Books - Leave it to Psmith

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	Books - Leave it to Psmith

Leave it to Psmith is a comic novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on November 30 1923 by Herbert Jenkins, London, and in the United States on March 14 1924 by George H. Doran, New York. It had previously been serialised, in the Saturday Evening Post in the U.S. between February 3 and March 24 1923, and in Grand in the U.K. between July and December that year; the ending of this magazine version was rewritten for the book form.

It was the fourth and final novel featuring Psmith, the others being Mike
(1909) (later republished as Mike and Psmith (1953)), Psmith in the City
(1910), and Psmith, Journalist
(1915) - in his introduction to the omnibus The World of Psmith, Wodehouse said that he had stopped writing about the character because he couldn't think of any more stories.

It was also the second novel set at Blandings Castle, the first being Something Fresh
(1915). The Blandings saga would be continued in many more novels and shorts.

The story was adapted into a play by Wodehouse and Ian Hay, which first played at the Shaftesbury Theatre, London from September 27 1930 and ran for 156 performances.

Plot summary

Although the main character is Ronald Psmith, the bulk of the story takes place at Blandings Castle and involves various intrigues within the extended family of Lord Emsworth, the absent-minded elderly Earl.

The plot is a typical Wodehouse romance, with Psmith inveigling himself into the idyllic castle, where there are the usual crop of girls to woo, crooks to foil, imposters to unmask, haughty aunts to baffle and valuable necklaces to steal. Among the players is Psmith's good friend Mike, married to Phyllis and in dire need of some financial help; the ever-suspicious Rupert Baxter is on watch as usual.

Main characters

Clarence Threepwood, 9th Earl of Emsworth, master of Blandings
* Hon. Freddie Threepwood, his younger son
Lady Constance Keeble, Emsworth's sister
* Joseph Keeble, Connie's husband.
** Phyllis Jackson, Joe Keeble's step-daughter
*** Michael "Mike" Jackson, her husband
Rupert Baxter, Lord Emsworth's very efficient secretary
Eve Halliday, hired to catalogue the library, an old friend of Phyllis
Ronald Psmith, an adventurer who falls for Eve, an old friend of Mike
Ralston McTodd, a Canadian poet
Aileen Peavey (a.k.a. Smooth Lizzie), an American poetess
Edward Cootes, a shard-sharp, in love with Aileen Peavey
Sebastian Beach, head butler at the castle

Full plot

Down at Blandings, Lord Emsworth is dismayed to hear from Baxter that he is expected to travel to London to collect the poet Ralston McTodd, invited to the castle by his sister Connie, a keen supporter of the Arts; another poet, Aileen Peavey is already installed at the castle.

Joe Keeble tries to persuade his imperious wife to let him give money to his beloved step-daughter Phyllis, but is bullied out of it, and when Emworth's feckless younger son Freddie suggests stealing Connie's necklace to free up some cash, Keeble is taken with the idea. Freddie, not keen on doing the job himself, sees Psmith's advert in the paper, and tags along to London with Lord Emsworth.

Meanwhile in the metropolis, we learn that Mike, having married Phyllis on the assumption that his job as estate manager for Psmith's father would be secure, found on Mr Smith's death that the old man was bankrupt, and is working as a poorly-paid schoolmaster. Psmith worked for a time for an uncle in the fish business, but could stand the fish no longer and quit.

Phyllis meets some old school friends, including Eve Halliday, an assertive young girl who pities the once-rich Eve, believing her too soft to cope with penury. Eve, we learn, is a friend of Freddie Threepwood, and on his encouragement has taken a post cataloguing the Blandings library, while another friend, Cynthia, has been abandoned by her husband, famous poet Ralston McTodd.

Later, Psmith sees Eve sheltering from the rain opposite the Drones, and chivalrously runs out to give her the best umbrella from the club's umbrella rack. They later meet once more at an employment agency, where Psmith has come seeking work and Eve is visiting an old friend. Psmith meets up with Freddie Threepwood, who describes his scheme to steal Connie's necklace, but dashes off without revealing his name.

Soon after, Psmith runs into Lord Emsworth at the Senior Conservative Club, where the Earl is dining with Ralston McTodd. The poet is annoyed by Emsworth's absent-mindedness, especially when the old man potters across the street to inspect a flower shop, and leaves in a rage. When Emsworth returns, he mistakes Psmith for his guest, and when Psmith sees Eve Halliday meeting Lord Emsworth, he decides to visit Blandings, posing as McTodd.

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