A Damsel in Distress (novel)

Last updated

A Damsel in Distress
ADamselInDistress.jpg
First edition (UK)
Author P. G. Wodehouse
LanguageEnglish
Genre Comic novel
Publisher George H. Doran (US)
Herbert Jenkins (UK)
Publication date
4 October 1919 (US)
15 October 1919 (UK)
Media typePrint

A Damsel in Distress is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on 4 October 1919 by George H. Doran, New York, and in the United Kingdom by Herbert Jenkins, London, on 15 October 1919. [1] It had previously been serialised in The Saturday Evening Post , between May and June of that year.

Contents

Its plot revolves around golf-loving American composer George Bevan who falls in love with a mysterious young lady who takes refuge in his taxicab one day. When he later tracks her down to a romantic rural manor, mistaken identity leads to all manner of brouhaha.

Plot

Lady Maud Marsh, daughter of the widowed 7th Earl of Marshmoreton, is in love with Geoffrey Raymond, whom she met the previous summer in Wales. Maud has not revealed the man's name to her aristocratic family but has admitted that he is a penniless American. Her family, led by Lord Marshmoreton's haughty sister, Lady Caroline Byng, disapprove of the match and will not allow Maud to leave their home of Belpher Castle in Hampshire, in order to keep her from seeing the man. Lady Caroline wants her step-son, Reginald "Reggie" Byng, to marry Maud, though unbeknownst to her, Reggie is actually in love with Lord Marshmoreton's secretary, Alice Faraday. Lord Marshmoreton meekly listens to his sister, and to Alice, who is insistent that he write the history of his family, though he only wants to tend to his rose garden.

In London's Piccadilly, George Bevan, a bored and lonely American composer of successful musical comedies, sees a pretty girl in brown and laments that he has no justification to approach her, thinking that if only they were in the Middle Ages, he could approach her as a hero offering assistance to a damsel in distress. Depressed, George hails a taxicab, and is surprised when the girl in brown jumps into the cab and asks George to hide her. George wastes no time helping her hide from a stout, disagreeable, well-dressed young man. The man becomes angry and distracted when George knocks his silk hat off, allowing George and the girl to escape, but she soon disappears. George has fallen in love with her, though he does not know her name. Thanks to a newspaper report about the disagreeable young man (who spent the night in jail after punching a policeman), George discovers that the girl in brown was Lady Maud Marsh of Belpher Castle. He is not aware that she had sneaked off to London hoping to see Geoffrey.

The disagreeable man was Maud's brother Percy Marsh, Lord Belpher. At the castle, Percy mistakenly believes that George is the unsuitable man Maud is in love with, due to seeing her flee with him in a taxi, though Maud denies this. George, hoping to meet Maud again, rents a cottage near Belpher Castle. Meanwhile, George's friend and colleague Billie Dore, a chorus girl, visits the castle and bonds with Lord Marshmoreton over their shared love of roses.

George is able to see Maud again and offer further assistance to her, though Percy and Lady Caroline make it difficult for them to meet. Everyone at the castle comes to believe that George is the man Maud met in Wales, and George is delighted to hear from Reggie Byng and Lord Marshmoreton that Maud loves him. When George confesses his feelings to Maud, she explains that she loves a different man, Geoffrey Raymond. George is dejected, but remains a helpful friend to her. Reggie Byng elopes with Alice Faraday, and Lord Marshmoreton is relieved that Alice will no longer be his secretary. Billie tells the earl that George is rich due to his success as a composer and has good character.

Throughout these events, the servants of the castle are holding a sweepstake in which whoever drew the ticket with the name of the man Maud marries will win the money. At first, the cunning page-boy Albert is in a position to win if Maud marries "Mr. X" (an outsider, ostensibly the unknown American) and helps George, but after the butler Keggs (who drew Reggie Byng) blackmails Albert into trading tickets, Keggs becomes George's ally instead. Keggs convinces Lord Belpher to invite George to a dinner party at the castle, where George proves to be popular.

Lady Caroline and Percy continue to disapprove of George, but Lord Marshmoreton, who still believes George is the man Maud has wanted to marry all along, defies his sister and publicly announces that Maud and George are engaged. The earl also marries Billie. George suggests that Maud elope with Geoffrey to avoid awkward explanations. She meets with Geoffrey in London, only to discover that Geoffrey is nothing like she remembers. Though he has inherited a great deal of money, he is now overweight, talks only of food, and is being sued for breach of promise after a recent flirtation with another girl. Maud leaves Geoffrey and realizes she is in love with George. She tells George and they happily agree to get married.

Publication history

The story was serialised between 10 May 1919 and 28 June 1919 in The Saturday Evening Post , with illustrations by Henry Raleigh. [2]

The US edition of the novel has the dedication, "To Maud and Ivan Caryll". [1] Ivan Caryll was a composer who had previously collaborated with Wodehouse on the 1918 Broadway musical The Girl Behind the Gun .

An excerpt from the novel was included in the 1939 omnibus Week-End Wodehouse (UK edition). [3]

Adaptations

The story was made into a silent film, also titled A Damsel in Distress , in 1919.

In 1928, Wodehouse collaborated with Ian Hay in adapting the book for the stage. Hay, Wodehouse, and A. A. Milne invested in the production, about which Wodehouse said "I don't think we shall lose our money, as Ian has done an awfully good job." [4] The play, which opened at the New Theatre, London, on 13 August 1928, had a successful run of 234 performances. It was produced by Nicholas Hannen, and starred Basil Foster, Jane Baxter, and Reginald Gardiner. [5]

Wodehouse was involved in adapting the novel as a musical in 1937. A Damsel in Distress is a 1937 English-themed Hollywood musical comedy film starring Fred Astaire, Joan Fontaine, George Burns, and Gracie Allen. With a screenplay by P. G. Wodehouse, loosely based on his novel of the same name, music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin, it was directed by George Stevens.

A Damsel in Distress was adapted into a stage musical of the same name, which ran from 30 May to 27 June 2015 at Chichester Festival Theatre. [6]

The 2019 Indian Bollywood film Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga was inspired by the book. [7]

Related Research Articles

<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>Jill the Reckless</i> 1920 novel by P. G. Wodehouse

Jill The Reckless is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on October 8, 1920 by George H. Doran, New York,, and in the United Kingdom by Herbert Jenkins, London, on 4 July 1921. It was serialised in Collier's (US) between 10 April and 28 August 1920, in Maclean's (Canada) between 1 August and 15 November 1920, in both cases as The Little Warrior, and, as Jill the Reckless, in the Grand Magazine (UK), from September 1920 to June 1921.

<i>A Damsel in Distress</i> (1937 film) 1937 film by George Stevens

A Damsel in Distress is a 1937 American English-themed Hollywood musical comedy film starring Fred Astaire, George Burns, Gracie Allen and Joan Fontaine. Loosely based upon P.G. Wodehouse's 1919 novel of the same name, and the 1928 stage play written by Wodehouse and Ian Hay, it has music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin, and was directed by George Stevens, the second Astaire musical directed by Stevens; the first was Swing Time.

<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>Piccadilly Jim</i> 1917 novel by P. G. Wodehouse

Piccadilly Jim is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on 24 February 1917 by Dodd, Mead and Company, New York, and in the United Kingdom in May 1918 by Herbert Jenkins, London. The story had previously appeared in the US in the Saturday Evening Post between 16 September and 11 November 1916.

<i>The Man Upstairs</i> (short story collection) 1914 short story collection by P. G. Wodehouse

The Man Upstairs is a collection of short stories by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on 23 January 1914 by Methuen & Co., London. Most of the stories had previously appeared in magazines, generally Strand Magazine in the UK and Cosmopolitan or Collier's Weekly in the United States. Although the book was not published in the US, many of the stories were eventually made available to US readers in The Uncollected Wodehouse (1976) and The Swoop! and Other Stories (1979).

<i>The Coming of Bill</i> 1919 novel by P. G. Wodehouse

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.

<i>Bill the Conqueror</i> 1924 novel by P. G. Wodehouse

Bill the Conqueror is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on 13 November 1924 by Methuen & Co., London, and in the United States on 20 February 1925 by George H. Doran, New York, the story having previously been serialised in The Saturday Evening Post from 24 May to 12 July 1924.

<i>The Small Bachelor</i> 1927 novel by P. G. Wodehouse

The Small Bachelor is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on 28 April 1927 by Methuen & Co., London, and in the United States on 17 June 1927 by George H. Doran, New York.

<i>Young Men in Spats</i> 1936 short story collection by P. G. Wodehouse

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.

<i>Something Fishy</i> 1957 novel by P. G. Wodehouse

Something Fishy is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on 18 January 1957 by Herbert Jenkins, London and in the United States on 28 January 1957 by Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York, under the title The Butler Did It.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reggie Pepper</span> Fictional character in P. G. Wodehouse stories

Reginald "Reggie" Pepper is a fictional character who appears in seven short stories by English author P. G. Wodehouse. Reggie is a young man-about-town who gets drawn into trouble trying to help his pals. He is considered to be an early prototype for Bertie Wooster, who, along with his valet Jeeves, is one of Wodehouse's most famous creations.

A Damsel in Distress is a silent romantic comedy film released in 1919, starring June Caprice and Creighton Hale. The film is based on the 1919 novel A Damsel in Distress by English humorist P. G. Wodehouse. The director was George Archainbaud. The same novel later inspired a 1937 film.

<i>A Damsel in Distress</i> (musical) 2015 musical

A Damsel in Distress is 2015 musical written by Jeremy Sams and Robert Hudson, with music and lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin. A romantic comedy, the musical is based on the novel A Damsel in Distress by P. G. Wodehouse, the 1928 play adapted from the novel, and the 1937 musical comedy film A Damsel in Distress based on the novel and play. The musical ran from 30 May to 27 June 2015 at Chichester Festival Theatre.

References

Notes
  1. 1 2 McIlvaine (1990), pp. 35-36, A24.
  2. McIlvaine (1990), p. 156, D59.34–41.
  3. McIlvaine (1990), p. 117, B6b.
  4. Jasen, David A (1986), A Bibliography and Reader's Guide to the First Editions of P G Wodehouse (2nd ed.), London: Greenhill Books, p. 114, ISBN   0-947898-18-2
  5. McIlvaine (1990), p. 305, J38.
  6. "A Damsel in Distress". Chichester Festival Theatre. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  7. Uday Bhatia (1 February 2019). "Film review: 'Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga' nudges the door open". Live Mint. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
Bibliography