Leave It To Psmith - P. G. Wodehouse

Hurrah for Wodehouse and an especial hurrah for Psmith! For those who have yet to encounter Psmith, he is an eccentric, aristocratic young man, who has changed his name from the more pedestrian spelling “Smith” in a kind of personal rebranding exercise. Psmith has been a favourite of mine for some years now, being as articulate and immaculately attired as Saki’s Clovis, but much less of a git.

“Leave It To Psmith” sees our hero in reduced circumstances after resigning from a job supplied by his fish magnate uncle, due to a fundamental belief that Billingsgate fish market is no place for a Shropshire Psmith. Despite needing to secure employment, he is unable to resist the temptation to impersonate Canadian poet Ralston McTod in order to secure an invitation to castle Blandings and pursue the beautiful Eve Halliday there. Even before his arrival, Psmith becomes enmeshing in a plot to steal Lady Constance’s diamond necklace – but there are several rival plots to pinch it…

As always with Wodehouse, the best thing about it is the distinctive use of language, which starts finding its way into your everyday speech until the cry goes up in the gentleman’s clubs of Kensington: “BookClubOfOne has been on the Wodehouse again!”

One of my favourite bits is when we find Psmith attempting to pass as a poet while speaking to a horrifyingly wet lady poetess:
“’I sometimes think, Miss Peavey, that flowers must be the souls of little children who have died in their innocence.’
‘What a beautiful thought, Mr McTod!’ exclaimed Miss Peavey rapturously.
‘Yes.’ agreed Psmith, “Don’t pinch it. It’s copyright.””