| "Company for Gertrude" | |
|---|---|
| Short story by P. G. Wodehouse | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Comedy |
| Publication | |
| Publisher | Strand Magazine (UK) Cosmopolitan (US) |
| Media type | Print (magazine) |
| Publication date | September 1928 (UK) October 1928 (US) |
"Company for Gertrude" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, which first appeared in the United Kingdom in September 1928 in Strand , and in the United States in October 1928 in Cosmopolitan . [1] Part of the Blandings Castle canon, it features the absent-minded peer Lord Emsworth, and was included in the collection Blandings Castle and Elsewhere (1935), though the story takes place sometime between the events of Leave it to Psmith (1923) and Summer Lightning (1929). [2]
Lord Emsworth's world is far from ideal – not only has his neighbour Sir Gregory Parsloe-Parsloe stolen his pigman Wellbeloved, but his niece Gertrude is imprisoned in the house, mooning miserably about the place and, worse still, trying to be "helpful" by tidying his study.
Meanwhile, Freddie Threepwood, back in England to promote his father-in-law Mr Donaldson's "Dog-Joy" biscuits, has just been turned down by his dog-loving Aunt Georgiana, Gertrude's mother, when he runs into his old Oxford pal Beefy Bingham. Bingham, Freddie learns, is in love with cousin Gertrude, but as he is not well-off, the family have closed ranks and sent Gertrude away to Blandings.
Inspired by a Super-film he has seen, Freddie sends Bingham down to the castle, under the guise of a Mr "Popjoy" (based on Lord Emsworth's mishearing of the dog biscuits Freddie is selling), tasked with ingratiating himself with the Earl. Emsworth is at first pleased to see Gertrude less dour, and charmed by his guest's diffidence and helpful ways, but soon finds himself smothered – Bingham is overdoing the ingratiating. Emsworth even begins to question the man's sanity, when he wakes in the night to find the fellow blowing kisses up at his window.
When Bingham tries to help Emsworth off a ladder and knocks him to the ground, he hopes to remedy the others ills (and anger) with a bottle of balm; sadly however, he buys a product designed for horses, which causes his Lordship considerable pain. When he sees Emsworth singing during his morning swim, he mistakes the awful noise for cries for help, and dashes in to save the aging peer, only to be thanked with a stiff punch in the face.
Freddie reveals to Emsworth that Popjoy is in fact Bingham, hopeful of one of the many livings in Emsworth's gift. When Emsworth realises that he can inflict the man on his enemy Parsloe-Parsloe, he doesn't hesitate from granting him the job.
The story was illustrated by Reginald Cleaver in the Strand. [3] It was illustrated by O. F. Howard in Cosmopolitan. [4]
"Company for Gertrude" was included in the collection The World of Wodehouse Clergy, published in June 1984 by Hutchinson, London. [5]
The story was adapted for television by the BBC and broadcast in March 1967 as an episode of The World of Wodehouse , titled "Lord Emsworth and the Company for Gertrude". [6]
"Company for Gertrude" was adapted for radio in February 1985, as part of the Blandings radio series. [7]
The BBC adapted "Company for Gertrude" for television again in 2013, as the third episode of the series Blandings . [8] This adaptation adds a sub-plot in which Freddie marries a Portuguese woman named Paquita, and tries to keep his marriage a secret from Lady Constance.
Blandings Castle is a recurring fictional location in the stories of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being the seat of Lord Emsworth, home to many of his family and the setting for numerous tales and adventures. The stories were written between 1915 and 1975.
Lord Emsworth and Others is a collection of nine short stories by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on 19 March 1937 by Herbert Jenkins, London; it was not published in the United States. The Crime Wave at Blandings, which was published on 25 June 1937 by Doubleday, Doran, New York, is a very different collection, sharing only three of its seven titles with the UK book. Penguin Books published a UK edition of The Crime Wave at Blandings in 1966. The stories in both books had all previously appeared in both British and American magazines.
Something Fresh is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published as "Something New" in the United States, by D. Appleton & Company on 3 September 1915. It was published in the United Kingdom as "Something Fresh" by Methuen & Co. on 16 September 1915. There are a number of differences between the American and British versions, but essentially, it is the same book. The novel introduces Lord Emsworth of Blandings Castle, whose home and family reappear in many of Wodehouse's later short stories and novels.
Summer Lightning is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on 1 July 1929 by Doubleday, Doran, New York, under the title Fish Preferred, and in the United Kingdom on 19 July 1929 by Herbert Jenkins, London. It was serialised in The Pall Mall Magazine (UK) between March and August 1929 and in Collier's (US) from 6 April to 22 June 1929.
The Honourable Frederick Threepwood is a fictional character in the Blandings stories by P. G. Wodehouse. A member of the Drones Club affectionately known as "Freddie", he is the second son of Lord Emsworth, and a somewhat simple-minded youth who brings his father nothing but trouble.
Leave It to Psmith is a comic novel by English author P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on 30 November 1923 by Herbert Jenkins, London, England, and in the United States on 14 March 1924 by George H. Doran, New York. It had previously been serialised, in the Saturday Evening Post in the US between 3 February and 24 March 1923, and in the Grand Magazine in the UK between April and December that year; the ending of this magazine version was rewritten for the book form.
Sir Gregory Parsloe-Parsloe, 7th Baronet is a fictional character from the Blandings Castle short stories and novels of British author P. G. Wodehouse. In the stories, Parsloe resides at Matchingham Hall, near Blandings Castle, and is the rival and enemy of Lord Emsworth.
Heavy Weather is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on 28 July 1933 by Little, Brown and Company, Boston, and in the United Kingdom on 10 August 1933 by Herbert Jenkins, London. It had been serialised in The Saturday Evening Post from 27 May to 15 July 1933.
Full Moon is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States by Doubleday & Company on 22 May 1947, and in the United Kingdom by Herbert Jenkins on 17 October 1947. It is the sixth full-length novel to be set at the beautiful but trouble-ridden Blandings Castle, home of Lord Emsworth.
Pigs Have Wings is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, which first appeared as a serial in Collier's Weekly between 16 August and 20 September 1952. It was first published as a book in the United States on 16 October 1952 by Doubleday & Company, New York, and in the United Kingdom on 31 October 1952 by Herbert Jenkins, London. It is the seventh novel set at Blandings Castle.
"The Crime Wave at Blandings" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse that first appeared in the United States in two parts, in the October 10 and October 17, 1936 editions of the Saturday Evening Post, and in the United Kingdom in the January 1937 issue of the Strand. It was included in the collection Lord Emsworth and Others (1937), and provided the title to the U.S. equivalent of that collection.
"The Custody of the Pumpkin" is a short story by British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse. It first appeared in the United States in the 29 November 1924 issue of The Saturday Evening Post, and in the United Kingdom in the December 1924 issue of Strand Magazine. Part of the Blandings Castle canon, it features the absent-minded peer Lord Emsworth, and was included in the collection Blandings Castle and Elsewhere (1935), although the story takes place sometime between the events of Leave it to Psmith (1923) and Summer Lightning (1929).
"Lord Emsworth Acts for the Best" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, which first appeared in the United Kingdom in the June 1926 Strand Magazine, and in the United States in the 5 June 1926 issue of Liberty. Part of the Blandings Castle canon, it features the absent-minded peer Lord Emsworth, and was included in the collection Blandings Castle and Elsewhere (1935), although the story takes place sometime between the events of Leave it to Psmith (1923) and Summer Lightning (1929).
"Pig-Hoo-o-o-o-ey" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, which first appeared in the United States in the 9 July 1927 issue of Liberty, and in the United Kingdom in the August 1927 Strand. Part of the Blandings Castle canon, it features the absent-minded peer Lord Emsworth, and was included in the collection Blandings Castle and Elsewhere (1935), although the story takes place sometime between the events of Leave It to Psmith (1923) and Summer Lightning (1929).
"The Go-Getter" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, which first appeared in the United States in the March 1931 issue of Cosmopolitan, and in the United Kingdom in the August 1931 Strand. Part of the Blandings Castle canon, it features the absent-minded peer Lord Emsworth, and was included in the collection Blandings Castle and Elsewhere (1935), although the story takes place sometime between the events of Leave it to Psmith (1923) and Summer Lightning (1929).
"Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, which first appeared in the United States in the 6 October 1928 issue of Liberty and in the United Kingdom in the November 1928 The Strand. Part of the Blandings Castle canon, it features the absent-minded peer Lord Emsworth, and was included in the collection Blandings Castle and Elsewhere (1935), although the story takes place sometime between the events of Leave it to Psmith (1923) and Summer Lightning (1929). Wodehouse intended to write a sequel, set 8 years after the events of this story.
"Birth of a Salesman" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, which first appeared in the United States in the 26 March 1950 issue of This Week magazine. Part of the Blandings Castle canon, it features the absent-minded peer Lord Emsworth, and was included in the collection Nothing Serious (1950).
"Sticky Wicket at Blandings" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, which first appeared, under the title "First Aid for Freddie", in the United States in the October 1966 issue of Playboy magazine. Part of the Blandings Castle canon, it features the absent-minded peer Lord Emsworth, and was included in the collection Plum Pie (1966). It was published, under the title "First Aid for Freddie", in the United Kingdom in the April 1967 issue of Argosy, after being published in Plum Pie in the UK.
The World of Wodehouse is a comedy television series, based on the Blandings Castle and Ukridge stories written by P. G. Wodehouse.
The Blandings radio series is a series of radio dramas based on the Blandings Castle stories by British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse. The stories were dramatised by Wodehouse biographer Richard Usborne. The series ran between 1985 and 1992 on BBC Radio 4.
