The Spot of Art

Last updated

"The Spot of Art"
Author P. G. Wodehouse
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Series Jeeves
Genre(s) Comedy
Publisher The Strand Magazine (UK)
Cosmopolitan (US)
Media typePrint (Magazine)
Publication dateDecember 1929
Preceded by"Episode of the Dog McIntosh"
Followed by"Jeeves and the Kid Clementina"

"The Spot of Art" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, and features the young gentleman Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves. The story was published in The Strand Magazine in the United Kingdom in December 1929, and in Cosmopolitan in the United States that same month, as "Jeeves and the Spot of Art". The story was also included as the sixth story in the 1930 collection Very Good, Jeeves . [1]

Contents

In the story, Bertie has fallen for the artist Gwladys Pendlebury, who painted his portrait, and decides not to go on a yacht cruise in order to be near her. However, Jeeves does not care for Gwladys or the portrait, and wants to go with Bertie on the cruise.

Plot

While lunching with his Aunt Dahlia, Bertie tells her that he will not be able to join her on her upcoming yachting cruise because he has fallen in love with an artist, Gwladys Pendlebury. She painted a portrait of Bertie that he hung in his flat. Bertie must stay in town to head off his rival for Gwladys's affections, Lucius Pim. Aunt Dahlia is confident that Jeeves will stop the match between Bertie and Gwladys, destroy Bertie's portrait, and deliver Bertie to Aunt Dahlia's yacht.

In his flat, Bertie sees Jeeves, who had wanted to go on the yacht cruise, and who also disapproves of Bertie's portrait, due to its hungry look. Jeeves informs Bertie that Gwladys was in a car accident; she ran over a gentleman's leg. The man, Lucius Pim, is now in Bertie's spare bedroom, by Gwladys's request. A doctor stated that Pim should not be moved. Bertie speaks to Pim, who mentions that his sister, the wife of Slingsby of Slingsby's Superb Soups, is coming tomorrow, and will prosecute Gwladys if she finds out that Gwladys injured him. To protect her, Pim asks Bertie not to tell Mrs. Slingsby what happened. Later, Pim tells his sister it was Bertie who ran him over. Now that Mrs. Slingsby is angry with Bertie, Pim suggests that Bertie send her flowers. Bertie reluctantly sends Mrs. Slingsby roses.

Expecting Mrs. Slingsby to arrive, Bertie is surprised when Mr. Slingsby shows up. He is angry that Bertie sent his wife flowers. From within the flat, Mrs. Slingsby appears, and Bertie realizes she left home before the flowers arrived. Mr. Slingsby charges at Bertie, only to trip on a golf ball Bertie had been practicing with. Bertie tells Jeeves to let Mr. Slingsby recuperate in his bedroom. He asks Jeeves to notify him when the flat is empty, then leaves for Paris.

The thing was a bally libel on the Wooster face, and yet it was as unmistakable as if it had had my name under it. I saw now what Jeeves had meant when he said that the portrait had given me a hungry look. In the poster this look had become one of bestial greed.

— Bertie sees himself in a poster for Slingsby's soup [2]

Three weeks later, Jeeves notifies Bertie that the flat is clear. Bertie returns to London and is shocked by a poster for Slingsby's Superb Soups with an image of his portrait. At home, Jeeves says that he gave the portrait to Mr. Slingsby, on the condition that Mr. Slingsby not bring Bertie to court. Pim, having become Gwladys's fiancé, acted as Gwladys's agent for the portrait's copyright deal. Letting Gwladys go, Bertie is more concerned that his face is on soup posters. Jeeves suggests that they join Bertie's Aunt Dahlia on her cruise, which was postponed. Happily, Bertie approves this plan.

Publication history

The story was illustrated by Charles Crombie in the Strand and by James Montgomery Flagg in Cosmopolitan. [3]

Under the title "Jeeves and the Spot of Art", the story was included in the American edition of the 1939 collection The Week-End Wodehouse. [4]

Adaptations

An episode of The World of Wooster adapted the story. The episode, titled "Jeeves and the Spot of Art", was the third episode of the second series. It was originally broadcast in the UK on 8 January 1966. [5]

This story was adapted into the Jeeves and Wooster episode "Return to New York", the first episode of the fourth series, which first aired on 16 May 1993. [6] There are some changes in plot, including:

Related Research Articles

Aunt Agatha fictional character in P.G. Wodehouses ‘Jeeves’ stories

Agatha Gregson, née Wooster, later Lady Worplesdon, is a recurring fictional character in the Jeeves stories of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being best known as Bertie Wooster's Aunt Agatha. Haughty and overbearing, Aunt Agatha wants Bertie to marry a wife she finds suitable, though she never manages to get Bertie married, thanks to Jeeves's interference.

Dahlia Travers is a recurring fictional character in the Jeeves stories of English comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being best known as Bertie Wooster's bonhomous, red-faced Aunt Dahlia. She is much beloved by her nephew, in contrast with her sister, Bertie's Aunt Agatha.

<i>Right Ho, Jeeves</i> 1934 novel by P.G. Wodehouse

Right Ho, Jeeves is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, the second full-length novel featuring the popular characters Jeeves and Bertie Wooster, after Thank You, Jeeves. It was first published in the United Kingdom on 5 October 1934 by Herbert Jenkins, London, and in the United States on 15 October 1934 by Little, Brown and Company, Boston, under the title Brinkley Manor. It had also been sold to the Saturday Evening Post, in which it appeared in serial form from 23 December 1933 to 27 January 1934, and in England in the Grand Magazine from April to September 1934. Wodehouse had already started planning this sequel while working on Thank You, Jeeves.

<i>Much Obliged, Jeeves</i> 1971 novel by P.G. Wodehouse

Much Obliged, Jeeves is a comic novel by P. G. Wodehouse, published in the United Kingdom by Barrie & Jenkins, London, and in the United States by Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York under the name Jeeves and the Tie That Binds. Both editions were published on the same day, 15 October 1971, which was Wodehouse's 90th birthday.

<i>Jeeves in the Offing</i> 1960 novel by P.G. Wodehouse

Jeeves in the Offing is a comic novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on 4 April 1960 by Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York, under the title How Right You Are, Jeeves, and in the United Kingdom on 12 August 1960 by Herbert Jenkins, London.

<i>The Code of the Woosters</i> 1938 novel by P.G. Wodehouse

The Code of the Woosters is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published on 7 October 1938, in the United Kingdom by Herbert Jenkins, London, and in the United States by Doubleday, Doran, New York. It was serialised in The Saturday Evening Post (US) from 16 July to 3 September 1938 and in the London Daily Mail from 14 September to 6 October 1938.

<i>Very Good, Jeeves</i> 1930 short story collection by P.G. Wodehouse

Very Good, Jeeves is a collection of eleven short stories by P. G. Wodehouse, all featuring Jeeves and Bertie Wooster. It was first published in the United States on 20 June 1930 by Doubleday, Doran, New York, and in the United Kingdom on 4 July 1930 by Herbert Jenkins, London. The stories had all previously appeared in Strand Magazine in the UK and in Liberty or Cosmopolitan magazines in the US between 1926 and 1930.

<i>Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit</i> 1954 novel by P.G. Wodehouse

Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit is a comic novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on 15 October 1954 by Herbert Jenkins, London and in the United States on 23 February 1955 by Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York, under the title Bertie Wooster Sees It Through. It is the seventh novel featuring Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves.

"Return to New York " is the first episode of the fourth series of the 1990s British comedy television series Jeeves and Wooster. It first aired in the UK on 16 May 1993 on ITV.

Sir Roderick Comes to Lunch short story

"Sir Roderick Comes to Lunch" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, and features the young gentleman Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves. The story was published in The Strand Magazine in London in March 1922, and then in Cosmopolitan in New York in April 1922. The story was also included in the 1923 collection The Inimitable Jeeves as two separate chapters, "Introducing Claude and Eustace" and "Sir Roderick Comes to Lunch".

"Jeeves Makes an Omelette" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, and features the young gentleman Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves. The story was published in the Star Weekly in Canada in August 1958. The story was also included in the 1959 collection A Few Quick Ones.

"Jeeves and the Greasy Bird" is a short story by English humorist P. G. Wodehouse, and features the young gentleman Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves. The story was published in Playboy magazine in the United States in December 1965, and in Argosy magazine in the United Kingdom in January 1967. The story was also included in the 1966 collection Plum Pie.

The Artistic Career of Corky short story

"The Artistic Career of Corky" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, and features the young gentleman Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves. The story was published in the Saturday Evening Post in the United States in February 1916, and in The Strand Magazine in the United Kingdom in June 1916, as "Leave it to Jeeves". The story was also included in the 1925 collection Carry On, Jeeves.

The Aunt and the Sluggard short story

"The Aunt and the Sluggard" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, and features the young gentleman Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves. The story was published in the Saturday Evening Post in the United States in April 1916, and in The Strand Magazine in the United Kingdom in August 1916. The story was also included in the 1925 collection Carry On, Jeeves.

"Clustering Round Young Bingo" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, and features the young gentleman Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves. The story was published in the Saturday Evening Post in the United States in February 1925, and in The Strand Magazine in the United Kingdom in April 1925. The story was also included in the 1925 collection Carry On, Jeeves.

"Jeeves and the Song of Songs" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, and features the young gentleman Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves. The story was published in The Strand Magazine in the United Kingdom in September 1929, and in Cosmopolitan in the United States that same month. The story was also included as the fourth story in the 1930 collection Very Good, Jeeves.

"The Love that Purifies" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, and features the young gentleman Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves. The story was published in The Strand Magazine in the United Kingdom in November 1929, and in Cosmopolitan in the United States that same month, as "Jeeves and the Love that Purifies". The story was also included as the eighth story in the 1930 collection Very Good, Jeeves.

"Indian Summer of an Uncle" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, and features the young gentleman Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves. The story was published in The Strand Magazine in the United Kingdom in March 1930, and in Cosmopolitan in the United States that same month. The story was also included as the tenth story in the 1930 collection Very Good, Jeeves.

"The Ordeal of Young Tuppy" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, and features the young gentleman Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves. The story was published in The Strand Magazine in the United Kingdom in April 1930, and in Cosmopolitan in the United States that same month, both as "Tuppy Changes His Mind". The story was also included as the eleventh story in the 1930 collection Very Good, Jeeves.

References

Notes
  1. ↑ Cawthorne (2013), p. 80.
  2. ↑ Wodehouse (2008) [1930], chapter 6, p. 159.
  3. ↑ McIlvaine (1990), p. 148, D17.43, and p. 185, E133.156.
  4. ↑ McIlvaine (1990), pp. 116-117, B6a.
  5. ↑ Taves, Brian (2006). P. G. Wodehouse and Hollywood: Screenwriting, Satires and Adaptations. McFarland & Company. p. 178. ISBN   978-0786422883.
  6. ↑ "Jeeves and Wooster Series 4, Episode 1". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
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.