Log in Sign up
Back to Discover
🎨

P. G. Wodehouse

arts Maturity 11-13 death dying war conflict
This article covers sensitive topics: death_dying, war_conflict. Parents can manage visibility in Parental Controls.

Plum was a funny writer.

PGWodehouse.jpg
PGWodehouse.jpg
He wrote many books. He made people laugh with his stories. His books are fun to read. Do you like funny stories?
ThePothunters.jpg
ThePothunters.jpg

29 words

Plum was a famous funny writer.

PGWodehouse.jpg
PGWodehouse.jpg
He wrote over ninety books. He also wrote many short stories.
ThePothunters.jpg
ThePothunters.jpg
Plum worked at a bank first. He did not like that job. He wrote stories in his free time instead. His books have funny characters. One character is a man named Bertie. His helper is named Jeeves.
P.G. Wodehouse - My Man Jeeves - 1st American edition (1920 printing) - Crop.jpg
P.G. Wodehouse - My Man Jeeves - 1st American edition (1920 printing) - Crop.jpg
People all over the world love his funny tales.

79 words

P. G. Wodehouse was a famous funny writer.

P.G. Wodehouse, 1930.jpg
P.G. Wodehouse, 1930.jpg
Many people in the 20th century loved his books. He wrote more than ninety books. He also wrote many plays and short stories.
ThePothunters.jpg
ThePothunters.jpg

Plum was the name his family used for him. He grew up in England. He went to a school called Dulwich College. He loved his time there very much. He played sports like cricket and rugby. He also liked to sing in concerts.

Before he was a writer, he worked at a bank. He did not like the bank work. He wrote funny stories in his free time instead. He soon became very good at it.

PGWodehouse.jpg
PGWodehouse.jpg

His stories have many silly characters. One is Bertie Wooster. His smart helper is named Jeeves.

P.G. Wodehouse - My Man Jeeves - 1st American edition (1920 printing) - Crop.jpg
P.G. Wodehouse - My Man Jeeves - 1st American edition (1920 printing) - Crop.jpg
He also wrote about Lord Emsworth at Blandings Castle. Wodehouse worked hard on his books. He would often plan a story for two years. He used funny words to make his writing feel like music. Many famous people and writers loved his work.

185 words

P. G. Wodehouse was a very famous English writer.

P.G. Wodehouse, 1930.jpg
P.G. Wodehouse, 1930.jpg
He was one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. People loved his books because they were very funny. He wrote more than ninety books during his life. He also wrote forty plays and two hundred short stories.
ThePothunters.jpg
ThePothunters.jpg
His writing style was special and very clever. Some people said his prose felt like comic poetry or musical comedy. He used many different types of slang and quotes from poets. This made his stories feel lively and full of rhythm.

Writing a book was a big job for him. He worked very hard on every single story. First, he would build a plot and a scenario. This part could take up to two years to finish. The scenario was about thirty thousand words long. After the plan was ready, he would write the actual story. Early in his career, he could finish a novel in three months. As he got older, it took him about six months. He often worked on two or more books at once.

Plum was the nickname his family and friends used for him.

PGWodehouse.jpg
PGWodehouse.jpg
He was born in Guildford, England, in 1881. His father was a magistrate in Hong Kong. Wodehouse spent many happy years at Dulwich College. He loved the school and its many sports. He played cricket, rugby, and even boxing there. He was also a good singer in school concerts. He even helped edit the school magazine called The Alleynian. He stayed devoted to this school for his whole life.

Before he was a full-time writer, he had a different job. In 1900, he worked at a bank in London. He did not like the bank work at all. He found the work very confusing and boring. Instead, he spent his free time writing funny pieces. His first comic story was published in a magazine called Tit-Bits. He soon became a professional writer for many magazines. This helped him start his long and successful career.

His stories feature many silly and memorable characters.

Psmith-1909.jpg
Psmith-1909.jpg
One famous pair is Bertie Wooster and his smart valet, Jeeves.
P.G. Wodehouse - My Man Jeeves - 1st American edition (1920 printing) - Crop.jpg
P.G. Wodehouse - My Man Jeeves - 1st American edition (1920 printing) - Crop.jpg
He also wrote about Lord Emsworth at Blandings Castle. Some of his stories were set in the United Kingdom. Other stories took place in New York or Hollywood. He even helped develop American musical comedies with other writers. Many famous people, including British prime ministers, were fans of his work.

429 words

Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse was a prolific English writer.

P.G. Wodehouse, 1930.jpg
P.G. Wodehouse, 1930.jpg
He was one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His work is famous for its wit and rhythmic prose. Many critics compared his writing style to comic poetry or musical comedy. He used a unique mix of Edwardian slang and literary allusions. He often quoted famous poets within his stories. This created a sophisticated yet funny reading experience. His fans included many famous writers and even former British prime ministers.

Writing a book was a structured and lengthy process for Wodehouse. He was a very disciplined creator. He would often work on two or more books at the same time. First, he would spend up to two years building a plot. This involved writing a detailed scenario of about thirty thousand words. Once the scenario was complete, he would write the final story. In his early career, he could finish a novel in three months. As he aged, this process slowed to about six months. Over his lifetime, he published more than ninety books. He also wrote forty plays and two hundred short stories.

His stories are known for their memorable and distinct characters.

Psmith-1909.jpg
Psmith-1909.jpg
One famous duo is the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeves.
P.G. Wodehouse - My Man Jeeves - 1st American edition (1920 printing) - Crop.jpg
P.G. Wodehouse - My Man Jeeves - 1st American edition (1920 printing) - Crop.jpg
He also created the immaculate and loquacious Psmith. Other settings included the Blandings Castle set with Lord Emsworth. He wrote about golf through the character of the Oldest Member. He also created Mr. Mulliner, who told tall tales. These stories ranged from funny bishops to movie moguls.

Wodehouse was born in Guildford, Surrey, in 1881. He was the third son of a British magistrate. His early childhood involved significant travel and separation from his parents. His mother was visiting her sister in Guildford when he was born. For his first two years, he lived in Hong Kong. He was raised there by a Chinese amah, or nurse. Later, he and his brothers moved to England. They were cared for by an English nanny near their grandparents.

His school years provided him with a sense of stability. He attended Dulwich College starting in 1894.

PGWodehouse.jpg
PGWodehouse.jpg
He loved the camaraderie and the ordered life at the school. He was a talented athlete in cricket, rugby, and boxing. He was also a good singer and edited the school magazine. He remained devoted to Dulwich College for the rest of his life. His education in Latin and Greek likely helped his complex writing style. He often used the discipline of his schooling as inspiration for parody.

Before becoming a full-time author, Wodehouse held a job he disliked. In 1900, he worked for the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank in London. He found the banking work baffling and uncongenial. He spent his spare time writing to escape the job. His first comic piece appeared in a magazine called Tit-Bits. He soon secured a position writing columns for popular magazines. This allowed him to transition into a professional literary career. He eventually moved away from school stories toward comic fiction.

Wodehouse with Gest Comstock Bolton and Kern circa 1917.jpg
Wodehouse with Gest Comstock Bolton and Kern circa 1917.jpg
Wodehouse's career had many international dimensions. He spent much of his life in the United States. He used New York and Hollywood as settings for many stories. He even helped develop the American musical comedy. He worked with Guy Bolton and Jerome Kern on several Broadway musicals. During the 1930s, he worked for MGM in Hollywood. However, his life during the Second World War was complicated. In 1940, he was taken prisoner by German forces in France. He was interned for nearly a year. After his release, he made five broadcasts from German radio. These talks were comic and apolitical. However, they caused a major controversy in Britain. People were angry that he spoke over enemy radio. Because of this, he never returned to England. He became a US citizen in 1955. He died in 1975 at the age of 93. He received a knighthood just one month before his death.

699 words
🖼️ Images & Media (15)
File:P.G. Wodehouse, 1930.jpg
P.G. Wodehouse, 1930.jpg
File:St Nicholas' Church, Bury Street, Guildford (April 2014, from Northwest) (1).JPG
St Nicholas' Church, Bury Street,...
File:ThePothunters.jpg
ThePothunters.jpg
File:PGWodehouse.jpg
PGWodehouse.jpg
File:Psmith-1909.jpg
Psmith-1909.jpg
File:P.G. Wodehouse - My Man Jeeves - 1st American edition (1920 printing) - Crop.jpg
P.G. Wodehouse - My Man Jeeves - 1st...
File:Wodehouse with Gest Comstock Bolton and Kern circa 1917.jpg
Wodehouse with Gest Comstock Bolton and...
File:P.G. Wodehouse's autograph.jpg
P.G. Wodehouse's autograph.jpg
File:2024-09-07 Plaque at Le Touquet.jpg
2024-09-07 Plaque at Le Touquet.jpg
File:61031-CLT-0025-01 Fort van Huy (2).jpg
61031-CLT-0025-01 Fort van Huy (2).jpg
File:2025-09-06 Plaque at Huy.jpg
2025-09-06 Plaque at Huy.jpg
File:Duff Cooper 1941.jpg
Duff Cooper 1941.jpg

+ 3 more

Up Next
🎨
Noël Coward
Arts
More to explore

🔬 Go deeper

More advanced topics to explore

🪜 Step back

Simpler topics to build understanding

What is Nepedia?

A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.