George Alexander Pyke, Lord Tilbury
Encyclopedia
George Alexander Pyke, Lord Tilbury is a recurring fictional character
in the stories of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse
. Pyke is a publishing
magnate
, the founder and owner of the Mammoth Publishing Company. Outside his business, he has a passion for pigs and is the owner of a prize pig named Buckinghamshire Big Boy. Pyke appears in several novel
s, including two set at Blandings Castle
: Summer Lightning
(1929) and Heavy Weather
(1933).
as plain Sir George Pyke. Mammoth Publishing Company is already a mighty undertaking and Pyke is about to become a Lord – he selects the Tilbury title based on the address of his headquarters, at Tilbury House on Tilbury Street.
Pyke is not a tall man and runs somewhat to fat. His similarity to Napoleon, both in physique and character, is often remarked upon. He is a widower, his late wife Lucy having left him a son named Roderick. He also has a sister named Francie, who is married to an archaeologist
, and he had an elder brother, named Edmond.
After school, where he knew both Lord Emsworth
and his brother Galahad Threepwood
and was given the nickname Stinker, he became a clerk in a solicitor
's office, but soon broke into the media, founding his first magazine, Pyke's Weekly. With the success of this paper, thanks in no small part to the advice of his sister, Pyke's empire began to grow, accumulating such titles as Society Spice and Home Gossip.
Pyke's right-hand man at the Mammoth is Percy Pilbeam
, an efficient young man who becomes editor of Society Spice when Pyke's son runs off, and later heads up a detective agency.
The Mammoth Publishing Company crops up in many other stories, for example providing employment for Ashe Marson and Joan Valentine in Something Fresh
.
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 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...
. Pyke is a publishing
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
magnate
Magnate
Magnate, from the Late Latin magnas, a great man, itself from Latin magnus 'great', designates a noble or other man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or other qualities...
, the founder and owner of the Mammoth Publishing Company. Outside his business, he has a passion for pigs and is the owner of a prize pig named Buckinghamshire Big Boy. Pyke appears in several novel
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....
s, including two set at 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,...
: Summer Lightning
Summer Lightning
Summer Lightning is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on 1 July 1929 by Doubleday, Doran, New York, under the title Fish Preferred, and in the United Kingdom on 19 July 1929 by Herbert Jenkins, London...
(1929) and Heavy Weather
Heavy Weather (novel)
Heavy Weather is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on July 28, 1933 by Little, Brown and Company, Boston, and in the United Kingdom on August 10, 1933 by Herbert Jenkins, London...
(1933).
Life
Wodehouse introduces Pyke in Bill the ConquerorBill the Conqueror
Bill the Conqueror is a novel by P.G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on November 14, 1924 by Methuen & Co., London, and in the United States on February 20, 1925 by George H. Doran, New York, the story having previously been serialised in the Saturday Evening Post from May 24 to...
as plain Sir George Pyke. Mammoth Publishing Company is already a mighty undertaking and Pyke is about to become a Lord – he selects the Tilbury title based on the address of his headquarters, at Tilbury House on Tilbury Street.
Pyke is not a tall man and runs somewhat to fat. His similarity to Napoleon, both in physique and character, is often remarked upon. He is a widower, his late wife Lucy having left him a son named Roderick. He also has a sister named Francie, who is married to an archaeologist
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
, and he had an elder brother, named Edmond.
After school, where he knew both 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...
and his brother Galahad Threepwood
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"...
and was given the nickname Stinker, he became a clerk in a solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
's office, but soon broke into the media, founding his first magazine, Pyke's Weekly. With the success of this paper, thanks in no small part to the advice of his sister, Pyke's empire began to grow, accumulating such titles as Society Spice and Home Gossip.
Pyke's right-hand man at the Mammoth is Percy Pilbeam
Percy Frobisher Pilbeam
Percy Frobisher Pilbeam is a fictional character in the works of P. G. Wodehouse. A journalist turned detective, he is a rather weak and unpleasant man, generally disliked by all...
, an efficient young man who becomes editor of Society Spice when Pyke's son runs off, and later heads up a detective agency.
Stories
George Pyke appears in the following books:- Bill the ConquerorBill the ConquerorBill the Conqueror is a novel by P.G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on November 14, 1924 by Methuen & Co., London, and in the United States on February 20, 1925 by George H. Doran, New York, the story having previously been serialised in the Saturday Evening Post from May 24 to...
(1924) – in which much of his family appear, and he becomes a Lord - Sam the SuddenSam the SuddenSam the Sudden is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on 15 October 1925 by Methuen, London, and in the United States on 6 November 1925 by George H. Doran, New York, under the title Sam in the Suburbs...
(1925) – (U.S. title: Sam in the Suburbs) - Summer LightningSummer LightningSummer Lightning is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on 1 July 1929 by Doubleday, Doran, New York, under the title Fish Preferred, and in the United Kingdom on 19 July 1929 by Herbert Jenkins, London...
(1929) – in which he only appears off-stage, acting through Pilbeam (U.S. title: Fish Preferred) - Heavy WeatherHeavy Weather (novel)Heavy Weather is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on July 28, 1933 by Little, Brown and Company, Boston, and in the United Kingdom on August 10, 1933 by Herbert Jenkins, London...
(1933) – in which he must himself come to Blandings CastleBlandings CastleBlandings 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,... - 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 comes up against Uncle FredUncle 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... - Frozen AssetsFrozen AssetsFrozen Assets is a novel by P.G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on July 14, 1964 by Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York under the title Biffen's Millions, and in the United Kingdom on August 14, 1964 by Herbert Jenkins, London....
(1964) – in which he finally falls in love (U.S. title: Biffen's Millions)
The Mammoth Publishing Company crops up in many other stories, for example providing employment for Ashe Marson and Joan Valentine in Something Fresh
Something Fresh
Something Fresh is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse. It was first published as a book in the United States, by D. Appleton & Company on September 3, 1915, under the title Something New, having previously appeared under that title as a serial in the Saturday Evening Post between June 26 and August 14,...
.