order in Blandings

[Pen]

we must have order ... at least I feel I must have order and reckon
this is the place for it ... smiling here ...

I have many volumes written by the Master but am fearful that I do not
possess all the pearls of Blandings ... I have done some googling and
am still uncertain as to what would comprise a complete, orderly canon
....

I did find this on the Fantasic Fiction site -

There are twelve books that feature Blandings Castle, shown here in
chronological order by the stories rather than, necessarily, by date
of publication:-
Something fresh (1915) [ U.S. title Something new ]
Leave it to Psmith (1923)
Blandings Castle (1935) [ Short stories ]
Summer lightning (1929) [ U.S. title Fish preferred ]
Heavy weather (1933)
Lord Emsworth and others (1937) [ U.S. title Crime wave at Blandings.
Contains only one story set at Blandings ]
Full moon (1947)
Pigs have wings (1952)
Service with a smile (1962)
Galahad at Blandings (1965)
Plum pie (1966) [ contains a Blandings story ]
A pelican at Blandings (1969) [ U.S.title No nudes is good news ]
Sunset at Blandings (1977)

I have all listed above aside from Plum Pie and Lord Emsworth and
Others ... but ...

Where is Uncle Fred in the Springtime?

how could they forget the opening with Pongo's tense, keen look, like
that of an African hunter stalking a hippopotamus?

this omission makes me fearful that there may be others missing in the
list above ... is anyone able to reassure me that I can sit back,
drinking tea/gin (dependent on the time of day of course) confident
that I am reading in order so that I do not become confused at any
point regarding the fine details of adventures of the Empress?


who, as you likely know, can be seen at -

http://www.eclipse.co.uk/wodehouse/pighooey.htm

Pen
(a confused Canadian in England)

[The Mixer]

The short story collection 'Nothing Serious' also contains something
that most people would classify as a 'Blandings story' even though the
action doesn't take place at Blandings. "Birth of a Salesman" stars
Lord Emsworth and Freddie Threepwood but the action takes place at
Freddie's home on Long Island.

All the Blandings short stories, by the way, were collected together in
chronological order for the first time a few years ago in the Penguin
edition titled "Lord Emsworth Acts For the Best".

The Mixer

Post by Pen
we must have order ... at least I feel I must have order and reckon
this is the place for it ... smiling here ...
I have many volumes written by the Master but am fearful that I do not
possess all the pearls of Blandings ... I have done some googling and
am still uncertain as to what would comprise a complete, orderly canon
....
I did find this on the Fantasic Fiction site -
There are twelve books that feature Blandings Castle, shown here in
chronological order by the stories rather than, necessarily, by date
of publication:-
Something fresh (1915) [ U.S. title Something new ]
Leave it to Psmith (1923)
Blandings Castle (1935) [ Short stories ]
Summer lightning (1929) [ U.S. title Fish preferred ]
Heavy weather (1933)
Lord Emsworth and others (1937) [ U.S. title Crime wave at Blandings.
Contains only one story set at Blandings ]
Full moon (1947)
Pigs have wings (1952)
Service with a smile (1962)
Galahad at Blandings (1965)
Plum pie (1966) [ contains a Blandings story ]
A pelican at Blandings (1969) [ U.S.title No nudes is good news ]
Sunset at Blandings (1977)
I have all listed above aside from Plum Pie and Lord Emsworth and
Others ... but ...
Where is Uncle Fred in the Springtime?
how could they forget the opening with Pongo's tense, keen look, like
that of an African hunter stalking a hippopotamus?
this omission makes me fearful that there may be others missing in the
list above ... is anyone able to reassure me that I can sit back,
drinking tea/gin (dependent on the time of day of course) confident
that I am reading in order so that I do not become confused at any
point regarding the fine details of adventures of the Empress?

[tfn3]

Here's my list of the order of the Blandings Series - novels and
stories. This is the publication order. What I don't know because
I've read them all out of order based on availablitity is if the is
also the narrative order. I'd be interested in input from others on
this.

Blandings Castle Series
Year Title
1915 Something Fresh
1923 Leave it to Psmith
1924 "The Custody of the Pumpkin" (Blandings Castle)
1926 "Lord Emsworth Acts for the Best" (Blandings Castle)
1927 "Pig-Hooo-o-o-o-ey" (Blandings Castle)
1928 "Company for Gertrude" (Blandings Castle)
1928 "Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend" (Blandings Castle)
1929 Summer Lightning
1931 "The Go-Getter" (Blandings Castle)
1933 Heavy Weather
1936 "Crimewave at Blandings" (Lord Emsworth & Others)
1939 Uncle Fred in the Springtime
1947 Full Moon
1950 "The Birth of a Salesman" (Nothing Serious)
1952 Pigs Have Wings
1961 Service with a Smile
1965 Galahad at Blandings
1966 "First Aid for Freddie" (AKA "Sticky Wicket at Blandings")(Plum
Pie)
1967 "Life with Freddie" (Plum Pie)
1969 Pelican at Blandings
1977 Sunset at Blandings (unfinished published posthumously)

[john wolfe]

Post by tfn3
Here's my list of the order of the Blandings Series - novels and
stories. This is the publication order. What I don't know because
I've read them all out of order based on availablitity is if the is
also the narrative order.

I read all the novels again and yes, it is. I don't know about all the
stories

[Beefy]

Post by tfn3
Here's my list of the order of the Blandings Series - novels and
stories. This is the publication order. What I don't know because
I've read them all out of order based on availablitity is if the is
also the narrative order. I'd be interested in input from others on
this.
Blandings Castle Series
Year Title
1915 Something Fresh
1923 Leave it to Psmith
1924 "The Custody of the Pumpkin" (Blandings Castle)
1926 "Lord Emsworth Acts for the Best" (Blandings Castle)
1927 "Pig-Hooo-o-o-o-ey" (Blandings Castle)
1928 "Company for Gertrude" (Blandings Castle)
1928 "Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend" (Blandings Castle)
1929 Summer Lightning
1931 "The Go-Getter" (Blandings Castle)
1933 Heavy Weather
1936 "Crimewave at Blandings" (Lord Emsworth & Others)
1939 Uncle Fred in the Springtime
1947 Full Moon
1950 "The Birth of a Salesman" (Nothing Serious)
1952 Pigs Have Wings
1961 Service with a Smile
1965 Galahad at Blandings
1966 "First Aid for Freddie" (AKA "Sticky Wicket at Blandings")(Plum
Pie)
1967 "Life with Freddie" (Plum Pie)
1969 Pelican at Blandings
1977 Sunset at Blandings (unfinished published posthumously)

In the preface to "Blandings Castle", Wodehouse says that the six
stories come after LitP and before SL.

"Lord E and the GF" comes after "The C of the P" (to which there's a
passing reference) and (probably) before Lord E's "pig period", so
should perhaps precede "Lord E Acts for the B". "The Go-Getter"
should (if we accept Wodehouse's statement) precede SL, not follow it.

"The Crime Wave at B" probably comes between "The Go-Getter" and SL --
it's definitely later than LitP ( because flower pots are mentioned)
and probably earlier than SL (because there's no mention of the pig in
the caravan).

"Birth of a Salesman" follows GaB because Lord E is in NY to attend
Tipton Plimsoll's wedding to "one of his nieces" (presumably Vee)

"Sticky W at B" comes after "The Custody of the P", because Freddie
and Aggie are married, and before GaB, because Lady Constance is still
Keeble, not Schoonmaker. It's probably later than "Lord E and the
GF", because there's a mention of Lord E pleading with Lady C not to
have to wear a top hat at the annual village school treat). Other
than that, it's difficult to say where exactly it comes in the
sequence.

[Donald Renouf]

Post by Beefy
"The Crime Wave at B" probably comes between "The Go-Getter" and SL --
it's definitely later than LitP ( because flower pots are mentioned)
and probably earlier than SL (because there's no mention of the pig in
the caravan).

"The Crime Wave at Blandings" comes between "Heavy Weather" and "Uncle
Fred in the Springtime".

In "Summer Lightning" and "Heavy Weather", the Efficient Baxter has
been given a holiday by Mr Jevons (to whose employ he returned at the
end of "Leave it to Psmith"). In "The Crime Wave at Blandings", he has
left Jevons, and is looking for a new job. By "Uncle Fred in the
Springtime", he has joined the Duke of Dunstable's entourage. He isn't
present at any of the Duke's later appearances, and a later novel, I
forget which, refers to him as being secretary to a Philadelphia
millionaire (not Jevons, who was a Chicagoan).

DJR

[Donald Renouf]

Post by Beefy
"Birth of a Salesman" follows GaB because Lord E is in NY to attend
Tipton Plimsoll's wedding to "one of his nieces" (presumably Vee)

"Birth of a Salesman" could debatably also follow "Sunset at
Blandings". In the latter novel, Dame Daphne Winkworth still runs a
school. However, by "The Mating Season", she has given that up, and in
"Aunts Aren't Gentlemen", which comes after "The Mating Season" in the
Jeeves saga, Bertie mentions having been at a bachelor party for
Tipton Plimsoll. Tippy and Vee's engagement must have been a pretty
lengthy one.