Misplaced Pages

#368631

32-474: The P in his surname is silent ("as in pshrimp", in his own words) and was added by himself, in order to distinguish him from other Smiths. A member of the Drones Club , Psmith is a monocle -sporting Old Etonian . He is something of a dandy , a fluent and witty speaker, and has the ability to pass through incredible adventures unruffled. Wodehouse said that he based Psmith on Rupert D'Oyly Carte (1876–1948),

64-572: A bulldog named John, Mike's inseparable companion during the holidays. Mike's early schooling was at a private school named "King-Hall's", at Emsworth in Hampshire ; he made seven centuries there in his last year, including one knock of 123. At the age of fifteen, a place is found for him at Wrykyn, where his brothers before him had attended. His huge self-confidence and skill in batting bring him much success at Wrykyn, and his noble character makes him many friends. After three happy years there, as he

96-406: A century against Oxford, and in the summer break he joins an M.C.C. team on a tour of America After university, Mike takes up his job with Psmith's father, and marries Phyllis. Unfortunately, old man Smith dies, leaving nothing but debts, and the people who buy his property have someone else to manage the estate, leaving Mike in difficulty. He finds temporary work as a schoolmaster, and has offered

128-474: A combination of both characters, on the one hand imbued with Jeeves' precision of speech and concern for being well turned out, and on the other hand expressing Uncle Fred's humorous self-expression and insouciant attitude. We first meet Psmith shortly after he has been expelled from Eton , and sent to Sedleigh , where he meets Mike , and their long friendship begins. He is a tall and thin boy, immaculately dressed, and sports his trademark monocle . His speech

160-405: A few games for a local village side. Generally good-natured, Mike has a sharp temper at times, especially when he sees some injustice done to himself or a friend; he is invariably generous and helpful to friends in need. He also gets on well with dogs. After Sedleigh, Mike learns that his father's finances have taken a bit of a tumble, and rather than go to Cambridge , he will have to go to work at

192-475: A job at the (fictitious) New Asiatic Bank . Once there, however, he finds his friend Psmith also enrolled in the company, making his time there much more pleasurable. In Psmith, Journalist , Mike, now enjoying success as a Cambridge cricketer, travels to the United States for a cricket tour. His friend Psmith comes along with him, and embroils the two in a dangerous adventure; by now, however, Mike has become

224-416: A judge. Psmith is a principled young man – although his principles can sometimes be eccentric – and is generous towards those he likes. In a typical example from Leave it to Psmith , he perceives Eve, trapped by the rain under an awning, and decides, as a chivalrous gentleman, to get her an umbrella , which he unfortunately does not possess. He solves this problem by appropriating one, and when confronted by

256-492: A minor character, in the shadow of voluble Psmith. In Leave It to Psmith , Mike only appears briefly early on; he is married to Phyllis, stepdaughter of Joseph Keeble, who is in turn married to Lord Emsworth 's sister Lady Constance Keeble . Psmith falls for Phyllis' friend Eve Halliday, and the two strive to help out their impoverished friends. Mike's family appear in the early stories, and we learn that he has four brothers, one of them ( Bob , three years older than Mike) in

288-479: A time there, he persuades his father to let him study to become a lawyer, and goes to Cambridge , accompanied by Mike. During the summer after their first year, Psmith travels to New York , accompanying Mike, who is on a cricketing tour with the M.C.C. There, he gets involved with the magazine Cosy Moments , befriending its temporary editor Billy Windsor and helping in its crusade against slum housing, which involves clashes with violent gangsters . We discover in

320-463: Is fluid and flowery. Psmith spends much of his time at Sedleigh lounging in deck chairs rather than engaging in physical activity. His most notable talent, even at this age, is a remarkable verbal dexterity, which he uses to confuse boys and masters alike; with his sombre, still face, it is often impossible to tell if he is being serious or not. This skill frequently comes in handy to get himself and his friends out of difficulty. In such circumstances, he

352-501: Is known to move fairly quickly too. The Psmith name, he admits from the start, is one he has adopted that morning, as there are "too many Smiths ”. His father, Mr Smith, is a fairly wealthy man, although a little eccentric, who lives at Corfby Hall, Lower Benford, in Shropshire , not far from Crofton where his friend Mike grew up; he later moves to Ilsworth Hall, in a "neighbouring county", mostly to find better cricket. While at Eton, he

SECTION 10

#1732858173369

384-447: Is on the verge of taking over the captaincy of the cricket team, he is forced, thanks to poor academic work, to leave Wrykyn. He goes to Sedleigh , a lesser school which he resents, but it is there that he meets Psmith , with whom he would form a lasting friendship. His first months at Sedleigh demonstrate his obstinate nature; unable to play for Wrykyn, he refuses to play for a lesser school, missing much cricket, although he does manage

416-502: Is perhaps because Leave it to Psmith contains another character named Rupert, the efficient Baxter ; Wodehouse presumably thought having two Ruperts would be confusing for readers, and since Psmith is generally referred to by his surname only, Wodehouse may have assumed that the change would go largely unnoticed. In the United States version of The Prince and Betty , essentially a reworking of Psmith, Journalist that's been relocated to New York City and merged with some elements of

448-412: Is the sole focus of the story. Mike at Wrykyn starts with Mike heading off to prestigious Wrykyn school, where all his brothers had attended and one, Bob, is still an important figure, and a fixture in the school cricket team. Mike goes through many adventures, interspersed with cricket, during his first year at the school. In "The Lost Lambs" (later known as Mike and Psmith or Enter Psmith ), Mike

480-453: Is withdrawn from Wrykyn by his father after a poor academic performance, and must attend the less successful Sedleigh , much to his disgust. It is there, however, that he meets the charismatic Rupert Psmith, and the two become fast friends. In "The New Fold" (later published as Psmith in the City ), family financial troubles mean Mike cannot go to Cambridge as he had hoped, and must instead get

512-534: The New Asiatic Bank . He spends several months there, despite an early run-in with his employer John Bickersdyke , made more comfortable by the presence of Psmith on the scene, and eventually succumbs to the lure of sunshine and cricket, leaving his job to join his brother Joe in a match at Lord's . Psmith's father Mr Smith , seeing Mike's talent, decides to hire him as estate manager, paying for him to study at Cambridge first. During his first year there he makes

544-540: The Wrykyn cricket team, the other three (Joe, Reggie and Frank) all county players. He also has four younger sisters, Marjory (a year Mike's junior), Phyllis, Ella, and Gladys Maud Evangeline (the baby), and an Uncle John. His kindly father, who has business interests in the Argentine , employs a cricket pro, a loyal man named Saunders, to train his boys during the holidays. Their house is at Crofton, in Shropshire , where they keep

576-490: The City and Psmith, Journalist are youthful adventures, Psmith's final appearance fits the pattern of Wodehouse's more mature period, a romantic comedy set in the idyllic, invariably imposter-ridden Blandings Castle . Here, Psmith fulfils the role of the ingenious, levelheaded fixer, a part taken elsewhere by the likes of Gally , Uncle Fred , or Jeeves , and finally shows a romantic streak of his own. Though predating both Jeeves and Uncle Fred by some years, Psmith seems to be

608-487: The Psmith books. Mike is a solid, reliable character with a strong sense of fair play, but an appetite for excitement and a stubbornness that often leads him into trouble. He is a keen and talented cricketer , and comes from a cricketing family (his elder brothers have all distinguished themselves), and as we follow Mike's life he himself achieves considerable cricketing success. However, as Wodehouse's writing developed away from

640-469: The United Kingdom version, the Psmith character is replaced by Rupert Smith, an American and alumnus of Harvard who retains many of Psmith's characteristics, including the monocle. A Prince for Hire is another blending of these stories. Leave It to Psmith differs somewhat in style from its predecessors. While Mike is a school story along the lines of much of Wodehouse's early output, and Psmith in

672-515: The Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.132 via cp1112 cp1112, Varnish XID 387658639 Upstream caches: cp1112 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Fri, 29 Nov 2024 05:29:33 GMT Mike Jackson (character) Mike Jackson is a recurring fictional character in the early novels by British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse , being a good friend of Psmith . He appears in all

SECTION 20

#1732858173369

704-658: The Wykehamist schoolboy described to Wodehouse was not her father but his elder brother Lucas, who was also at Winchester. Benny Green offers the theory that Psmith was partially based on Henry Hyndman , an eccentric Victorian demagogue who founded the Socialist Democratic Federation, the first major Marxist political organisation in England. Similarly, Psmith is Wodehouse's most socialist-leaning character, frequently referring to other individuals as 'Comrade'. Hyndman

736-464: The castle claiming to be Canadian poet Ralston McTodd, he is eventually hired as secretary to Lord Emsworth , who knew his father by reputation, and is engaged to Eve Halliday. In a preface to the 1953 version of Mike and Psmith , Wodehouse informs us that Psmith went on to become a successful defence lawyer, in the style of Perry Mason . In his introduction to the omnibus The World of Psmith (1974), Wodehouse suggests that Psmith eventually became

768-481: The last chapter, when the head editor returns, that Psmith has persuaded his father to let him invest some money he has inherited from an uncle and now owns the magazine. After university, his father dies, having made some unsound investments. As a result, Psmith must work for a time for an uncle in the fish business, something which repels him. He leaves the job shortly before meeting and falling for Eve Halliday, whom he follows to Blandings Castle. Despite having entered

800-510: The novel by Wodehouse and Ian Hay , Psmith was portrayed by Basil Foster , with Jane Baxter as Eve Halliday. The 1933 film based on the play, Leave It to Me , replaced Psmith with a different character, Sebastian Help, who was portrayed by Gene Gerrard , with Molly Lamont as Eve Halliday. Simon Ward voiced Psmith, with Caroline Langrishe as Eve Halliday, in the radio adaptation of Leave it to Psmith dramatised by Michael Bakewell , which aired on BBC Radio 4 on 3 October 1981. Psmith

832-512: The original hero and central character of Mike and Psmith in the City until he was eclipsed by Psmith's wit and force of personality. In his first appearance (in Mike , Enter Psmith or Mike and Psmith , depending on edition) Psmith introduces himself as Rupert. He is also referred to as Rupert twice in Psmith in the City . In Leave it to Psmith , however, he introduces himself as Ronald Eustace. This

864-484: The owner, Psmith attempts to mollify him by saying it is for a good cause; and he later recounts it as: "Merely practical Socialism. Other people are content to talk about the Redistribution of Property. I go out and do it." (Another of Psmith's quirks is his penchant for nominal socialism , observed mostly in his casual use of "Comrade" as a substitute for "Mister.") In the 1930 play Leave It to Psmith adapted from

896-529: The school stories of his early period, cricket becomes a less important aspect of the tales, as does Mike himself. Mike Jackson appears in five novel-length works, all of which appeared as magazine serials before being published in book form. "Jackson Junior" was later republished separately as Mike at Wrykyn (1953). "The Lost Lambs" was later republished separately as: * Enter Psmith (1935) and * Mike and Psmith (1953). In his first appearance ("Jackson Junior", later retitled Mike at Wrykyn ) Mike

928-449: The son of the Gilbert and Sullivan impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte , as he put it "the only thing in my literary career which was handed to me on a silver plate with watercress around it". Carte was a school acquaintance of a cousin of Wodehouse's at Winchester College , according to an introduction to Leave It to Psmith . Rupert's daughter, Bridget D'Oyly Carte , however, believed that

960-401: Was a competent cricketer, on the verge of the first team – a slow left-arm bowler with a swerve, his enormous reach also makes him handy with a bat when some fast hitting is required, such as in the match between Sedleigh and Wrykyn at the climax of Mike and Psmith . After Sedleigh, Psmith goes to work at the New Asiatic Bank , having annoyed his father's schoolfriend John Bickersdyke. After

992-438: Was also known for his fastidious dress and for being an accomplished cricketer in his youth. Psmith appears in four novel-length works, all of which appeared as magazine serials before being published in book form. "The Lost Lambs" was later republished separately as: * Enter Psmith (1935) and * Mike and Psmith (1953). All these works also feature Mike Jackson , Psmith's solid, cricket -playing friend and sidekick,

Psmith - Misplaced Pages Continue

1024-596: Was portrayed by Daniel Day-Lewis in the BBC television film Thank You, P. G. Wodehouse . The film aired on 16 October 1981. In the BBC radio adaptation of Psmith in the City dramatised by Marcy Kahan , which first aired in four parts in 2008, Nick Caldecott voiced Psmith, with Inam Mirza as Mike Jackson. Edward Bennett played Psmith in the 2020 BBC radio dramatisation of Leave it to Psmith , with Susannah Fielding as Eve and Ifan Meredith as Mike Jackson. Silent letter Too Many Requests If you report this error to

#368631