A Pelican at Blandings
A perfect gem of a Wodehouse, one of the Blandings stories I most often reread — I was surprised I hadn't already read A Pelican at Blandings this year. But my Fading Memories log says not, so there...
A Pelican at Blandings is one of those soothing stories that make you wonder whether the impugnation of escapism isn't true after all. It is a wonderful escape from a world where cabinet ministers try to pervert a consitution just to make it impossible for people to raise their children the way the Dutch constitution allows them to, a world, too, where people are told to work harder, earn less and pay more for everything they need. Anyway...
Back to the book. Disaster strikes at Blandings Castle just when everything seemed to fine, just when the snail seemed to have found its secure perch on the thorn again, and the lark its most comfortable wingbeat. Because Lady Constance returns, and she invites Alaric, Duke of Dunstable. Fortunately, Lord Emsworth has a mighty ally: his brother Galahad. Throw in some sundered hearts, a surprising impostor and a reclining nude and the cast is complete.
The alternative title, No Nudes is Good Nudes is rare. See The Russian Wodehouse Society as usual for more details.