"The Debut of Battling Billson" 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 ...

P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeev ...

, which first appeared in the United States in the June 1923 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 ...

'' and in the United Kingdom in the July 1923 ''

Strand Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline *Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa *Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * Strand Street, ...

''. It features the irrepressible

Stanley Featherstonehaugh Ukridge Stanley Featherstonehaugh Ukridge ( ) is a fictional character in comedic stories by author P. G. Wodehouse. Ukridge appears in one novel and nineteen short stories. Ukridge is a charismatic opportunist who will do anything to increase his capita ...

, and was included in the collection '' Ukridge'', published in 1924.

Plot

Ukridge, observing the wealth displayed by a prominent

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

manager, resolves to get in on the game himself, and thus make his fortune. By good fortune, an old acquaintance of his from his world-roaming days, an enormous and powerful sailor named Billson, famed for his ability to mop up

stevedore A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes. After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number o ...

s by the dozen in bar fights, has landed in England and is looking for shore work, having fallen for a barmaid named Flossie. Ukridge scoops him up, and the two visit

James Corcoran James Corcoran (c.1780 – 1804) was an Irish rebel leader who following the suppression of the United Irish insurrection of 1798, maintained a guerrilla resistance to the British Crown forces in counties Wexford and Kilkenny until his final ...

prior to heading to the training ground. Arriving at his first fight, Billson (now dubbed "Battling Billson") meets his opponent, and is touched by the man's life story. In the ring, this sentimentality affects his performance, until a few strong blows enrage him; he is, however, hesitant, and is knocked out when distracted. Ukridge hears that the champion, Tod Bingham, is offering substantial prizes to anyone who can go two rounds with him; he puts his man forward. To ensure Billson's fighting instinct is not weakened by the man's reputation for kindness to his mother, Ukridge persuades Ukridge's girl Flossie to write a letter claiming she has been wooed away from him by the other fighter. This entails taking the girl out for dinner, on their friend George Tupper, who is mortified by the girl's plebeian dress and manners. When the day of the prize bout arrives, Corky and Ukridge stand in the crowd, excitedly awaiting Billson's fight. However, the compere announces that the champ has been hit by a truck and will be unable to fight, to the disgust of all. Outside the hall, they encounter a bystander, who describes the "truck" that hit Bingham as an enormous, red-headed man in full rage - if only he'd thought to save his fighting for the ring, says the man, he could have made a tidy sum. Billson would return in several other Ukridge stories.

Main characters

, the irrepressible entrepreneur * Jimmy Corcoran, Ukridge's writer friend ** Bowles, Corky's landlord, an ex-butler * George Tupper, an old schoolfriend of Ukridge and Corcoran * "Battling" Billson, an enormous sailor, friend of Ukridge ** Flossie, Bilson's girl, a barmaid * Tod Bingham, middle-weight boxing champion

Publication history

The story was illustrated by T. D. Skidmore in ''Cosmopolitan'', and by

Reginald Cleaver Reginald Thomas Cleaver (died 1954) was a British cartoonist notable for his work for ''Punch'' and ''The Daily Graphic ''The Daily Graphic: An Illustrated Evening Newspaper'' was the first American newspaper with daily illustrations. It was ...

in ''The Strand Magazine''. It was included in ''The World of Ukridge'', a collection of Ukridge stories published in October 1975 by Barrie & Jenkins.

Adaptations

The story was adapted for radio in 1940 and broadcast on the

BBC Home Service The BBC Home Service was a national and regional radio station that broadcast from 1939 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 4. History 1922–1939: Interwar period Between the early 1920s and the outbreak of World War II, the BBC ...

, with Malcolm Graeme as Ukridge, Noel Dryden as Corky, William Trent as Bowles, Charles Mason as George Tupper, Philip Wade as Wilberforce Billson,

Vivienne Chatterton Vivienne Chatterton (8 June 1896 - 1 January 1974) was a British singer and noted radio actress of the 20th-century. Biography Vivienne Chatterton was born in Paddington, London. Her father was English, her mother French. She was educated at the ...

as Florence Burns, and Geoffrey Wincott as Professor Devine. It was adapted for television in 1968 as the third episode of the second series of ''

The World of Wodehouse ''The World of Wodehouse'' is a comedy television series, based on the Blandings Castle and Ukridge stories written by P. G. Wodehouse. The series, which followed the television series ''The World of Wooster'', was shown on BBC Television. It c ...

''. The second episode of ''The Adventures of Ukridge'' (1992–93), a radio series that first aired on BBC Radio 4, was based on the story. The stories were adapted by

Julian Dutton Julian Dutton is an English comedy writer and performer, principally for television and radio, whose work has won a British Comedy Award, a BAFTA, and a Radio Academy Gold Award for Best Comedy. He is the author of five books. He is the co-cr ...

. The cast of "The Debut of Battling Billson" included

Griff Rhys Jones Griffith Rhys Jones (born 16 November 1953) is a Welsh comedian, writer, actor, and television presenter. He starred in a number of television series with his comedy partner, Mel Smith. Rhys Jones came to national attention in the 1980s for h ...

as Ukridge,

Robert Bathurst Robert Guy Bathurst (born 22 February 1957) is an English actor. Bathurst was born in The Gold Coast (now Ghana) in 1957, where his father was working as a management consultant. In 1959 his family moved to Ballybrack, Dublin, Ireland and Bath ...

as Corky,

Adam Godley Adam Godley (born 22 July 1964) is a British-American actor. He has been nominated for two Tony Awards and four Laurence Olivier Awards for his performances on the New York and London stages which include, ''Private Lives'' in 2001, ''The Pillo ...

as Tupper, Simon Godley as Beamish, Dougal Lee as Bowles and Billson,

Rebecca Front Rebecca Louise Front (born 16 May 1964) is an English actress, writer and comedian. She won the 2010 BAFTA TV Award for Best Female Comedy Performance for ''The Thick of It'' (2009–2012).Jennifer Lipma"Bafta for Jewish actress Rebecca Front" ...

as Millie and Flossie, and Julian Dutton as Professor Devine.

References

;Notes ;Sources * {{DEFAULTSORT:Debut of Battling Billson Short stories by P. G. Wodehouse 1923 short stories Works originally published in Cosmopolitan (magazine)

Plot

Main characters

Publication history

Adaptations

See also

References