the popularity of her novel and recounted everyone’s amazement at her genius got to be a bit tedious, but I really enjoyed the entries written while King George III was in crisis. 

The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien by Georges Simenon (1931)

Inspector Maigret watches a man mail a large wad of cash to himself and, wanting to know why he’s behaving so suspiciously, follows him. After witnessing the man commit suicide, his investigation into the man’s true identity and circumstances leads him to a crime committed ten years earlier.

Simenon’s style (exclamation marks! ellipses…) takes a bit of getting used to, but the plot was strange enough to keep me interested.

The Parasites by Daphne du Maurier (1949)

Recounts the strange childhood and difficult adulthood of Maria, Niall and Celia, the grown children of a famous dancer mother and a famous singer father.

Really good characterization, but confusing narration – sometimes third person and sometimes first person, although it was unclear who the ‘I’ was that was speaking. I saw this recommended as a ‘hysterically funny’ book and I wouldn’t say that, but it had its moments.

Pietr the Latvian by Georges Simenon (1931)

On the trail of infamous criminal Pietr the Latvian, Inspector Maigret is determined not to lose him.

I found it a bit difficult to understand what was happening at times, but enjoyed it.

Surfeit of Lampreys by Ngaio Marsh (1940)

A large, eccentric family always living beyond their means, the Lampreys are counting on rich Uncle Gabriel to bail them out of financial trouble again. Unfortunately for him, Uncle Gabriel ends up murdered in the Lampreys’ house and Inspector Alleyn has to figure out who did it and why.

Engaging characters, a clever plot – I really liked this one.

We Need Your Art by Amie McNee (2025)

Pep talks and lots of good advice for all kinds of issues artists, makers and writers face. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone struggling with their creative life.

my favourite reads of May and June 2025

All the Other Mothers Hate Me by Sarah Harman (2025)

When it seems like her unpopular ten-year-old son is involved in the disappearance of a rich classmate, a woman tries to shift suspicion onto someone else by underhanded means.

There were some plot holes (like how was a kid supposed to dispose of a body while on a field trip?) and the culprit wasn’t a surprise, but it was okay.

Death in a White Tie by Ngaio Marsh (1938)

Elderly Lord Gospell is murdered while doing a bit of undercover work among the season’s debutantes (and their eccentric mothers and aunts) for Detective Inspector Alleyn.

My usual caveat that anything from this period will have the odd bit of totally gross racism or sexism, but otherwise it was a very enjoyable, clever mystery.

Final Curtain by Ngaio Marsh (1947)

An old and famous actor announces he is going to marry his gold-digging girlfriend and is promptly murdered by a member of his large family, all of whom have motive.

As above, some distasteful and dated language, but otherwise gripping and funny.

The Innocence of Father Brown by GK Chesterton (1911)

A collection of stories in which Father Brown solves various mysteries, all well-told and clever.

Could not be more different from the Father Brown tv show starring Mark Williams.

The Nursing Home Murder by Ngaio Marsh (1935)

After receiving several death threats, the British Home Secretary collapses with acute appendicitis and dies shortly after emergency surgery. Unfortunately for them, the surgeon and one of the attending nurses were among those who’d threatened to kill him.

An intriguing mystery, but diminished for me by one of the characters being a proud eugenicist. Again: these old novels are a product of their time. And just because I enjoy a person’s novel plotting doesn’t necessarily mean I’d like them personally.

A Pelican at Blandings by PG Wodehouse (1969)

With sister Constance back at Blandings Castle for an extended visit, brother Galahad comes to stay as moral support for Lord Emsworth. With them are an obnoxious duke, a lovesick American millionaire, a small-time crook, two people pretending to be someone they are not, and darling butler Beach.

Hilarious. I loved it.

The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym (1978)

A beautiful middle-aged woman befriends a pair of antique dealers, an uncle and his 20-something nephew, and strange, complicated relationships ensue.

I’m shortchanging this book by reducing it to a blithe paragraph, but I liked it so much I read it again immediately after finishing it the first time. There are some very funny passages, but overall it’s kind of sad. So much yearning. So much manipulation. So little honesty. It was really, really good.

The World According to Cunk by Philomena Cunk (2024)

An extremely joke-dense (too dense, I’d argue) telling of world history.

Diane Morgan’s performance as Philomena Cunk is so perfect that no book will ever come close to capturing her magic. I laughed here and there, but it would have been a lot stronger if a few hundred of the lamer jokes had been cut.

my favourite reads of January 2025

Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey (1949)

Not long after his parents’ deaths in a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Patrick Ashby disappears. He leaves a vague farewell note and his folded jacket near a cliff well known as a suicide spot, but his body is never found. Eight years later, cash-strapped Brat Farrar is recognized by a friend of the family as a dead-ringer for Patrick and together they scheme to reintroduce “Patrick” just in time for him to collect a large inheritance. Will Brat get away with it?

An excellent book. I loved it.

Dead Famous by Greg Jenner (2020)

An examination of celebrity (mostly human, but also the odd animal) from every possible angle.

Fun, fast-paced, really enjoyable.

Mike and Psmith by PG Wodehouse (1909)

Mike and Psmith meet at boarding school and hijinks ensue immediately. Like some of Wodehouse’s early work, it’s a bit heavy on the cricket for someone who does not know or care about cricket, but it’s still a lot of fun.

An A+ Christmas present from Charlotte!

Sad Cypress by Agatha Christie (1940)

Audiobook narrated by David Suchet.

Elinor Carlisle is accused of poisoning Mary Gerrard, her late aunt’s companion, after Elinor’s fiancé confesses he is in love with Mary. The case against Elinor couldn’t look more bulletproof, but Poirot investigates anyway.

David Suchet is a great narrator.

Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (1848)

At almost 700 pages (of very small print), I started Vanity Fair last November and read a chapter per day, aside from a couple weeks at Christmas when my girls were home. Best friends Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley leave their girls’ school and head out into very different futures. The book’s original subtitle was ‘A Novel Without a Hero’, which is absolutely true since almost everyone in it is terrible. They scheme, lie, cheat, steal, manipulate, boast, blame, condemn, shun, and bootlick in a constant jostle for social superiority.

It’s a bit wordy, yes, but hilarious. I honestly looked forward to reading it every single day.

my favourite reads of August 2024

Dead Lions by Mick Herron (2013)

Audiobook narrated by Gerard Doyle.

I read this a couple years ago, but got the audiobook when I saw the library added it. Exciting, well-plotted and, as usual, better than the tv adaptation. (Which is also very good, I think.)

The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey (1948)

Probably my favourite so far in My Summer of Tey. A teenager accuses a middle-aged woman and her mother of holding her hostage and beating her. They didn’t – but how to prove you didn’t do something? Loved it.

Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie (1938)

Audiobook narrated by Hugh Fraser.

Weird and inappropriate timing, but I needed an audiobook and this was available so whatever. Clever plotting, very enjoyable.

Psmith, Journalist by PG Wodehouse (1915)

Not my favourite Wodehouse, but Psmith is a very amusing character and I enjoyed it a lot.

A Shilling for Candles by Josephine Tey (1936)

Josephine Tey does it again! An actress is found drowned on a beach and it is assumed to be suicide until a coat button is spotted tangled in her hair. Cue the twists, turns and red herrings.