Uncle Fred in the Springtime
Encyclopedia
Uncle Fred in the Springtime is a novel
by P.G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States
on August 18, 1939 by Doubleday, Doran, New York
, and in the United Kingdom
on August 25, 1939 by Herbert Jenkins
, London
.
It is set at the idyllic Blandings Castle
, home of Clarence
, Earl of Emsworth, the fifth full-length novel to be set there. It also features Uncle Fred
, who first appeared in the short
"Uncle Fred Flits By
", which was included in the 1936 collection Young Men in Spats
, and would feature in three further novels.
away from her loving master and get her fit, Lord Emsworth
calls in the services of the redoubtable Uncle Fred
. Fred arrives full of the joys of spring, with nephew Pongo Twistleton
and old friend Polly Pott in tow, and despite the efforts of the efficient Baxter
, endeavours to scupper the Duke and bring together a variety of romantic couplings.
is having money troubles, and his wealthy friend Horace Pendlebury-Davenport is in trouble with his girl, Pongo's sister Valerie, for hiring Claude "Mustard" Pott to trail her during the Drones Club
weekend at Le Touquet. Pongo resolves to call in the redoubtable Uncle Fred
for assistance.
Meanwhile at Blandings
, Horace's uncle the Duke of Dunstable, as well demanding eggs to throw at whistling gardeners, has taken it into his head that the Empress
needs some fitness training, and Lord Emsworth
needs help; in the absence of his trusty brother Galahad
, he calls in the next best thing: Gally's old friend Uncle Fred
.
Horace, having fallen out with his cousin Ricky Gilpin over Gilpin's fiancee Polly Pott, daughter of Mustard, lands Pongo even further in the soup by being dressed as a Zulu rather than a Boy scout
during a round of the Clothes Stakes, run by Pott at the Drones. While Uncle Fred ponders how to get Polly into Blandings to court her prospective uncle-in-law, Emsworth gives them a chance by insulting Sir Roderick "Pimples" Glossop, who he was supposed to engage to analyse the increasingly loopy Duke of Dunstable.
Fred seizes his chance, and heads down to Blandings posing as Glossop, with Pongo playing the role of his secretary and nephew, and Polly his daughter Gwendolyne. They meet Glossop on the train, but head him off, only to pass him into the hands of Rupert Baxter
, now working for the Duke. Arriving at Blandings, they are met by Lord Bosham, who was conned
out of his wallet by Uncle Fred the previous day.
Baxter is sacked, having been seen at a ball
by Horace, but is taken on again when Uncle Fred persuades Horace, and the Duke, that Horace is suffering delusions. Horace heads off for a rest-cure, and Baxter is left unable to reveal that he has seen through Fred disguise, having met the real Glossop before. Baxter, however, is put on his guard, and informs Lady Constance
; she in turn has Bosham hire a detective to protect her jewels, and he of course selects Mustard Pott.
Dunstable's scheme to acquire the pig continues apace, and he calls in his strapping nephew to help, but when Gilpin asks for funds to buy an onion soup bar, thus enabling him to marry Polly, the two row and part. Dunstable ropes in Baxter instead. Uncle Fred, meeting Pott just after he has taken £250 from Lord Bosham at Persian Monarchs, takes the money off him, insisting it will help Polly marry wealthy Horace. Pott, meeting Gilpin at the Emsworth Arms, tells him this story, and the enraged poet chases a fearful Horace back to the Castle. Fred gives the money to Pongo to pass on to Polly for Gilpin's benefit, but she is spurned by him, and lets Pongo use the cash to pay off his debts.
When Fred has reunited the couple, more money is required. Pott is persuaded to take it from Dunstable at Persian Monarchs, but the wily peer wins himself £300. Fred tries to get it back, but Dunstable has the pig, captured earlier by Baxter, hidden in his bathroom, and is keeping his room under lock and key. Having knocked out the vigilant Baxter with a Mickey Finn
, Fred finally gains access to the room, Pongo having lured Dunstable away with a rendition of "The Bonny Banks o' Loch Lomond
". He is caught by a shotgun-bearing Bosham, just as Pott drinks a second Mickey destined for Dunstable, and is locked in a cupboard.
Valerie arrives, reunited with her man and hot for vengeance on the uncle that made her Horace think himself insane, and confirms Fred's identity; Fred convinces all that Emsworth has become infatuated with Polly, and that he is there to put a stop to it. He takes Dunstable's roll of cash to pay the girl off, insisting that his visit remain a secret to maintain the Threepwood dignity, and heads back to London with not only the money for Gilpin's soup bar, but an extra fifty quid for himself to blow on a few joyous weeks in the city.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by P.G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on August 18, 1939 by Doubleday, Doran, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on August 25, 1939 by Herbert Jenkins
Barrie & Jenkins
Barrie & Jenkins was a small British publishing house that was formed in 1964 from the merger of "Herbert Jenkins" and "Barrie & Rockcliffe". One of their most notable authors was P. G...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
It is set at the idyllic Blandings Castle
Blandings Castle
Blandings Castle is a recurring fictional location in the stories of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being the seat of Lord Emsworth , home to many of his family, and setting for numerous tales and adventures, written between 1915 and 1975.The series of stories which take place at the castle,...
, home of Clarence
Lord Emsworth
Clarence Threepwood, 9th Earl of Emsworth, or Lord Emsworth, is a recurring fictional character in the Blandings stories by British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse. He is the amiable and somewhat absent-minded head of the large Threepwood family...
, Earl of Emsworth, the fifth full-length novel to be set there. It also features Uncle Fred
Uncle Fred
Frederick Altamont Cornwallis Twistleton, 5th Earl of Ickenham, commonly known as Uncle Fred, is a fictional character who appears in short stories and novels written by P. G. Wodehouse between 1935 and 1961...
, who first appeared in the short
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
"Uncle Fred Flits By
Uncle Fred Flits By
"Uncle Fred Flits By" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, which first appeared in the United States in the July 1935 edition of Redbook, and in the United Kingdom in the December 1935 issue of the Strand...
", which was included in the 1936 collection Young Men in Spats
Young Men in Spats
Young Men in Spats is a collection of short stories by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on 3 April 1936 by Herbert Jenkins, London, then in the United States with a slightly different selection of stories on 23 July 1936 by Doubleday, Doran, New York.The collection, recounting...
, and would feature in three further novels.
Plot introduction
When Alaric, Duke of Dunstable decides to take Empress of BlandingsEmpress of Blandings
Empress of Blandings is a fictional pig, featured in many of the Blandings Castle novels and stories by P. G. Wodehouse. Owned by the doting Lord Emsworth, the Empress is an enormous black Berkshire sow, who wins many prizes in the "Fat Pigs" class at the local Shropshire Agricultural Show, and is...
away from her loving master and get her fit, Lord Emsworth
Lord Emsworth
Clarence Threepwood, 9th Earl of Emsworth, or Lord Emsworth, is a recurring fictional character in the Blandings stories by British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse. He is the amiable and somewhat absent-minded head of the large Threepwood family...
calls in the services of the redoubtable Uncle Fred
Uncle Fred
Frederick Altamont Cornwallis Twistleton, 5th Earl of Ickenham, commonly known as Uncle Fred, is a fictional character who appears in short stories and novels written by P. G. Wodehouse between 1935 and 1961...
. Fred arrives full of the joys of spring, with nephew Pongo Twistleton
Pongo Twistleton
Reginald "Pongo" Twistleton is a character in the Uncle Fred books by P. G. Wodehouse. A member of the Drones Club in London, he's a nervous young man described by Sally Painter, the woman who loves him, as a "baa-lamb"...
and old friend Polly Pott in tow, and despite the efforts of the efficient Baxter
Rupert Baxter
Rupert Baxter is a fictional character in the Blandings stories by P. G. Wodehouse. Often called The Efficient Baxter , he is Lord Emsworth's secretary, and an expert on many things, including Egyptian scarabs...
, endeavours to scupper the Duke and bring together a variety of romantic couplings.
Plot summary
In London, Pongo TwistletonPongo Twistleton
Reginald "Pongo" Twistleton is a character in the Uncle Fred books by P. G. Wodehouse. A member of the Drones Club in London, he's a nervous young man described by Sally Painter, the woman who loves him, as a "baa-lamb"...
is having money troubles, and his wealthy friend Horace Pendlebury-Davenport is in trouble with his girl, Pongo's sister Valerie, for hiring Claude "Mustard" Pott to trail her during the 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....
weekend at Le Touquet. Pongo resolves to call in the redoubtable Uncle Fred
Uncle Fred
Frederick Altamont Cornwallis Twistleton, 5th Earl of Ickenham, commonly known as Uncle Fred, is a fictional character who appears in short stories and novels written by P. G. Wodehouse between 1935 and 1961...
for assistance.
Meanwhile at Blandings
Blandings Castle
Blandings Castle is a recurring fictional location in the stories of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being the seat of Lord Emsworth , home to many of his family, and setting for numerous tales and adventures, written between 1915 and 1975.The series of stories which take place at the castle,...
, Horace's uncle the Duke of Dunstable, as well demanding eggs to throw at whistling gardeners, has taken it into his head that the Empress
Empress of Blandings
Empress of Blandings is a fictional pig, featured in many of the Blandings Castle novels and stories by P. G. Wodehouse. Owned by the doting Lord Emsworth, the Empress is an enormous black Berkshire sow, who wins many prizes in the "Fat Pigs" class at the local Shropshire Agricultural Show, and is...
needs some fitness training, and Lord Emsworth
Lord Emsworth
Clarence Threepwood, 9th Earl of Emsworth, or Lord Emsworth, is a recurring fictional character in the Blandings stories by British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse. He is the amiable and somewhat absent-minded head of the large Threepwood family...
needs help; in the absence of his trusty brother Galahad
Galahad Threepwood
The Honourable Galahad "Gally" Threepwood is a fictional character in the Blandings stories by P. G. Wodehouse. Lord Emsworth's younger brother, a lifelong bachelor, Gally was, according to Beach, the Blandings butler, "somewhat wild as a young man"...
, he calls in the next best thing: Gally's old friend Uncle Fred
Uncle Fred
Frederick Altamont Cornwallis Twistleton, 5th Earl of Ickenham, commonly known as Uncle Fred, is a fictional character who appears in short stories and novels written by P. G. Wodehouse between 1935 and 1961...
.
Horace, having fallen out with his cousin Ricky Gilpin over Gilpin's fiancee Polly Pott, daughter of Mustard, lands Pongo even further in the soup by being dressed as a Zulu rather than a Boy scout
Boy Scout
A Scout is a boy or a girl, usually 11 to 18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split this age group into a junior and a senior section...
during a round of the Clothes Stakes, run by Pott at the Drones. While Uncle Fred ponders how to get Polly into Blandings to court her prospective uncle-in-law, Emsworth gives them a chance by insulting Sir Roderick "Pimples" Glossop, who he was supposed to engage to analyse the increasingly loopy Duke of Dunstable.
Fred seizes his chance, and heads down to Blandings posing as Glossop, with Pongo playing the role of his secretary and nephew, and Polly his daughter Gwendolyne. They meet Glossop on the train, but head him off, only to pass him into the hands of Rupert Baxter
Rupert Baxter
Rupert Baxter is a fictional character in the Blandings stories by P. G. Wodehouse. Often called The Efficient Baxter , he is Lord Emsworth's secretary, and an expert on many things, including Egyptian scarabs...
, now working for the Duke. Arriving at Blandings, they are met by Lord Bosham, who was conned
Confidence trick
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. A confidence artist is an individual working alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty and honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility,...
out of his wallet by Uncle Fred the previous day.
Baxter is sacked, having been seen at a ball
Ball (dance)
A ball is a formal dance. The word 'ball' is derived from the Latin word "ballare", meaning 'to dance'; the term also derived into "bailar", which is the Spanish and Portuguese word for dance . In Catalan it is the same word, 'ball', for the dance event.Attendees wear evening attire, which is...
by Horace, but is taken on again when Uncle Fred persuades Horace, and the Duke, that Horace is suffering delusions. Horace heads off for a rest-cure, and Baxter is left unable to reveal that he has seen through Fred disguise, having met the real Glossop before. Baxter, however, is put on his guard, and informs Lady Constance
Lady Constance Keeble
Lady Constance Keeble is a recurring fictional character in the Blandings stories by British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being Lord Emsworth's most formidable sister, a strikingly handsome woman, with a fair, broad brow, and perfectly even white teeth...
; she in turn has Bosham hire a detective to protect her jewels, and he of course selects Mustard Pott.
Dunstable's scheme to acquire the pig continues apace, and he calls in his strapping nephew to help, but when Gilpin asks for funds to buy an onion soup bar, thus enabling him to marry Polly, the two row and part. Dunstable ropes in Baxter instead. Uncle Fred, meeting Pott just after he has taken £250 from Lord Bosham at Persian Monarchs, takes the money off him, insisting it will help Polly marry wealthy Horace. Pott, meeting Gilpin at the Emsworth Arms, tells him this story, and the enraged poet chases a fearful Horace back to the Castle. Fred gives the money to Pongo to pass on to Polly for Gilpin's benefit, but she is spurned by him, and lets Pongo use the cash to pay off his debts.
When Fred has reunited the couple, more money is required. Pott is persuaded to take it from Dunstable at Persian Monarchs, but the wily peer wins himself £300. Fred tries to get it back, but Dunstable has the pig, captured earlier by Baxter, hidden in his bathroom, and is keeping his room under lock and key. Having knocked out the vigilant Baxter with a Mickey Finn
Mickey Finn (drugs)
A Mickey Finn, is a slang term for a drink laced with a drug given to someone without his knowledge in order to incapacitate him...
, Fred finally gains access to the room, Pongo having lured Dunstable away with a rendition of "The Bonny Banks o' Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond is a freshwater Scottish loch, lying on the Highland Boundary Fault. It is the largest lake in Great Britain by surface area. The lake contains many islands, including Inchmurrin, the largest fresh-water island in the British Isles, although the lake itself is smaller than many Irish...
". He is caught by a shotgun-bearing Bosham, just as Pott drinks a second Mickey destined for Dunstable, and is locked in a cupboard.
Valerie arrives, reunited with her man and hot for vengeance on the uncle that made her Horace think himself insane, and confirms Fred's identity; Fred convinces all that Emsworth has become infatuated with Polly, and that he is there to put a stop to it. He takes Dunstable's roll of cash to pay the girl off, insisting that his visit remain a secret to maintain the Threepwood dignity, and heads back to London with not only the money for Gilpin's soup bar, but an extra fifty quid for himself to blow on a few joyous weeks in the city.
Characters in "Uncle Fred in the Springtime"
- Lord EmsworthLord EmsworthClarence Threepwood, 9th Earl of Emsworth, or Lord Emsworth, is a recurring fictional character in the Blandings stories by British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse. He is the amiable and somewhat absent-minded head of the large Threepwood family...
, absent-minded master of Blandings Castle- George Threepwood, Lord Bosham, Emsworth's eldest son
- Lady Constance KeebleLady Constance KeebleLady Constance Keeble is a recurring fictional character in the Blandings stories by British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being Lord Emsworth's most formidable sister, a strikingly handsome woman, with a fair, broad brow, and perfectly even white teeth...
, Emsworth's domineering sister - Empress of BlandingsEmpress of BlandingsEmpress of Blandings is a fictional pig, featured in many of the Blandings Castle novels and stories by P. G. Wodehouse. Owned by the doting Lord Emsworth, the Empress is an enormous black Berkshire sow, who wins many prizes in the "Fat Pigs" class at the local Shropshire Agricultural Show, and is...
, Emsworth's cherished prize pig
- Alaric, Duke of Dunstable, a cantakerous peer
- Rupert BaxterRupert BaxterRupert Baxter is a fictional character in the Blandings stories by P. G. Wodehouse. Often called The Efficient Baxter , he is Lord Emsworth's secretary, and an expert on many things, including Egyptian scarabs...
, Dunstable's secretary, formerly employed by Lord Emsworth - Horace Pendlebury-Davenport, Dunstable's nephew
- Ricky Gilpin, another nephew of Dunstable, a poet
- Polly Pott, Ricky's fiancee and Horace's dance-teacher
- Claude "Mustard" Pott, Polly's father, a detective
- Polly Pott, Ricky's fiancee and Horace's dance-teacher
- Rupert Baxter
- Pongo TwistletonPongo TwistletonReginald "Pongo" Twistleton is a character in the Uncle Fred books by P. G. Wodehouse. A member of the Drones Club in London, he's a nervous young man described by Sally Painter, the woman who loves him, as a "baa-lamb"...
, an impoverished friend of Horace- Valerie Twistleton, Pongo's sister, engaged to Horace
- Frederick Twistleton, 5th Earl of IckenhamUncle FredFrederick Altamont Cornwallis Twistleton, 5th Earl of Ickenham, commonly known as Uncle Fred, is a fictional character who appears in short stories and novels written by P. G. Wodehouse between 1935 and 1961...
, Pongo and Valerie's Uncle Fred
- Sir Roderick Glossop, a prominent nerve-specialist
- BeachSebastian BeachSebastian Beach is a fictional character in the Blandings stories by P. G. Wodehouse. He is the butler at Blandings Castle, seat of Lord Emsworth and his family, where he serves for over eighteen years.- Background and character :...
, butler at the castle
See also
Uncle Fred would return in:- Uncle DynamiteUncle DynamiteUncle Dynamite is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on October 22, 1948 by Herbert Jenkins, London, and in the United States on December 3, 1948 by Didier & Co., New York...
(1948) - Cocktail TimeCocktail Timethumb|1st UK editionCocktail Time is a comic novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on June 20, 1958 by Herbert Jenkins, London and in the United States on July 24, 1958 by Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York...
(1958) - Service With a SmileService With a SmileService with a Smile is a novel by P.G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on October 15, 1961 by Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York, and in the United Kingdom on August 17, 1962 by Herbert Jenkins, London...
(1961) - in which he and Dunstable revisit Blandings
External links
- Summaries of most of P.G. Wodehouses books, information on characters, quizzes
- The Russian Wodehouse Society's page, with a list of characters
- Fantastic Fiction's page, with details of published editions, photos of book covers and links to used copies