Performing Flea is a non-fiction book, consisting of a series of letters written by P.G. Wodehouse to William Townend, a friend of Wodehouse since their schooldays together at Dulwich College

Dulwich College

Dulwich College is an independent school for boys in Dulwich, southeast London, England. The college was founded in 1619 by Edward Alleyn, a successful Elizabethan actor, with the original purpose of educating 12 poor scholars as the foundation of "God's Gift". It currently has about 1,600 boys,...

. It was originally published 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 9 October 1953 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...

. The title alludes to a disparaging comment by the playwright

Playwright

A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...

 Seán O'Casey

Seán O'Casey

Seán O'Casey was an Irish dramatist and memoirist. A committed socialist, he was the first Irish playwright of note to write about the Dublin working classes.- Early life:...

, who, in a letter to The Daily Telegraph

The Daily Telegraph

The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...

in July 1941, referring to Wodehouse's radio broadcasts from Berlin, wrote that "If England has any dignity left in the way of literature, she will forget for ever the pitiful antics of English literature's performing flea".

The letters are introduced and annotated by Townend, who had provided Wodehouse with the inspiration for his character Ukridge

Stanley Featherstonehaugh Ukridge

Stanley Featherstonehaugh Ukridge is a fictional character from the short stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse.Ukridge is a schemer who will do anything to increase his funding -- except, of course, work. An alert and creative opportunist, he makes sure that no kindness shown to him, however...

.

The United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 version of the book, entitled Author! Author!, was published on 20 June 1962 by Simon & Schuster

Simon & Schuster

Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...

, Inc., 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...

. It was substantially reworked, with commentary by Wodehouse replacing much of Townend's contribution.