Page 26 - Seniorstoday July 2022 Issue

Many of the books read in my childhood Filled with dry, British wit, lyricist,
still retain their magic when revisited
decades later with my children. You can
still find us, my husband (also an avid
reader of Bunter), my children and I reading
them together - at the dining table, on
holidays and there is always a scramble to
grab some of the favourites.
“Pigs Have Wings” is a classic laugh – out
- loud P.G. Wodehouse. A bitter rivalry
between two lords: Lord Emsworth and
Sir Gregory Parsloe. A devoted butler with
poor nerves. The practical joker and noble
Gally. And most of all, about a thrilling
contest between the most important
characters - the Two Pigs; the Empress
of Blandings and Pride of Matchingham.
The beauty of Wodehouse’s novels is the
joy you feel despite their absurdity and
simplicity. Reading about a butler and his
absent minded employer, Lord Emsworth,
whose pastime is reading about pigs and
avoiding his bossy sister, has a childlike
ridiculousness to it. And yet, taking a break
to read something absolutely ridiculous is
both refreshing and sometimes necessary.
26
playwright, and novelist, P.G. Wodehouse’s
novels make sure you laugh uproariously
every few pages. The essence of humour
is after all, providing relief and joy in
times of strife. All the plots in the Jeeves
and Wooster books are fundamentally
the same, and that is a large part of their
charm. You know exactly what to expect
and Wodehouse never fails to deliver. He
repeats jokes from book to book, and yet
they seem fresh every time because he’s
such a master of the witty turn of phrase
and his use of language is delicious. Style
and content achieve a perfect union in his
tales.
The books with Aunt Dahlia are my
favourites. In “Aunts Aren’t Gentlemen”
Bertie Wooster has been overdoing
metropolitan life, and the doctor orders
fresh air in the country. But after moving
with Jeeves to his cottage at Maiden
Eggesford, Bertie soon finds himself
surrounded by aunts - not only his
redoubtable Aunt Dahlia but an aunt
of Jeeves’s too. Add a hyper-sensitive
racehorse, deeply attached to the rival’s cat,
and a bossy fiancée - all the ingredients
present for a plot in which aunts can exert
their terrible authority. But Jeeves, of
course, can cope with everything - even
aunts.
A more brilliant example of literary
escapism would be hard to find. Not only