Rosie M. Banks
Encyclopedia
Rosie M. Banks is a recurring fictional character
in the Jeeves
and Drones Club
stories of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse
, being a romance novelist and the wife of Bingo Little
. Suggested real-life models for this character include prolific early twentieth-century female romance novelists such as Ethel M. Dell
and Ruby M. Ayres.
She submitted an article for Milady's Boudoir (the women's paper of Dahlia Travers, Bertie Wooster
's Aunt Dahlia
), entitled "How I Keep the Love of my Husband-Baby", which, fortunately for her husband, hasn't been published.
She employed chef extraordinaire Anatole until Aunt Dahlia stole him from her with the help of Jeeves
(in "Clustering Round Young Bingo"), and is thus unlikely to write further for Mrs Travers.
True to the genre (and of which the fictional Miss Banks would have approved), the jacket of the book summarizes the novel thus:
A romantic, suspense-filled novel about a girl who chose a glamorous and exciting career. Alice Smith, pretty Navy nurse, had an attack of love at first sight. And she didn’t want to be cured.
The man was tall, good-looking and French. Thrilled by his kisses, Alice longed for the day she would be Mrs. Jacques Stern.
But Jacques never talked of marriage. And he was mysterious about his private life, especially the source of his wealth.
Meanwhile, the Office of Naval Intelligence had rated Jacques “top priority.” And handsome Morgan O’Neill, ONI agent, was making a particularly thorough check. Morgan loved Alice deeply. He’d stop at nothing to save her from the dangers that threatened her happiness — and her life.
In 2002, a group of Wodehouse fans from the newgroup alt.fan.wodehouse also voted in large numbers to place the fictional Miss Banks' novel Only a Factory Girl in the list of the top 100 list of books at Random House
. This remained intact for over a week until the administrators caught on and replaced Miss Banks with J. R. R. Tolkien
.
and in several short stories:
Rosie M. Banks is mentioned in:
Radio actresses
Audiobook actresses
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the Jeeves
Jeeves
Reginald Jeeves is a fictional character in the short stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse, being the valet of Bertie Wooster . Created in 1915, Jeeves would continue to appear in Wodehouse's works until his final, completed, novel Aunts Aren't Gentlemen in 1974, making him Wodehouse's most famous...
and Drones Club
Drones Club
The Drones Club is a recurring fictional location in the stories of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being a gentlemen's club in London. Many of his Jeeves and Blandings Castle stories feature the club or its members....
stories of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse
P. G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE was an English humorist, whose body of work includes novels, short stories, plays, poems, song lyrics, and numerous pieces of journalism. He enjoyed enormous popular success during a career that lasted more than seventy years and his many writings continue to be...
, being a romance novelist and the wife of Bingo Little
Bingo Little
Richard P. "Bingo" Little is a recurring fictional character from the Drones and the Jeeves stories of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being a friend of Jeeves's master Bertie Wooster and a member of the Drones Club.-Overview:...
. Suggested real-life models for this character include prolific early twentieth-century female romance novelists such as Ethel M. Dell
Ethel M. Dell
Ethel May Dell or Ethel Mary Dell was an English writer of popular romance novels.-Overview:Ethel Dell's married name is recorded as Ethel Mary Savage. She was born in Streatham, a suburb of London. Her father was a clerk in the City of London and she had an older sister and brother. Her family...
and Ruby M. Ayres.
Overview
Rosie M. Banks is a fictional romance novelist, the author of works such as: All for Love; A Red, Red Summer Rose; Madcap Myrtle; Only a Factory Girl; The Courtship of Lord Strathmorlick; Mervyn Keene, Clubman; 'Twas Once in May; By Honour Bound; and A Kiss at Twilight. She is highly popular among women readers for her subject matter, but not so well regarded by other characters: Bertie Wooster proclaimed her work to be "the most pronounced and widely-read tripe on the market", and her husband Bingo has said that when she "gets in front of a dictating-machine she becomes perfectly maudlin". Bingo nervously changes the subject every time his wife's books are brought up in conversation.She submitted an article for Milady's Boudoir (the women's paper of Dahlia Travers, Bertie Wooster
Bertie Wooster
Bertram Wilberforce "Bertie" Wooster is a recurring fictional character in the Jeeves novels of British author P. G. Wodehouse. An English gentleman, one of the "idle rich" and a member of the Drones Club, he appears alongside his valet, Jeeves, whose genius manages to extricate Bertie or one of...
's Aunt Dahlia
Aunt Dahlia
Dahlia Travers is a recurring fictional character in the Jeeves novels of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being best known as Bertie Wooster's bonhomous, red-faced Aunt Dahlia. She is much beloved by her nephew, in contrast with her sister, Bertie's Aunt Agatha...
), entitled "How I Keep the Love of my Husband-Baby", which, fortunately for her husband, hasn't been published.
She employed chef extraordinaire Anatole until Aunt Dahlia stole him from her with the help of Jeeves
Jeeves
Reginald Jeeves is a fictional character in the short stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse, being the valet of Bertie Wooster . Created in 1915, Jeeves would continue to appear in Wodehouse's works until his final, completed, novel Aunts Aren't Gentlemen in 1974, making him Wodehouse's most famous...
(in "Clustering Round Young Bingo"), and is thus unlikely to write further for Mrs Travers.
Pseudonyms
Although the name of Ms. Banks is attributed to a fictional novelist, there have been uses of this name to sell Romance novels in the past. The most notable, 'Navy Nurse', published in 1960, is attributed to novelist Rosie M. Banks. The author applied to Wodehouse for the right to use the name; Wodehouse, much amused, gave his permission.True to the genre (and of which the fictional Miss Banks would have approved), the jacket of the book summarizes the novel thus:
A romantic, suspense-filled novel about a girl who chose a glamorous and exciting career. Alice Smith, pretty Navy nurse, had an attack of love at first sight. And she didn’t want to be cured.
The man was tall, good-looking and French. Thrilled by his kisses, Alice longed for the day she would be Mrs. Jacques Stern.
But Jacques never talked of marriage. And he was mysterious about his private life, especially the source of his wealth.
Meanwhile, the Office of Naval Intelligence had rated Jacques “top priority.” And handsome Morgan O’Neill, ONI agent, was making a particularly thorough check. Morgan loved Alice deeply. He’d stop at nothing to save her from the dangers that threatened her happiness — and her life.
In 2002, a group of Wodehouse fans from the newgroup alt.fan.wodehouse also voted in large numbers to place the fictional Miss Banks' novel Only a Factory Girl in the list of the top 100 list of books at Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
. This remained intact for over a week until the administrators caught on and replaced Miss Banks with J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
.
Stories
Rosie M. Banks is featured in one semi-novel:- The Inimitable JeevesThe Inimitable JeevesThe Inimitable Jeeves is a semi-novel collecting Jeeves stories by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom by Herbert Jenkins, London, on May 17, 1923, and in the United States by George H...
(1923)
and in several short stories:
- in Carry on, JeevesCarry on, JeevesCarry on, Jeeves is a collection of ten short stories by P. G. Wodehouse. It was first published in the United Kingdom on 9 October 1925 by Herbert Jenkins, London, and in the United States on October 7, 1927 by George H. Doran, New York...
(1925)- "Clustering Round Young Bingo" (1925) - Drones
- in Very Good, JeevesVery Good, JeevesVery Good, Jeeves is a collection of eleven short stories by P. G. Wodehouse, all featuring Jeeves and Bertie Wooster. It was first published in the United States on 20 June 1930 by Doubleday, Doran, New York, and in the United Kingdom on 4 July 1930 by Herbert Jenkins, London...
(1930)- "Jeeves and the Old School Chum" (1930) - Jeeves
- in Eggs, Beans and Crumpets (1940)
- "All's Well With Bingo" (1937) - Drones
- "Bingo and the Peke Crisis" (1937) - Drones
- "The Editor Regrets" (1939) - Drones
- "Sonny Boy" (1939) - Drones
- in A Few Quick OnesA Few Quick OnesA Few Quick Ones is a collection of ten short stories by P. G. Wodehouse. It was first published in the United States on 13 April 1959 by Simon & Schuster, New York, and in the United Kingdom on 26 June 1959 by Herbert Jenkins, London....
(1959)- "The Word in Season" (1940) - Drones
- "Leave It to Algy" (1954) - Drones
- in Nothing SeriousNothing Serious (short stories)Nothing Serious is a collection of ten short stories by P. G. Wodehouse. It was first published in the United Kingdom on 21 July 1950 by Herbert Jenkins, London, and in the United States on 24 May 1951 by Doubleday & Co., New York.-Overview:...
(1950)- "The Shadow Passes" (1950) - Drones
- in Plum PiePlum PiePlum Pie is a collection of nine short stories by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on September 22, 1966 by Herbert Jenkins, London, and in the United States on December 1, 1967 by Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York....
(1966)- "Bingo Bans the Bomb" (1965) - Drones
- "Stylish Stouts" (1965) - Drones
Rosie M. Banks is mentioned in:
- The Mating Season (1949) – Jeeves novel, with the longest example of Rosie's work, a synopsis of Mervyn Keene, Clubman.
Actresses
Film and TV actresses- Deborah Stanford in the BBC OneBBC OneBBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
's black-and-white World of Wooster (1965–1967) - Anastasia HilleAnastasia HilleAnastasia Hille is an English actress active in British television, theatre, and film.Hille was a student at Drama Centre . She was nominated for the Ian Charleson Awards in 1994.-Television:...
in the 1990-1993 ITV series Jeeves and WoosterJeeves and Wooster-External links:*—An episode guide to the series, including information about which episodes were adapted from which Wodehouse stories.*—Episode guides, screenshots and quotes from the four series....
, season 4 episode 3 - Jane Cussons in Wodehouse PlayhouseWodehouse PlayhouseWodehouse Playhouse is a British television comedy series based on the short stories of P. G. Wodehouse. From 1975 to 1978, three series were made, with twenty half-hour episodes altogether in the entire series.-Overview:P. G...
(S3.5 "The Editor Regrets", 1976–1978)
Radio actresses
Audiobook actresses
See also
- List of P. G. Wodehouse characters in the Jeeves stories