''The Uncollected Wodehouse'' is a collection of early newspaper and magazine articles and short stories by P. G. Wodehouse. First published in the United States on 18 October 1976 by Seabury Press, New York City, it contains 14 short stories.McIlvaine (1990), p. 106, A99. Five of the stories had appeared in the United Kingdom in the 1914 collection '' The Man Upstairs'', and all had previously appeared in UK periodicals between 1901 and 1915; some had also appeared in the U.S. Five short items are included from 1900–1906 UK magazines, ten from 1914–1919, and nine from the U.S. '' Vanity Fair'' magazine.
The collection was edited and introduced by David A. Jasen, with a foreword by Malcolm Muggeridge.
Contents
* "When Papa Swore in Hindustani"
** United Kingdom: ''Answers'', 24 August 1901
According to David A. Jasen, this was the first of multiple sentimental stories that Wodehouse wrote specifically to please magazine editors. Wodehouse did not approve of the title of the story, which was chosen by the ''Answers'' staff. The story is very short and is six pages long in the first edition of the collection. For comparison, "The Good Angel" is 15 pages long and "The Man Upstairs" is 16 pages long.
* " A Corner in Lines" (also published in the 1997 UK collection ''
Tales of Wrykyn and Elsewhere
''Tales of Wrykyn and Elsewhere'' is a collection of short stories by British writer P. G. Wodehouse, first published on 1 October 1997 by Porpoise Books, London, with illustrations by T. M. R. Whitwell. It contains previously uncollected work, m ...
'')
** UK: '' Pearson's'', January 1905
* " The Autograph Hunters" (also in ''Tales of Wrykyn and Elsewhere'')
** UK: ''Pearson's'', February 1905 (as "The Autograph Hunter"; source for this book)
** United States: ''
Metropolitan
Metropolitan may refer to:
* Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories
* Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England
* Metropolitan county, a typ ...
'', November 1922 (set in U.S. with some name changes and minor rewriting)
* "Tom, Dick–and Harry" (also published in the 1993 UK collection '' Plum Stones'')
** UK: '' Grand'', June 1905
According to Owen Dudley Edwards, "Tom, Dick–and Harry" was published in the 1909 anthology ''Twenty-Five Cricket Stories'', and has a plot that is very similar to that of the Drones Club story "
Tried in the Furnace
''Young Men in Spats'' is a collection of short stories by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on 3 April 1936 by Herbert Jenkins, London, then in the United States with a slightly different selection of stories on 24 July 1 ...
". The story is ten pages long in the first edition of this collection.
* " The Good Angel" (appears in ''The Man Upstairs'' collection)
** UK: '' Strand'', February 1910 (source for this book)
** US: '' Cosmopolitan'', February 1910 (relocated to the U.S., retitled "The Matrimonial Sweepstakes")
The ''Cosmopolitan'' story "The Matrimonial Sweepstakes", a reset and slightly lengthened version of "The Good Angel", marks the earliest mention of a Lord Emsworth.
* " The Man Upstairs" (also in ''The Man Upstairs'')
** UK: ''Strand'', March 1910 (source for this book)
** US: ''Cosmopolitan'', March 1910 (relocated to the U.S.)
* "Misunderstood"
** UK: ''
Nash's
Nash's (F. C. Nash & Co.) was a Pasadena, California
Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old P ...
'', May 1910 (source for this book)
** US: ''
Burr McIntosh Monthly
William Burr McIntosh (August 21, 1862 – April 28, 1942) was an American lecturer, photographer, film studio owner, silent film actor, author, publisher of ''The'' ''Burr McIntosh Monthly'',
* " Pillingshot, Detective" (also in ''Tales of Wrykyn and Elsewhere'')
** UK: ''
The Captain
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'', September 1910
* " When Doctors Disagree" (also in ''The Man Upstairs'')
** UK: ''Strand'', December 1910 (source for this book)
** US: ''
Success
Success is the state or condition of meeting a defined range of expectations. It may be viewed as the opposite of failure. The criteria for success depend on context, and may be relative to a particular observer or belief system. One person mig ...
'', March 1911 (relocated to the U.S.)
* "The Best Sauce"
** UK: ''Strand'', July 1911 (source for this book)
** US: '' Pictorial Review'', February 1913 (retitled "The Dinner of Herbs" with plot and name changes)
"The Best Sauce" was published in the ''Strand'' with illustrations by
René Bull
René Bull was a British illustrator and photographer. He was born in Dublin on 11 December 1872 to a French mother and an English father. He went to Paris to study engineering, but embarked on an artistic career after meeting and taking draw ...
. The story is 15 pages long in the first edition of this collection.
* " Pots o' Money" (also in ''The Man Upstairs'')
** UK: ''Strand'', December 1911 (source for this book)
** US: ''Metropolitan'', February 1912 (set in U.S. with some name changes)
* " Ruth in Exile" (also in ''The Man Upstairs'')
** UK: ''Strand'', July 1912 (source for this book)
** US: ''
Ainslee's Magazine
''Ainslee's Magazine'' was an American literary periodical published from 1897 to December 1926. It was originally published as a humor magazine called ''The Yellow Kid'', based on the popular comic strip character. It was renamed ''Ainslee's'' ...
'', August 1912 (with American characters in France and one name change)
* "Death at the Excelsior" (also in ''Plum Stones'', reprinted here from abridged text appearing in ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'', May 1978)
** UK: ''Pearson's'', December 1914 (original title: "The Education of Detective Oakes")
** US: ''
All-Story Cavalier Weekly
''Argosy'', later titled ''The Argosy'', ''Argosy All-Story Weekly'' and ''The New Golden Argosy'', was an American pulp magazine from 1882 through 1978, published by Frank Munsey until its sale to Popular Publications in 1942. It is the first ...
'', 13 March 1915 (longest of all versions, under the title "The Harmonica Mystery")
"The Harmonica Mystery" was also published in ''The Saint Detective Magazine'' (US) in June 1955. "Death at the Excelsior" is the longest story in ''The Uncollected Wodehouse'' and is 23 pages long in this collection.
* "
The Test Case
Reginald "Reggie" Pepper is a fictional character who appears in seven short stories by English author P. G. Wodehouse. Reggie is a young man-about-town who gets drawn into trouble trying to help his pals. He is considered to be an early prototyp ...
" (also in ''Plum Stones''; a
Reggie Pepper
Reginald "Reggie" Pepper is a fictional character who appears in seven short stories by English author P. G. Wodehouse. Reggie is a young man-about-town who gets drawn into trouble trying to help his pals. He is considered to be an early prototyp ...
story, book version shortened from U.S. magazine appearance)
** UK: ''Pearson's'', December 1915
** US: ''Illustrated Sunday Magazine'', 12 December 1915
Two of the "articles" collected by Jasen contain dialogue between fictional characters and thus may be considered short-short fiction: "An Unfinished Collection" from '' Punch'', 17 September 1902 and "The Secret Pleasures of Reginald" from ''Vanity Fair'', June 1915.