"Ukridge Rounds a Nasty Corner" 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 British author

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 January 1924 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 February 1924 ''

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 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 ...

'', published in 1924.

Plot

When

Jimmy Corcoran James J. Corcoran (May 1, 1820 – November 12, 1900) was an Irish-born laborer and well-known personality among the Irish-American community of the historic " Corcoran's Roost" and the Kip's Bay districts, roughly the area near 40th Street and ...

is hired to help prepare the memoirs of a deceased colonial, he is amazed to see his friend Ukridge visiting the house, pretending not to know him. He had, earlier that day, received a bottle of patent medicine and a parrot, delivered by Ukridge, so he is even more amazed when Ukridge brings up parrots to his employer, Lady Elizabeth Lakenheath. Ukridge later reveals that he has fallen in love with and wooed

Millie Millie is a feminine given name or diminutive form of various other given names, such as Emily, Millicent, Mildred, Camilla or sometimes Amelia. People with the given name Notable people with the given name include: * Millie Bailey (1918– ...

, Lady Elizabeth's niece and ward, and together they have kidnapped the parrot in order to help obtain the aunt's consent to their marriage. Ukridge is also involved in the sale of "Peppo", the patent medicine. The parrot scheme is successful, but Millie's aunt wishes to meet Ukridge's Aunt Julia. Knowing that any such meeting will result in the revealing of Ukridge's past, they must stop the two from coming into contact until Aunt Julia, currently working in rural seclusion, leaves for a tour of America. When Lady Elizabeth is invited to a meeting of the Pen and Ink Club, Corky goes to Aunt Julia's house to intercept a speech she is due to make at the meeting, hoping that the lack of a speech will prevent her from attending. Julia has returned early, however, and is highly suspicious of Corky's presence. Next day at the Lakenheath's he expects to find Ukridge's name turned to mud, but all is well; Lady Elizabeth was unable to attend the meeting, as her precious parrot was sick. Ukridge reveals that the plucky Millie had plied the parrot with Peppo, rendering it dangerously inebriated. Millie and Ukridge would later marry, and on occasion rely on Lady Elizabeth to pull them out of hot water, as in ''

Love Among the Chickens ''Love Among the Chickens'' is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published as a book in the United Kingdom in June 1906 by George Newnes, London, and in the United States by Circle Publishing, New York, on 11 May 1909.McIlvaine (1990), pp. 15� ...

'' (1906).

Main characters

, the irrepressible entrepreneur ** Julia Ukridge, his haughty writer aunt *

, a girl Ukridge falls for ** Lady Elizabeth Lakenheath, Millie's parrot-loving aunt *

, Ukridge's writer friend * George Tupper, an old schoolfriend of Ukridge and Corcoran

Publication history

The story was illustrated by T. D. Skidmore in ''Cosmopolitan'',McIlvaine (1990), p. 148, D17.35. 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''.McIlvaine (1990), p. 184, D133.106. It was included in ''Nothing But Wodehouse'', a Wodehouse short story collection edited by

Ogden Nash Frederic Ogden Nash (August 19, 1902 – May 19, 1971) was an American poet well known for his light verse, of which he wrote over 500 pieces. With his unconventional rhyming schemes, he was declared by ''The New York Times'' the country's best ...

and published by Doubleday, Doran & Company in July 1932. It was also collected in ''The World of Ukridge'', published in October 1975 by Barrie & Jenkins.

Adaptations

The story was adapted by Helmar Fernback for radio in 1956, with

Michael Shepley Arthur Michael Shepley-Smith (29 September 1907 – 28 September 1961), known professionally as Michael Shepley, was a British actor, appearing in theatre, film and some television between 1929 and 1961. He was born in Plymouth, Devon. Shepl ...

as Ukridge,

Hubert Gregg Hubert Robert Harry Gregg (19 July 1914 – 29 March 2004) was a British broadcaster, writer and actor. In his later years, he was known for the BBC Radio 2 "oldies" shows ''A Square Deal'' and ''Thanks for the Memory''. He was also a novelist, ...

as Corcoran, Margot Lister as Aunt Julia, Martin Lewis as Bowles,

Bryan Powley Bryan Gilbert Powley (16 September 1871 – 18 December 1962) was a British stage and film actor. He began his career in the era of silent film. Life Powley was born on 16 September 1871 in Reading, the son of the Rev. Matthew Powley and Louis ...

as Leonard the parrot, and

Belle Chrystall Belle Chrystall (25 April 19107 June 2003) was a British actress who appeared in a number of leading roles in British films during the 1930s. She was born in Preston, Lancashire in 1910. She came to London and after appearing on stage was given a ...

as Millie. It was adapted as an episode in the television series ''

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 episode, titled "The Nasty Corner", aired in 1968. The sixth episode of the 1992–1993 ''Ukridge'' radio series was adapted from the story. The episode, "Ukridge Rounds a Nasty Corner", first aired on 25 January 1993, with

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,

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 Mabel, Dougal Lee as Mr Price, and

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 ...

as Hank Philbrick (from "

Ukridge Sees Her Through "Ukridge Sees Her Through" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, which first appeared in the United States in the September 1923 issue of ''Cosmopolitan'' and in the United Kingdom in the October 1923 ''Strand''. It features the irrepressible Sta ...

"). The story was adapted by Julian Dutton.

References

;Notes ;Sources *

External links

* The full text of
Ukridge Rounds a Nasty Corner
at

HathiTrust Digital Library HathiTrust Digital Library is a large-scale collaborative repository of digital content from research libraries including content digitized via Google Books and the Internet Archive digitization initiatives, as well as content digitized locally ...