Something Fresh
Fiction
Overlook Books
2005
260
The first of the Blandings novels introduces Lord Emsworth and his family, the Efficient Baxter, and the familiar cast of butlers, aunts, and imposters. In a moment of absentmindedness, Lord Emsworth helps himself to a priceless relic, leaving its owner to offer a thousand pounds for its return. Pretty soon, Blandings is a madhouse with people tripping over one another to claim the prize. The one thing that could be expected to disturb the peace at Blandings is the constant incursion of imposters. Blandings has imposters like other houses have mice. On this particular occasion there are two of them-both intent on a dangerous enterprise.
Wodehouse plots are frequently tangled, but this one is a bit more tangled than usual. This was pretty good, a cut above his normal good work. The Efficient Baxter makes an early appearance, and some of the rest of the Blandings Castle gang. Reading this is like reading an early Peanuts cartoon strip — with the characters recognizable, but not fully themselves yet.