"The Go-Getter" is a

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

by P. G. Wodehouse, which first appeared in the United States in the March 1931 issue of ''

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...

'' (as "Sales Resistance"), and in the United Kingdom in the August 1931 '' Strand''. Part of the Blandings Castle canon, it features the absent-minded peer Lord Emsworth, and was included in the collection ''

Blandings Castle and Elsewhere ''Blandings Castle and Elsewhere'' is a collection of short stories by P. G. Wodehouse. It was first published in the United Kingdom on 12 April 1935 by Herbert Jenkins, London, and, as ''Blandings Castle'', in the United States on 20 Septembe ...

'' (1935), although the story takes place sometime between the events of '' Leave it to Psmith'' (1923) and '' Summer Lightning'' (1929).

Plot

Freddie Threepwood, still trying to persuade his Aunt Georgiana of the benefits of Donaldson's Dog-Joy (even going so far as to act out the phrase "eating one's own dog food") hears that his cousin Gertrude has become infatuated with Orlo Watkins, a weedy

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

invited to the castle by Lady Constance. While visiting his friend Beefy Bingham to borrow his dog Bottles, Freddie learns that she has indeed all but "handed him the bird". Freddie tells this to Lady Georgiana, while giving a rather poor demonstration of Dog-Joy's powers, during which Bottles is scared off by Susan, one of Lady Georgiana's Pekes. He later tries to reason with his cousin, but to no avail; the glamour of the singer has taken her over. That evening, while the household take after-dinner coffee in the drawing room, Freddie enters with Bottles and a sack of rats, intending to demonstrate the Dog-Joy reared mongrel's ratcatching prowess; Orlo Watkins, observed by Gertrude, cringes somewhat at the sight. The family protest, and

Beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...

is called to take the bag of rats away. Bottles remains, however, and when one of Lady Georgiana's

Airedale Airedale is a geographic area in Yorkshire, England, corresponding to the river valley or dale of the River Aire. The valley stretches from the river's origin in Aire Head Springs, Malham which is in the Yorkshire Dales, down past Skipton on ...

s comes in, a mighty battle commences. Watkins, to Gertrude's disgust, leaps atop a

display cabinet A display case (also called showcase, display cabinet, shadow box, or vitrine) is a cabinet with one or often more transparent tempered glass (or plastic, normally acrylic for strength) surfaces, used to display objects for viewing. A display c ...

, while the others dither about. Just in time, Bingham enters, sees the fight in progress, and breaks it up by the simple expedient of taking one dog in each massive hand and pulling. His manly display shakes the scales from Gertrude's eyes, and she falls into his arms, while Watkins slinks off, defeated. Lady Georgiana, meanwhile, is so impressed by Bottles' performance that she orders two tons of Dog-Joy off Freddie.

Publication history

The story was illustrated by

James Montgomery Flagg James Montgomery Flagg (June 18, 1877 – May 27, 1960) was an American artist, comics artist and illustrator. He worked in media ranging from fine art painting to cartooning, but is best remembered for his political posters, particularly his 1 ...

in ''Cosmopolitan''. It was illustrated by Treyer Evans in the ''Strand''. "The Go-Getter" was included in the 1939 collection ''The Week-End Wodehouse'' (US edition), published by Doubleday, Doran & Co., New York. It was included in ''Short Stories'', a 1983 collection of short stories by Wodehouse with illustrations by

George Adamson George Alexander Graham Adamson MBE (3 February 1906 – 20 August 1989), also known as the ''Baba ya Simba'' ("Father of Lions" in Swahili), was a Kenyan wildlife conservationist and author. He and his wife, Joy, were depicted in the film ''B ...

, published by the Folio Society, London. The story was collected in ''A Wodehouse Bestiary'', published in 1985 by Ticknor & Fields, New York, and edited by D. R. Bensen. It was also included in the anthology ''Man's Funniest Friend: The Dog in Stories, Reminiscences, Poems and Cartoons'', published by World Publishing, New York, in 1967 and edited by William Cole.

Adaptations

The

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

adapted "The Go-Getter" for television in 2013, as the second episode of ''

Blandings Blandings Castle is a recurring fictional location in the stories of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being the seat of Lord Emsworth (Clarence Threepwood, 9th Earl of Emsworth), home to many of his family and the setting for numerous tal ...

''.

References

;Notes ;Sources * {{DEFAULTSORT:Go-Getter, The 1931 short stories Short stories by P. G. Wodehouse Works originally published in Cosmopolitan (magazine)

Plot

Publication history

Adaptations

See also

References