The Episode of the Hired Past
Encyclopedia
"The Episode of the Hired Past" is a short story
by P. G. Wodehouse
and C. H. Bovill, which first appeared in the United Kingdom
in the September 1914 issue of the Strand
, and in the United States
in the October 1916 Pictorial Review
. It was published in book form in the collection A Man of Means
in 1991.
It is the last of six stories to feature Roland Bleke, a young man for whom financial success is always a mixed blessing.
. Feeling utterly out of place in such exalted company, he cannot think of a way to break off the engagement honourably, until Teal, her father's butler, overhearing Bleke's despair, offers a suggestion.
Bleke pays £100 for the butler's niece Maud, a plebiean barmaid, to pose as a jilted former lover; he writes some compromising letters to the girl, and she appears at the house, creating a scene and satisfactorily, though painfully, bringing an end to Bleke's engagement.
Later, Bleke is in a happy reverie as he opens his post; one of the letters is from a solicitor, saying that Maud has several letters in her possession, as well as witnesses in the shape of Miss Blyton's family, proving that he had promised to marry her. To avoid the scandal of a breach-of-promise case, she will accept £10,000.
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
by 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...
and C. H. Bovill, which first appeared 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...
in the September 1914 issue of the Strand
Strand Magazine
The Strand Magazine was a monthly magazine composed of fictional stories and factual articles founded by George Newnes. It was first published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950 running to 711 issues, though the first issue was on sale well before Christmas 1890.Its immediate...
, and in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the October 1916 Pictorial Review
Pictorial Review
Pictorial Review is a magazine which first appeared in September, 1899. The magazine was originally designed to showcase dress patterns of William Paul Ahnelt's American Fashion Company. By the late 1920s it was one of the largest of the "women's magazines"....
. It was published in book form in the collection A Man of Means
A Man of Means
A Man of Means is a collection of six short stories written in collaboration by P. G. Wodehouse and C. H. Bovill. The stories first appeared in the United Kingdom in the Strand in 1914, and in the United States in Pictorial Review in 1916...
in 1991.
It is the last of six stories to feature Roland Bleke, a young man for whom financial success is always a mixed blessing.
Plot summary
Roland Bleke is once again engaged to be married, this time to Lady Eva Blyton, daughter of an EarlEarl
An earl is a member of the nobility. The title is Anglo-Saxon, akin to the Scandinavian form jarl, and meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. In Scandinavia, it became obsolete in the Middle Ages and was replaced with duke...
. Feeling utterly out of place in such exalted company, he cannot think of a way to break off the engagement honourably, until Teal, her father's butler, overhearing Bleke's despair, offers a suggestion.
Bleke pays £100 for the butler's niece Maud, a plebiean barmaid, to pose as a jilted former lover; he writes some compromising letters to the girl, and she appears at the house, creating a scene and satisfactorily, though painfully, bringing an end to Bleke's engagement.
Later, Bleke is in a happy reverie as he opens his post; one of the letters is from a solicitor, saying that Maud has several letters in her possession, as well as witnesses in the shape of Miss Blyton's family, proving that he had promised to marry her. To avoid the scandal of a breach-of-promise case, she will accept £10,000.
External links
- Free eBook of A Man of Means at Project GutenbergProject GutenbergProject Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books...