Lord Emsworth
Encyclopedia
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. Longing for nothing more than to potter peacefully in the idyllic gardens of Blandings Castle, he must frequently face the unpleasant reality of his domineering sisters and familial duties.
town of Emsworth
, where Wodehouse spent some time in the 1890s; he first went there in 1903, at the invitation of his friend Herbert Westbrook, and later took a lease on a house there called "Threepwood Cottage", which name he used as Lord Emsworth's family name. Westbrook worked at a school in the town, and Wodehouse also mentions it in his 1909 novel Mike
, as the place where Mike was at school prior to Wrykyn. Some of the many characters who are named after places in the vicinity of Emsworth include Lord Emsworth's heir, Viscount Bosham
, Lady Anne Warblington
, Lord Stockheath, the Duchess of Havant
(in A Gentleman of Leisure
), and Lord Arthur Hayling (in The Prince and Betty
).
The name "Lord Emsworth" first appears in Wodehouse's works as a passing mention in a short called "The Matrimonial Sweepstakes", a version of "The Good Angel" printed in Cosmopolitan
in the U.S.
in February 1910. "The Good Angel" as it appears in the 1914 collection The Man Upstairs
contains no such mention, although there is a "Lord Stockleigh" involved.
they called him "Fathead", and by the time we meet him his slowness of thought has become a byword; he is prone to distraction and misunderstanding, but generally amiable. His simple outlook makes him an excellent sleeper, and for twenty years he has rarely got less than his eight hours, usually managing ten (he is particularly fond of sleeping at the start of train journeys). In Something Fresh
he keeps a revolver by his bed, with which to fire wildly at burglars or Rupert Baxter
.
Lord Emsworth has ten sisters (one deceased), two brothers (one deceased), two sons, at least one daughter, and many in-laws – for a full list of his family members, see the Threepwood family list. He was once married, but his wife died some years before we meet him: "he was a man who since the death of his wife some twenty years ago had made something of a life's work of avoiding women." (Pigs Have Wings
, 1952).
He is a long, thin, bald old man with a tendency towards scruffiness, generally found in a worn old tweed
jacket and trousers that bag at the knees. He wears pince-nez
on a string around his neck, which he nevertheless often loses. He resents being forced to dress up smartly, especially when he is also called on to address crowds, and most of all loathes having to visit London
when the sun is shining. In "Lord Emsworth Acts for the Best
", he grows a rather ragged beard, little realising the peril this puts his castle in, but soon realises that it is better to remove it.
In his later years, the main troubles of his life stem from his many sisters, particularly the formidable Connie, who despair at his eccentric appearance and distracted ways, and his younger son Freddie
, who he longs to see safely married off and out of trouble; his joy at seeing him finally paired off with Aggie Donaldson knows no bounds.
and Psmith
, although by far the best known, and least appreciated by his Lordship, is Rupert Baxter
, the bespectacled efficiency expert, who made Emsworth's life a misery with his ruthless organisation of his master's precious time.
Emsworth's favourite pastimes are his pig and his garden, and he spends many a happy hour pottering about it, arguing with his gardeners, especially Angus McAllister, whose desire to gravel the famous Yew Alley is particularly upsetting to his Lordship, and with his pig-keepers, who include Wellbeloved, Pirbright, and the Amazonian
Monica Simmons.
He won first prize for roses at the Shrewsbury
Flower Show, the same year Psmith
's father won the tulip prize, and he is invariably amongst the competitors in Shropshire
's Agriculture Show. He has some success in the field of large pumpkins, taking first prize in the competition with his "Blandings Hope" (cruelly nicknamed "Percy" by his son Freddie). He later enters his prize sow, the Empress of Blandings
, who wins the coveted Fat Pigs contest several years in a row. The Empress's primary competitor is the Pride of Matchingham, who belongs to Sir Gregory Parsloe-Parsloe
, Emsworth's neighbour and rival. Once the pig fever has taken him, he is mostly to be found draped bonelessly over the pig pen, looking like an old sock.
In less salubrious weather he likes to mess around in his museum, or sit comfortably in the library, reading some informative tome of agricultural lore; his favourite being, of course, Whiffle on The Care of the Pig. A well-preserved fellow, he has a swim in the lake every morning he can, and has a fondness for amateur medicine, never happier than when trying out some new unction
.
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 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,...
stories by 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...
. He is the amiable and somewhat absent-minded head of the large Threepwood family. Longing for nothing more than to potter peacefully in the idyllic gardens of Blandings Castle, he must frequently face the unpleasant reality of his domineering sisters and familial duties.
Origins
Wodehouse frequently named his characters after places with which he was familiar, and Lord Emsworth takes his name from the HampshireHampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
town of Emsworth
Emsworth
Emsworth is a large village the south coast of England, situated on the Hampshire side of the border between Hampshire and West Sussex. The village lies at the north end of an arm of Chichester Harbour, a large but shallow inlet of the English Channel....
, where Wodehouse spent some time in the 1890s; he first went there in 1903, at the invitation of his friend Herbert Westbrook, and later took a lease on a house there called "Threepwood Cottage", which name he used as Lord Emsworth's family name. Westbrook worked at a school in the town, and Wodehouse also mentions it in his 1909 novel Mike
Mike (novel)
Mike is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published on 15 September 1909 by Adam & Charles Black, London. The story first appeared in the magazine The Captain, in two separate parts, collected together in the original version of the book; the first part, originally called Jackson Junior, was...
, as the place where Mike was at school prior to Wrykyn. Some of the many characters who are named after places in the vicinity of Emsworth include Lord Emsworth's heir, Viscount Bosham
Bosham
Bosham is a small coastal village and civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England, about ) west of Chichester on an inlet of Chichester Harbour....
, Lady Anne Warblington
Warblington
Warblington, historically part of the Hundred of Bosmere , is a suburb of Havant, a town in Hampshire, England.-History:It is part of the parish of St Thomas à Becket, Warblington and St James, Emsworth. Pevsner describes the church of St Thomas as essentially late 12th century and praises the...
, Lord Stockheath, the Duchess of Havant
Havant
Havant is a town in south east Hampshire on the South coast of England, between Portsmouth and Chichester. It gives its name to the borough comprising the town and the surrounding area. The town has rapidly grown since the end of the Second World War.It has good railway connections to London,...
(in A Gentleman of Leisure
A Gentleman of Leisure
A Gentleman of Leisure is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse. The basic plot first appeared in a novella, The Gem Collector, in the December 1909 issue of Ainslee's Magazine. It was substantially revised and expanded for publication as a book, under the title The Intrusion of Jimmy, by W.J. Watt and Co.,...
), and Lord Arthur Hayling (in The Prince and Betty
The Prince and Betty
The Prince and Betty is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse. It was originally published in Ainslee's Magazine in the United States in January 1912, and, in a slightly different form, as a serial in Strand Magazine in the United Kingdom between February and April 1912, before being published in book form,...
).
The name "Lord Emsworth" first appears in Wodehouse's works as a passing mention in a short called "The Matrimonial Sweepstakes", a version of "The Good Angel" printed in Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan (magazine)
Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in February 1910. "The Good Angel" as it appears in the 1914 collection The Man Upstairs
The Man Upstairs
The Man Upstairs is a collection of short stories by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on 23 January 1914 by Methuen & Co., London. Most of the stories had previously appeared in magazines, generally Strand Magazine in the UK and Cosmopolitan or Collier's Weekly in the United...
contains no such mention, although there is a "Lord Stockleigh" involved.
Life and character
Lord Emsworth is consistently presented just shy of sixty; since Wodehouse wrote about him for over half a century, in novels more or less set in the present, this means that his dates vary depending on what one is reading. As a child he once took a dead pet rabbit to bed with him; at the age of fifteen, he smoked his first cigar, and he has rarely been called on to think quickly since hearing his father's footsteps approaching the stable-loft where he sat that day. Never the brightest of minds, at Eton CollegeEton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
they called him "Fathead", and by the time we meet him his slowness of thought has become a byword; he is prone to distraction and misunderstanding, but generally amiable. His simple outlook makes him an excellent sleeper, and for twenty years he has rarely got less than his eight hours, usually managing ten (he is particularly fond of sleeping at the start of train journeys). 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,...
he keeps a revolver by his bed, with which to fire wildly at burglars or 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...
.
Lord Emsworth has ten sisters (one deceased), two brothers (one deceased), two sons, at least one daughter, and many in-laws – for a full list of his family members, see the Threepwood family list. He was once married, but his wife died some years before we meet him: "he was a man who since the death of his wife some twenty years ago had made something of a life's work of avoiding women." (Pigs Have Wings
Pigs Have Wings
Pigs Have Wings is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, which first appeared as a serial in Collier's Weekly between August 16 and September 20, 1952. It was first published as a book in the United States on October 16, 1952 by Doubleday & Company, New York, and in the United Kingdom on October 31, 1952 by...
, 1952).
He is a long, thin, bald old man with a tendency towards scruffiness, generally found in a worn old tweed
Tweed (cloth)
Tweed is a rough, unfinished woolen fabric, of a soft, open, flexible texture, resembling cheviot or homespun, but more closely woven. It is made in either plain or twill weave and may have a check or herringbone pattern...
jacket and trousers that bag at the knees. He wears pince-nez
Pince-nez
Pince-nez are a style of spectacles, popular in the 19th century, which are supported without earpieces, by pinching the bridge of the nose. The name comes from French pincer, to pinch, and nez, nose....
on a string around his neck, which he nevertheless often loses. He resents being forced to dress up smartly, especially when he is also called on to address crowds, and most of all loathes having to visit 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...
when the sun is shining. In "Lord Emsworth Acts for the Best
Lord Emsworth Acts for the Best
"Lord Emsworth Acts for the Best" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, which first appeared in the United Kingdom in the June 1926 Strand Magazine, and in the United States in the 5 June 1926 issue of Liberty...
", he grows a rather ragged beard, little realising the peril this puts his castle in, but soon realises that it is better to remove it.
In his later years, the main troubles of his life stem from his many sisters, particularly the formidable Connie, who despair at his eccentric appearance and distracted ways, and his younger son Freddie
Freddie Threepwood
The Honourable Frederick Threepwood is a fictional character in the Blandings stories by P. G. Wodehouse. A member of the Drones Club affectionately known as "Freddie", he is the second son of Lord Emsworth, and a somewhat simple-minded youth who brings his father nothing but trouble.Freddie has...
, who he longs to see safely married off and out of trouble; his joy at seeing him finally paired off with Aggie Donaldson knows no bounds.
Activities
He shuns his administrative duties, and generally has a secretary to handle such things; amongst the occupants of this post have been the likes of Hugo Carmody, Monty BodkinMonty Bodkin
Montague "Monty" Bodkin is a recurring fictional character in three novels of English comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being a wealthy young member of the Drones Club, tall, slender and lissom, well-dressed, well-spoken, impeccably polite, and generally in some kind of romantic trouble.-Stories:Monty...
and Psmith
Psmith
Rupert Psmith is a recurring fictional character in several novels by British comic writer P. G...
, although by far the best known, and least appreciated by his Lordship, is 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...
, the bespectacled efficiency expert, who made Emsworth's life a misery with his ruthless organisation of his master's precious time.
Emsworth's favourite pastimes are his pig and his garden, and he spends many a happy hour pottering about it, arguing with his gardeners, especially Angus McAllister, whose desire to gravel the famous Yew Alley is particularly upsetting to his Lordship, and with his pig-keepers, who include Wellbeloved, Pirbright, and the Amazonian
Amazons
The Amazons are a nation of all-female warriors in Greek mythology and Classical antiquity. Herodotus placed them in a region bordering Scythia in Sarmatia...
Monica Simmons.
He won first prize for roses at the Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
Flower Show, the same year Psmith
Psmith
Rupert Psmith is a recurring fictional character in several novels by British comic writer P. G...
's father won the tulip prize, and he is invariably amongst the competitors in Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
's Agriculture Show. He has some success in the field of large pumpkins, taking first prize in the competition with his "Blandings Hope" (cruelly nicknamed "Percy" by his son Freddie). He later enters his prize sow, the Empress of Blandings
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...
, who wins the coveted Fat Pigs contest several years in a row. The Empress's primary competitor is the Pride of Matchingham, who belongs to Sir Gregory Parsloe-Parsloe
Gregory Parsloe-Parsloe
Sir Gregory Parsloe-Parsloe, 7th Baronet is a fictional character from the Blandings stories of P. G. Wodehouse. The seventh Baronet, who resides at Matchingham Hall, he is the son of the Very Reverend Dean Parsloe-Parsloe and is the rival and enemy of Lord Emsworth, master of Blandings...
, Emsworth's neighbour and rival. Once the pig fever has taken him, he is mostly to be found draped bonelessly over the pig pen, looking like an old sock.
In less salubrious weather he likes to mess around in his museum, or sit comfortably in the library, reading some informative tome of agricultural lore; his favourite being, of course, Whiffle on The Care of the Pig. A well-preserved fellow, he has a swim in the lake every morning he can, and has a fondness for amateur medicine, never happier than when trying out some new unction
Liniment
Liniment , from the Latin linere, to anoint, is a medicated topical preparation for application to the skin. Preparations of this type are also called balm...
.
Stories
Lord Emsworth plays some part in all the novels and short stories in the Blandings canon. The short stories often feature Emsworth as the central character.Actors
- Horace Hodges played Lord Emsworth in a 19331933 in film-Events:* March 2 - King Kong premieres in New York City.* June 6 - The first drive-in theater opens, in Camden, New Jersey.* British Film Institute founded....
silent filmSilent filmA silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
adaptation of 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... - Ralph RichardsonRalph RichardsonSir Ralph David Richardson was an English actor, one of a group of theatrical knights of the mid-20th century who, though more closely associated with the stage, also appeared in several classic films....
played him in adaptations of six Blandings shorts, made by the BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and broadcast in 1967 (only the first, adapted from the short "Lord Emsworth and the Girl FriendLord Emsworth and the Girl Friend"Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, which first appeared in the United States in the 23 January 1926 issue of Liberty, and in the United Kingdom in the February 1926 Strand...
", still remains in the BBC archives). - Richard VernonRichard VernonRichard Vernon was a British actor. He appeared in many feature films and television programmes, often in aristocratic or supercilious roles...
portrayed Lord Emsworth in BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
adaptations from the 1960s to the 1980s, including series based on Galahad at BlandingsGalahad at BlandingsGalahad at Blandings is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on January 13, 1965 by Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York under the title The Brinkmanship of Galahad Threepwood, and in the United Kingdom on August 26 the same year by Herbert Jenkins, London.It forms part of...
and the Blandings short stories. - Peter O'ToolePeter O'ToolePeter Seamus Lorcan O'Toole is an Irish actor of stage and screen. O'Toole achieved stardom in 1962 playing T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia, and then went on to become a highly-honoured film and stage actor. He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards, and holds the record for most...
portrayed him in a 1995 BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
adaptation of 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...
, broadcast in the U.S.United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by PBSPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
. - Martin JarvisMartin JarvisMartin Jarvis OBE is an English actor.-Early life:Jarvis is the son of Denys Harry Jarvis and Margot Lillian Scottney, and grew up in South Norwood and Sanderstead, South Croydon.-Education:...
portrayed Emsworth for BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
in adaptations of Something FreshSomething FreshSomething 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,...
(2009) and 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...
(2010).
External links
- A Wodehouse biography, with details of his time at the real Emsworth
- A Blandings bibliography, mentioning the earliest appearance of Emsworth's name
- "Blandings Castle" (1967) at the BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
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