Wodehouse, P(elham) G(renville) (1881–1975)

English novelist. He became a US citizen in 1955. His humorous novels and stories portray the accident-prone world of such characters as the socialite Bertie Wooster and his invaluable and impeccable manservant Jeeves, and Lord Emsworth of Blandings Castle with his prize pig, the Empress of Blandings.

From 1906, Wodehouse also collaborated on the lyrics of Broadway musicals by Jerome Kern, Gershwin, and others. Staying in France in 1941, during World War II, he was interned by the Germans; he made some humorous broadcasts from Berlin, which were taken amiss in Britain at the time, but he was exonerated later and was knighted in 1975. His work is admired for its style, erudition, and geniality, and includes Indiscretions of Archie (1921), The Clicking of Cuthbert (1922), The Inimitable Jeeves (1932), and Uncle Fred in the Springtime (1939).

Wodehouse was born in Guildford, Surrey. He began writing while working as a bank clerk in London, and was a columnist for the Globe newspaper from 1903–09. His first adult novel was Love Among the Chickens (1906), in which he introduced the character Ukridge. Psmith first appeared in Mike: A Public School Story (1909), and Bertie Wooster and Jeeves were introduced in 1919. Wodehouse used these characters repeatedly in his entertaining novels, including Piccadilly Jim (1917), Leave it to Psmith (1923), Thank You, Jeeves (1934), Pigs Have Wings (1952), Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves (1963), and Much Obliged, Jeeves (1971).

Wodehouse also wrote several plays and screenplays of his own novels, and was the co-author of 18 musical comedies.