The Oldest Member is a fictional character

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...

 from the short stories and novels of 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 narrates the majority of Wodehouse's golf stories from the terrace of a golf club whose location is unclear, and he never has a proper name.

While the club's members enjoy having drinks in the clubhouse after a brisk eighteen holes, they do so fully aware of the risk that the Oldest Member, who, though he has long since given up golf, has seen all and knows all, might pick up on their conversation and begin to relate a story from his experience. Once he has started talking, he cannot be stopped.

BBC Radio 4

BBC Radio 4

BBC 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...

 aired an adaptation of some of the short stories and novels. Maurice Denham

Maurice Denham

Maurice Denham OBE was an English character actor who appeared in over 100 television programmes and films throughout his long career.-Life and career:...

 starred in three series between 1994 and 1999.

Stories

The Oldest Member narrates twenty-five short stories:

• Nine of the ten stories in The Clicking of Cuthbert
  The Clicking of Cuthbert
  The Clicking of Cuthbert is a collection of ten short stories by P. G. Wodehouse, all with a golfing background. It was first published in the United Kingdom on February 3, 1922 by Herbert Jenkins, London, and in the United States on May 28, 1924 by George H. Doran, New York, under the title Golf...
  
  :
  • "The Clicking of Cuthbert"
  • "A Woman is Only a Woman"
  • "A Mixed Threesome"
  • "Sundered Hearts"
  • "The Salvation of George Mackintosh"
  • "Ordeal by Golf
    Ordeal by Golf
    Ordeal by Golf is a 1924 British silent comedy film directed by Andrew P. Wilson and starring Harry Beasley, Edwin Underhill and Jean Jay. It was based on the short story collection The Clicking of Cuthbert by P.G...
    
    "
  • "The Long Hole"
  • "The Heel of Achilles"
  • "The Rough Stuff"
• All nine stories in The Heart of a Goof
  The Heart of a Goof
  The Heart of a Goof is a collection of nine short stories by English comic writer P. G. Wodehouse. It was first published in the United Kingdom on April 15, 1926 by Herbert Jenkins, and in the United States on March 4, 1927 by George H...
  
  :
  • "The Heart of a Goof"
  • "High Stakes"
  • "Keeping in with Vosper"
  • "Chester Forgets Himself"
  • "The Magic Plus Fours"
  • "The Awakening of Rollo Podmarsh"
  • "Rodney Fails to Qualify"
  • "Jane Gets off the Fairway"
  • "The Purification of Rodney Spelvin"
• Five of the stories in Nothing Serious
  Nothing 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:...
  
  :
  • "Up From the Depths"
  • "Feet of Clay"
  • "Excelsior
    Excelsior (short story)
    "Excelsior" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, which first appeared in the U.K. edition of Argosy magazine on July 1, 1948 under the title "The Hazards of Horace Bewstridge", and was later included in the collection Nothing Serious . It is one of Wodehouse's many golf stories, told by the Oldest...
    
    "
  • "Rodney Has a Relapse"
  • "Tangled Hearts"
• A single story from A Few Quick Ones
  A Few Quick Ones
  A 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....
  
  :
  • "Scratch Man"
• A single story from Lord Emsworth and Others
  Lord Emsworth and Others
  -External links:* , with a list of characters and publication dates* , with details of published editions, photos of book covers and links to used copies...
  
  :
  • "There's always golf
    There's Always Golf
    "There's Always Golf" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, which first appeared in the United Kingdom in the March 1936 issue of the Strand, and in the United States in the April 1936 edition of Redbook, under the title "Not Out of Distance". It was included in the UK collection Lord Emsworth and...
    
    "

External links

• Radio 4 adaptation episode listing The Oldest Member on epguides.com