Young Men in Spats
Others, notably Dean Bagley, have said that Young Men in Spats is possible the best of the collections of Wodehouse shorts. I agree...
It's dashed difficult to review a Wodehouse book — any Wodehouse book, dashed difficult. His language is never pedestrian, and still never reads affected. His later books might show a slight weakening of the grip, in the same way the most recent Asterix comics show that Uderzo is losing his grip on his pencil, but not as pronounced.
Be that as it may, Young Men in Spats is a truly special collection. Especially The Amazing Hat Mystery is a gem. My personal favourite. It's eminently suited to being read aloud to a group of friends who appreciate fine language and sensitive wit. I can recommend it: gather a circle, read a section, pass the book, and so on, until everyone has had his or her turn. Almost the same holds for The Fiery Wooing of Mordred.
Reviewing Wodehouse is recommending Wodehouse. If you haven't already read his works, download the Project Gutenberg editions ofhis works that have been passed into the public domain. I've prepareda complete tarball of everything for your enjoyment...
As for Young Men in Spats, it's not in the tarball, because it was first published in 1936, and it contains the following short stories:
- Fate
- Tried in the Furnace
- Trouble down at Tudleigh
- The Amazing Hat Mystery
- Good-bye to All Cats (But Wodehouse did like
cats, even if owner of pekes: he also smoked a pipe.
- The Luck of the Bodkins
- Noblesse Oblige
- Uncle Fred Flits By
- Archibald and the Masses (I am personally of the opinion that this is a stinker)
- The Code of the Mulliners
- The Fiery Wooing of Mordred
See also: The Russian Wodehouse Society for publication details of the individual stories. Dean Bagley, of 'The Best of Wodehouse' website has synopsises of the stories.
