Spring Fever (1948 novel)
Encyclopedia
Spring Fever is a novel
by P.G. Wodehouse, first published on May 20, 1948, in the United Kingdom
by Herbert Jenkins
, London
and in the United States
by Doubleday and Co, New York
. Although not featuring any of Wodehouse's regular characters, the cast contains a typical Wodehousean selection of English aristocrats, wealthy Americans, household staff and imposters.
Lord Shortlands himself is in love with his cook, Mrs Punter, and would
like to marry her. Unfortunately she insists on £200 to buy a pub, which
Shortlands doesn't have, the purse-strings at Beevor Castle being firmly in
the control of his domineering elder daughter Adela. Also, he has a rival
in suave butler Mervyn Spink. Things look up for "Shorty" when he discovers
that a stamp in his collection is worth £1000. But Spink fools Adela into
believing that the stamp is his, and it gets locked up in a safe. It so
happens that Stanwood's butler, Augustus Robb is an ex-safe breaker, and
Mike masterminds a burglary. This goes disastrously wrong, and Mike gets
hit in the face with a bag of safe breaking tools. The up-side is that his
battered face makes him suddenly attractive to Terry. So, after a final
misunderstanding, things end happily for Mike and Terry. Stanwood and
Eileen also get together. But Mrs Punter runs off with Augustus Robb,
leaving Shorty and Spink ruing their loss.
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....
by P.G. Wodehouse, first published on May 20, 1948, 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...
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...
and in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by Doubleday and Co, 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...
. Although not featuring any of Wodehouse's regular characters, the cast contains a typical Wodehousean selection of English aristocrats, wealthy Americans, household staff and imposters.
Plot summary
Wealthy New York businessman G. Ellery Cobbold has sent his son Stanwood, a blundering ex-American football player, to London, to separate him from Hollywood starlet Eileen Stoker with whom he is in love. When Cobbold discovers that Stoker is also in London, making pictures, he insists that Stanwood goes to stay with a distant relation, curmudgeonly widower Lord Shortlands. But Stanwood stays put. Instead, good-looking movie agent Mike Cardinal goes to Shortlands' castle (Beevor, in Kent), posing as Stanwood. He is pursuing Shortland's beautiful daughter Terry. But Terry is wary of him because he is too handsome.Lord Shortlands himself is in love with his cook, Mrs Punter, and would
like to marry her. Unfortunately she insists on £200 to buy a pub, which
Shortlands doesn't have, the purse-strings at Beevor Castle being firmly in
the control of his domineering elder daughter Adela. Also, he has a rival
in suave butler Mervyn Spink. Things look up for "Shorty" when he discovers
that a stamp in his collection is worth £1000. But Spink fools Adela into
believing that the stamp is his, and it gets locked up in a safe. It so
happens that Stanwood's butler, Augustus Robb is an ex-safe breaker, and
Mike masterminds a burglary. This goes disastrously wrong, and Mike gets
hit in the face with a bag of safe breaking tools. The up-side is that his
battered face makes him suddenly attractive to Terry. So, after a final
misunderstanding, things end happily for Mike and Terry. Stanwood and
Eileen also get together. But Mrs Punter runs off with Augustus Robb,
leaving Shorty and Spink ruing their loss.
External links
- The Russian Wodehouse Society's page, with a list of characters
- Fantastic Fiction's page, with details of various published editions and photos of book covers.