The Custody of the Pumpkin

Last updated

"The Custody of the Pumpkin"
Short story by P. G. Wodehouse
The Custody of the Pumpkin illustration 02.jpg
1924 Saturday Evening Post illustration by May Wilson Preston
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Genre(s) Comedy
Publication
Publisher Saturday Evening Post (US)
Strand Magazine (UK)
Publication date29 November 1924 (US)
December 1924 (UK)

"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 , [1] and in the United Kingdom in the December 1924 issue of Strand Magazine . [2] [3] 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). [4]

Contents

Plot

Lord Emsworth, enjoying the views around his castle with a telescope on the turret above the west wing, spies his younger son Freddie Threepwood kissing a girl in a spinney by the end of the water-meadow. Enraged, he confronts the young man, who reveals the girl is named Aggie, and is a "sort of cousin" of Head Gardener Angus McAllister. Emsworth demands that McAllister send the girl away, but the angered Scotsman hands in his notice.

Realising that McAllister has gone, he realises that deputy head gardener, Robert Barker, is not up to the job of preparing his precious pumpkin, "The Hope of Blandings", for the Shrewsbury Show, Emsworth heads up to London to retrieve the man. Outside the Senior Conservative Club, he runs into Freddie, who, unable to get the subject of pumpkins out of his father's head, awkwardly hands him a note and runs off. Emsworth learns from the note that Freddie has married Aggie that morning.

Despairing that his son has landed him with the cost of supporting a wife, Emsworth wanders into Kensington Gardens. Entranced by the flowers, he absent-mindedly picks a handful of tulips, arousing the wrath of a park-keeper. A police officer and crowd gather round, and Emsworth attempts to defend himself, but nobody believes a genuine Earl would dress so scruffily.

Just in time, Angus McAllister turns up and confirms Emsworth's identity; he is accompanied by Mr Donaldson, who tells Lord Emsworth that he should be supportive of his son. Learning that Donaldson is a wealthy man and plans not only to take Freddie far away but also to put him to work, Emsworth is delighted, and gives his blessing warmly, sending Freddie a message "not to hurry home".

Emsworth approaches McAllister humbly and offers to double his salary if he returns to the castle. He does, and soon afterwards the gargantuan Blandings Hope wins first prize.

Publication history

1924 Strand illustration by Reginald Cleaver The Custody of the Pumpkin illustration 01.jpg
1924 Strand illustration by Reginald Cleaver

"Custody of the Pumpkin" was published in The Saturday Evening Post on 29 November 1924, with illustrations by May Wilson Preston. [1] [5] In the Strand Magazine, "The Custody of the Pumpkin" was published in December 1924 and illustrated by Reginald Cleaver. [3] [6]

Some versions of "The Custody of the Pumpkin" contain references to Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal. These additions were made prior to publication of the story in the collection Blandings Castle and Elsewhere in 1935. [7]

The story was included in the 1983 book Short Stories, a collection of short stories by Wodehouse, selected and with an introduction by Christopher Falkus, published by the Folio Society, London. The book was illustrated by George Adamson. [8]

"Custody of the Pumpkin" was included in the anthology Cream of the Jug: An Anthology of Humorous Stories, edited by Grant Martin Overton and published by Harper, New York in 1927. [9] It was included in the tenth volume of the 1927 anthology World's 100 Best Short Stories in 10 Volumes, also edited by Overton, published by Funk & Wagnalls, New York. [10] The 1942 anthology World's Great Short Stories: Masterpieces of American, English and Continental Literature, edited by Morris Edmund Speare and published by World, New York, included the story. [11] The story was included in the anthology Modern Tales of Humour, edited by Leonard Roe, published by Hamish Hamilton, London, in 1960 and in a new edition by Oak Tree Books, London, in 1961. [12]

Adaptations

The story was adapted for television by the BBC as the second episode of the first series of The World of Wodehouse in 1967, under the title "The Great Pumpkin Crisis". [13]

In 1985, the story was adapted as a radio drama, with the same title, as part of the Blandings radio series. [14]

The story was adapted as "Custody of the Pumpkin", the last episode of the 2013–2014 television series Blandings .

See also

Related Research Articles

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.

<i>Lord Emsworth and Others</i> 1937 short story collection by P. G. Wodehouse

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.

<i>Something Fresh</i> 1915 novel by P. G. Wodehouse

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.

<i>Summer Lightning</i> 1929 novel by P. G. Wodehouse

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.

<i>Leave It to Psmith</i> 1923 novel by P. G. Wodehouse

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.

<i>Blandings Castle and Elsewhere</i> 1935 short story collection by P. G. Wodehouse

Blandings Castle and Elsewhere is a collection of short stories by P. G. Wodehouse. It was first published in the United Kingdom on 12 April 1935 by Herbert Jenkins, London, and, as Blandings Castle, in the United States on 20 September 1935 by Doubleday Doran, New York. All the stories had previously appeared in Strand Magazine (UK) and all except the last in various US magazines.

<i>My Man Jeeves</i> 1919 short story collection by P. G. Wodehouse

My Man Jeeves is a collection of short stories by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom in May 1919 by George Newnes. Of the eight stories in the collection, half feature the popular characters Jeeves and Bertie Wooster, while the others concern Reggie Pepper, an early prototype for Bertie Wooster.

<i>Carry On, Jeeves</i> 1925 short story collection by P. G. Wodehouse

Carry On, Jeeves is a collection of ten short stories by P. G. Wodehouse. It was first published in the United Kingdom on 9 October 1925 by Herbert Jenkins, London, and in the United States on 7 October 1927 by George H. Doran, New York. Many of the stories had previously appeared in the Saturday Evening Post, and some were rewritten versions of stories in the collection My Man Jeeves (1919). The book is considered part of the Jeeves canon.

<i>Heavy Weather</i> (Wodehouse novel) 1933 novel by P. G. Wodehouse

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.

<i>Full Moon</i> (novel) 1947 novel by P. G. Wodehouse

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.

<i>The Uncollected Wodehouse</i> Short story collection by P. G. Wodehouse

The Uncollected Wodehouse is a collection of early newspaper and magazine articles and short stories by P. G. Wodehouse. First published in the United States on October 18, 1976 by Seabury Press, New York City, it contains 14 short stories. Five of the stories had appeared in the United Kingdom in the 1914 collection The Man Upstairs, and all had previously appeared in UK periodicals between 1901 and 1915; some had also appeared in the U.S. Five short items are included from 1900–1906 UK magazines, ten from 1914–1919, and nine from the U.S. Vanity Fair magazine.

"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.

"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).

"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. 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).

"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.

References

Notes
  1. 1 2 Wodehouse, P. G. (29 November 1924). "The Custody of the Pumpkin". The Saturday Evening Post . pp. 5–7, 66.
  2. ↑ Midkiff, Neil (3 July 2019). "The Wodehouse short stories". Madame Eulalie. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  3. 1 2 Wodehouse, P. G. (December 1924). "The Custody of the Pumpkin". The Strand Magazine . pp. 613–624.
  4. ↑ McIlvaine (1990), pp. 68–69, A53.
  5. ↑ McIlvaine (1990), p. 156, D59.63.
  6. ↑ McIlvaine (1990), p. 184, D133.112.
  7. ↑ Hodson, Mark (4 November 2004). "Blandings Castle – Annotations". Madame Eulalie. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  8. ↑ McIlvaine (1990), p. 129, B32.
  9. ↑ McIlvaine (1990), p. 196, E84.
  10. ↑ McIlvaine (1990), p. 196, E85.
  11. ↑ McIlvaine (1990), p. 198, E116.
  12. ↑ McIlvaine (1990), p. 197, E106.
  13. ↑ "The World of Wodehouse: Blandings Castle: The Great Pumpkin Crisis". BBC Genome. BBC. 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  14. ↑ "Blandings: 1: The Custody of the Pumpkin". BBC Genome. BBC. 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
Sources
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.