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The Luck Stone is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, written under the pseudonym Basil Windham. It was compiled from a serial which appeared in Chums: An Illustrated Paper for Boys between 16 September 1908 and 20 January 1909, when Wodehouse was 27 years old.
It was first published as a book long after Wodehouse's 1975 death, on 31 March 1997 by Galahad Books, in a limited run with the ISBN 1-898549-13-3. It has subsequently been published in paperback by Odbody & Marley (2006), ISBN 1-4196-2321-4, and in hardcover by Everyman's Library (2014), ISBN 978-1-84159-195-7. [1]
Like much of Wodehouse's writing of the period, the story is set in a public boys' school. But it departs from that usual form as described by Wodehouse in a letter written to a friend: "I've been commissioned by Chums to do a 70,000-word serial by July. They want it not so public-schooly as my usual stuff and with a rather lurid plot."
It was his only such novel of mystery, high adventure, and danger, given the term "blood and thunder" by Wodehouse scholar Richard Usborne. Usborne observed, "Doubtless Wodehouse enjoyed writing The Luck Stone. …He had shown, in breezy asides throughout his school novels, …that he had read acres of catchpenny fiction, had enjoyed it all and knew all the tricks of it." Though a departure for him, The Luck Stone is thoroughly "Wodehouse," with his trademark sticky situations, quirky characters, sly humor and wit, and renowned prose. Usborne had a high view of this Wodehouse offering: "You're fortunate to have discovered The Luck Stone. Read it."
All published versions of The Luck Stone include the illustrations (numbering around ten) from the original serial in Chums. The illustrations below demonstrate the two seemingly divergent aspects that Wodehouse weaves together in this novel: a truly dark, suspenseful main plot relieved with several humorous situations and subplots.
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, was an English writer and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeves; the immaculate and loquacious Psmith; Lord Emsworth and the Blandings Castle set; the Oldest Member, with stories about golf; and Mr. Mulliner, with tall tales on subjects ranging from bibulous bishops to megalomaniac movie moguls.
Jeeves is a fictional character in a series of comedic short stories and novels by English author P. G. Wodehouse. Jeeves is the highly competent valet of a wealthy and idle young Londoner named Bertie Wooster. First appearing in print in 1915, Jeeves continued to feature in Wodehouse's work until his last completed novel Aunts Aren't Gentlemen in 1974, a span of 60 years.
Bertram Wilberforce Wooster is a fictional character in the comedic Jeeves stories created by British author P. G. Wodehouse. An amiable English gentleman and one of the "idle rich", Bertie appears alongside his valet, Jeeves, whose intelligence manages to save Bertie or one of his friends from numerous awkward situations. Bertie Wooster and Jeeves have been described as "one of the great comic double-acts of all time".
Plum Pie is a collection of nine short stories by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on 22 September 1966 by Barrie & Jenkins, and in the United States on 1 December 1967 by Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York. The collection's title is derived from P. G. Wodehouse's nickname, Plum.
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.
Rosie M. Banks is a recurring fictional character in the Jeeves and Drones Club stories of British author P. G. Wodehouse, being a romance novelist and the wife of Bingo Little.
The Pothunters is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse published on 18 September 1902 by Adam & Charles Black. It was Wodehouse's first published novel, and the first of several school stories, this one set at the fictional public school of St. Austin's. It was originally published as a serial in the British magazine Public School Magazine from January to March 1902. An American edition was issued from imported sheets.
William Tell Told Again is a retelling of the William Tell legend in prose and verse with illustrations. The main prose element was written by P. G. Wodehouse, while Philip Dadd supplied the frontispiece and 15 full-page illustrations, all in colour. The 15 illustrations were each accompanied by a verse written by John W. Houghton, who also wrote the prologue and epilogue in verse.
The Head of Kay's is a novel by English author P. G. Wodehouse. The novel was published on 5 October 1905 by A & C Black. The Head of Kay's was first published as a serial in The Captain from October 1904 to March 1905.
Love Among the Chickens is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published as a book in the United Kingdom in June 1906 by George Newnes, London, and in the United States by Circle Publishing, New York, on 11 May 1909. It had already appeared there as a serial in Circle magazine between September 1908 and March 1909. The English edition was dedicated "to Sir Bargrave and Lady Deane"; the Rt Hon Sir Henry Bargrave Deane QC was a High Court judge and a cousin of Wodehouse's mother.
The Coming of Bill is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse. It was published as Their Mutual Child in the United States on 5 August 1919 by Boni & Liveright, New York, and as The Coming of Bill in the United Kingdom on 1 July 1920 by Herbert Jenkins Ltd, London. The story first appeared in Munsey's Magazine (US) in May 1914 under the title The White Hope.
Thank You, Jeeves is a Jeeves comic novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on 16 March 1934 by Herbert Jenkins, London, and in the United States on 23 April 1934 by Little, Brown and Company, New York.
The Luck of the Bodkins is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on 11 October 1935 by Herbert Jenkins, and in the United States on 3 January 1936 by Little, Brown and Company. The two editions are significantly different, though the plot remains the same. The novel was serialised in The Passing Show magazine (UK) from 21 September to 23 November 1935, and this version was published as the UK edition. For its US magazine appearance, in the Red Book between August 1935 and January 1936, Wodehouse re-wrote the story, reducing its length, and this became the US book edition.
Young Men in Spats is a collection of short stories by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on 3 April 1936 by Herbert Jenkins, London, then in the United States with a slightly different selection of stories on 24 July 1936 by Doubleday, Doran, New York.
Joy in the Morning is a novel by English humorist P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on 22 August 1946 by Doubleday & Co., New York and in the United Kingdom on 2 June 1947 by Herbert Jenkins, London. Some later American paperback editions bore the title Jeeves in the Morning.
Pearls, Girls and Monty Bodkin is a comic novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on 12 October 1972 by Barrie & Jenkins, and in the United States on 6 August 1973 by Simon & Schuster, Inc. under the title The Plot That Thickened. Although written towards the end of the Wodehouse's life, and published 37 years after The Luck of the Bodkins (1935), the events of book follow on directly from those recounted in the earlier novel.
Sunset at Blandings is an unfinished novel by P. G. Wodehouse published in the United Kingdom by Chatto & Windus, London, on 17 November 1977 and in the United States by Simon & Schuster, New York, 19 September 1978. Wodehouse was working on the novel when he died in 1975. The book's first edition publisher, Chatto & Windus, gave the book its title.
Richard Alexander Usborne was a journalist, advertising executive, schoolmaster and author. After the publication of his book Wodehouse at Work in 1961 he became regarded as the leading authority on the works of P. G. Wodehouse. He published or contributed to nine more books on the subject. He adapted eight Wodehouse novels and several other of the author's works for broadcast on BBC radio between 1979 and 1996.
Spring Fever is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published on 20 May 1948, in the United Kingdom by Herbert Jenkins, London, and on the same date in the United States by Doubleday and Co, New York. Although not featuring any of Wodehouse's regular characters, the cast contains a typical Wodehousian selection of English aristocrats, Stoker family relations, wealthy Americans, household staff and imposters.
Herbert Wotton Westbrook, also referred to as Herbert Wetton Westbrook, was an author best known for having been an early collaborator of P.G. Wodehouse, including becoming his assistant in writing the “By the Way” column for The Globe, before Wodehouse went to live in the United States. Westbrook was also, at least in part, the model for Wodehouse’s character Stanley Featherstonehaugh Ukridge.