Writers on Writers

The last book of the Psmith chronicles put us in familiar territory, namely, Blandings Castle.  Crossovers like this happen every now and again in the Wodehouse universe, and it is something that I tend to enjoy.  The feeling is akin to slipping into comfortable clothes after a long and particularly trying day. 

The main action is featured around authors, both real and imposter.  In this case, both types are poets, one male and the other female.  Going by his portrayal of them, Wodehouse does not seem to have much time for the discipline.  The female poet’s oeuvre is of the twee and sentimental variety.  Wodehouse’s scorn is palpable, even more so when it is revealed that she has quite a lucrative career from it.  Perhaps not coincidentally, she is also a master con-artist, so take that as you will.  The implications are scathing, and make me wonder if Wodehouse had an enforced diet of treacle-laden verse shoved down his throat when he was in school.

The other author is a male poet who pens verse that no one seems to comprehend.  He is impersonated by Psmith, who attempts to present the man as a more relatable fellow than he verses would suggest.  Many comments are made about how he is not what people were expecting.  It is likely that the comment was made to heighten the comic effect of the impersonation, but I start to wonder if Wodehouse was plagued by poets whom he found to be tedious.  After all, he would continue the trope of a schoompy poetess in Madeline Bassett, whose signature damming phrase is that she refers to stars as, “Nature’s daisy chain.”

The one author that Wodehouse seems to respect if Rosie M. Banks, who does not appear in this novel.  She specializes in women’s literature (probably early 20^th century chick lit), but her character is sensible enough to earn admiration.  Ms. Banks is not the sort to lapse into mooning text, and I sense that Wodehouse saw a lot of himself- or another author that he admired- in her no nonsense approach to giving people what they want.  It also helps that she is not hurting for cash and is one of a long line of Wodehouse female characters who is the economic powerhouse of the couple, but that falls into the list of things that need to be addressed at another time.