QA91-100

Round 91 - 18 August 2001

1. The redhead was ‘Bobbie’ Wickham, of course, since the male character's style was unmistakably Bertie Wooster's and he never met any of the other girls in the list. Bobbie had sent Bertie to Willie Cream's room to search it in order to try and recover the celebrated cow creamer (‘it’) – thus landing him in the bouillon as usual.

[Jeeves in the Offing (US How right you are, Jeeves), chapter 8]

2. Gally was speaking to ‘Stinker’ Pyke (aka Lord Tilbury).

As you may remember, the late Major Wilfred Basham achieved immortality for (among other things) discovering a palatable ‘teetotal drink’ – absinthe!

[Heavy Weather, chapter 7]

3. This amiable young man was that lovable character, Freddie Rooke (in Jill the Reckless). A total stranger – or so Freddie thought at the time, not recognising a childhood friend – had just spoken to him during the intermission of a theatrical performance.

[Jill the Reckless (US The Little Warrior), chapter 2, section 2]

Several entrants thought the ‘Freddie’ in question must be Freddie Widgeon (in Noblesse Oblige or Trouble Down at Tudsleigh), which was quite a good guess, I think.

4. Lord Hoddesdon (the Biscuit's father) had come to Valley Fields and was not enjoying his expedition into darkest suburbia. He had had an unpleasant encounter with a small boy, he had been stalked by a threatening, cloth-capped admirer of Stalin, he had been deprived of his grey top hat, he had dived through an open window into Castlewood ... Now he desperately needed a hat to return to London ‘if he ever got out of this ghastly suburb alive’. And lo! ‘At the end of <the> passage was the front door, and beside the front door a hat-stand, from which protruded, like heads of the Burjoisy neatly skewered on pikes after the Social Revolution, divers hats’.

I shall not tell you of subsequent events. You must re-read Big Money for yourself or, if you have not read it yet (lucky you!), get hold of a copy a.s.a.p. Wonderful book.

[Big Money, chapter 6, section 2]

Round 92 - 4 September 2001

1. Tuppy Glossop's tactless assumption that Bertie Wooster's brilliant scheme was actually Jeeves's had caused Bertram to been piqued to the tonsils. His heart-bowed-downness, however, was beginning to yield to treatment (viz ‘splashing about in the porcelain for a bit’), and the toy duck completed the cure.

[Right Ho, Jeeves, chapter 9]

True, Reggie Havershot too (in chapter 10 of Laughing Gas) ‘found the toy duck, and it surprised <him> what pleasure <he> derived from sporting with it’. But the words ‘presumably the property of some former juvenile visitor’ proved that this narrator simply could not be the third Earl of Havershot, who knew that the duck he found in the tub belonged to the Cooley kid.

2. Impecunious writer ‘Boko’ Fittleworth had entertained Lord Worplesdon (Nobby's guardian) to lunch: he was supposed to fascinate the forbidding old gentleman and so get him to agree to the wedding. But he had seen fit to enliven the meal with such refined Joke Goods as the Surprise Salt Shaker (which, as you know, gives birth to a spider) – with predictably disastrous results. Bertie (the narrator) was understandably appalled.

[Joy in the Morning, chapter 7]

Here is Ian Michaud's brilliant explanation of Shakespeare's alleged duck stealing (note that Ian solved another mystery – we now know whence Shakespeare plucked his Puck when writing The Tempest): ‘Stealing ducks was, of course, a misprint. Shakespeare, who hated ice hockey, was well known for stealing pucks whenever a game broke out in his neighbourhood.’

3. That frightening Othello, Y, was poet ‘Ricky’ Gilpin. Unaware of Polly Pott's engagement to Ricky, Horace Davenport (first speaker here) had taken this charming girl to the Bohemian Ball, thus causing the green-eyed monster to raise its ugly head in Ricky's bosom. He (Horace) now meant to go and see the girl in order to get her to tell him (Ricky) that he (Horace) was as pure as the driven snow, if not purer. The tongue-in-cheek cartoon fan was Lord Ickenham, aka Uncle Fred.

[Uncle Fred in the Springtime, chapter 5]

4. William Mulliner, who needed to drown his sorrows, had already downed three stiff drinks at Mike's Place when he asked a ‘charming man with a black eye’ what he recommended as a fourth drink. The c. m. with a b. e. obligingly told him about his brother-in-law Elmer, who in similar circumstances had drunk straight rye. Upon William inquiring if Elmer was a fellow you could trust, the c. m. replied: "He owned the biggest duck-farm in the southern half of Illinois." And so to the immortal comment quoted here.

I believe that (a) the mention of Illinois pointed to some American story and (b) the delightfully absurd speech in question pointed even more clearly to the speaker's being sozzled, oiled, blotto, fried to the tonsils, stewed to the gills, and definitely ossified.

[‘The Story of William’, from Meet Mr Mulliner or other collections]

Round 93 - 12 September 2001

1. Here Jeeves was warning Mr Wooster of the dangers inherent in selecting that red-haired ticking time-bomb Roberta Wickham as a life's companion. A subsequent fiasco engineered by Miss Wickham that left Mr Wooster knee-deep in punctured hot-water bottles and hot-tempered loony doctors pretty much bore out the honest fellow's assessment. From "Jeeves and the Yule-tide Spirit", which first appeared in book form in Very Good, Jeeves.

2. James "Corky" Corcoran was staggered by his first glimpse of Ukridge's red-headed boxing protégé, Wilberforce "Battling" Billson in "The Debut of Battling Billson" from Ukridge (US title He Rather Enjoyed It).

3. Peter Pett (A), horrified upon learning of his niece's well meant plan to kidnap his obnoxious step-son, pinned the blame for the trouble-making personality of (B), Ann Chester, on her red hair. (Piccadilly Jim, Chapter One)

Round 94 - 20 September 2001

1. Sir Roderick, Mr Roddis, Bimbo, George Robinson and Inspector Jervis are among the galaxy of assumed identities taken on by Frederick Altamont Cornwallis Twistleton, the fifth Earl of Ickenham. Uncle Fred took on the role of Sir Roderick while visiting Blandings Castle in Uncle Fred in the Springtime while Mr Roddis was one of several identities assumed by the old bounder in Uncle Fred Flits By. In Uncle Dynamite Lord Ickenham passed himself off as Bimbo Brabazon-Plank to assist his young friend Bill Oakshott out of a tight spot and we also learned in the same book that George Robinson was the name supplied to the constabulary on that infamous day when he dragged Pongo (alias Edwin Smith) to the dog races. Oily Carlisle's attempt to shake down Beefy Bastable in Chapter 10 of Cocktail Time was foiled by Lord Ickenham's performance as Inspector Jervis from the Yard.

2. This list consists of proud parrot owners. Jeeves related the adventure of Lord Brancaster's pie-eyed parrot in Right Ho, Jeeves. Nelly Bryant and her parrot Bill can be found in Chapter Five of Jill the Reckless, Mr Roddis and his parrot appeared in Uncle Fred Flits By, Lady Lakenheath and her feathered friend Leonard featured prominently in "Ukridge Rounds a Nasty Corner", and in "Bingo Bans the Bomb" we learned that Wee Tots correspondent Wilfred Waterson (aged seven) reported to the magazine's 'Uncle Joe to his Chickabiddies' page of his bird Percy's habit of cordially inviting complete strangers to have a nut.

3. Here we have four gentleman and a dog who were struck and knocked down by a motor vehicle. Lucius Pim had his accident outside Bertie Wooster's flat in "The Spot of Art" while George Pennicut, an Englishman living in New York, made the bloomer of looking the wrong way before attempting to cross a Manhattan street in Chapter One of The Coming of Bill. Lord Havershot, who was residing in Joey Cooley's body at the time, was struck by a motorcycle driven by Joey Cooley, who was occupying Lord Havershot's body - just one of those odd coincidences that could happen to anyone - in Chapter 26 of Laughing Gas. The Mixer was adopted by a small boy after being winded by the family's motor-car in The Mixer - Part Two from The Man With Two Left Feet. Finally, an inebriated Teddy Weeks lost an argument with a passing lorry in "Ukridge's Accident Syndicate".

4. The members of this quintet were all chased up a tree by a dog. Bishop Boko Bickerton was rescued from his undignified perch by Augustine Mulliner in "Mulliner's Buck-U-Uppo". Lord Emsworth was no match for the Peke Eisenhower in "Birth of a Salesman", and Augustus Mulliner was treed by something that looked like a phosphorous-free Hound of the Baskervilles while strolling through a Wimbledon Common garden at 3 a.m., as described in "The Right Approach". The bulldog Rubin intimidated the feckless Lord Bertie Fendall in the early (1910) magazine short story "Love Me, Love My Dog" (U.S. title "The Watch Dog") while in Chapter 17 of Sam the Sudden (U.S. Sam in the Suburbs) Kay Derrick's half-witted kitten misinterpreted the friendly advances of the dog Amy and sought sanctuary in the branches of a handy ellum tree. This scene was repeated almost verbatim forty-two years later in Company For Henry (U.S. The Purloined Paperweight). In fact, if you've read the cat-up-a-tree scene in Sam the Sudden, you've read the cat-up-a-tree scene in Company For Henry.

Round 95 - 28 September 2001

1. George Mulliner, cured of his stammer by a lively session with an angry mob armed with pitchforks, poured out his heart to X, his fellow crossword puzzle addict, Susan Blake. From "The Truth About George", which first appeared in book form in Meet Mr Mulliner.

2. After courting Jane Packard for four years, lymphatic golfer William Bates finally got up the nerve to propose only to discover that he'd been pipped at the post by a romantic poet named Rodney Spelvin. As suggested by the title of the story, "Rodney Fails to Qualify" (from The Heart of a Goof; U. S. Divots), the scales soon fell from Jane's eyes and Spelvin was out of the picture by the final curtain leaving William and Jane to embrace, waist-deep in a water hazard.

3. Joe Davenport's proposal to Kay Shannon - his fourteenth - was, like the previous thirteen, turned down like a bedspread in Chapter Two of The Old Reliable. Don't worry though - Kay's sales resistance eventually gave out and a happy ending would be supplied nineteen chapters later.

Round 96 - 7 October 2001

Fore!

1. Avid golfer Cuthbert Banks made an unfortunate first impression on the beautiful Adeline Smethurst and her formidable aunt, Mrs Willoughby Smethurst, but would later make up lost ground when the visiting Russian novelist Vladimir Brusiloff gave Cootaboot his enthusiastic stamp of approval. From The Clicking of Cuthbert.

2. The mental golfer, (A), was William FitzWilliam Delamere Chalmers, Lord Dawlish, and his tardy fiancee, (B), was Claire Fenwick from the opening page of Uneasy Money.

3. Jeremy Garnet won the hand of Phyllis Derrick by allowing her father, Prof. Patrick Derrick, (C), to win a golf tournament in Chapter 20, subtitled "Scientific Golf", from Love Among the Chickens. My source book is the more commonly available revised and updated 1920 edition. It is possible the excerpt chosen for this question may be different in the original 1906 edition, which I do not possess. And I'm indebted to Tony Ring, the man behind the immense Wodehouse Concordance project, for informing me at the recent Philadelphia convention that "Scientific Golf" also appeared in the American magazine Vanity Fair as a self-contained short story under the by-line of some bird called Melrose Grainger. This, it appears, was one of the handful of pen-names assumed by Plum during his Vanity Fair days to attempt to disguise the fact that the magazine's drama critic was single-handedly churning out most of the publication's copy.

Round 97 - 23 October 2001

1. When the Hon. Galahad Threepwood (G) takes pen in hand, strong men dive for cover. Lady Constance Keeble pleads with her sister Lady Julia Fish (J) not to bung a spanner into the romance between her (J's) son Ronnie and Sue Brown; as this will cause Gally's reminiscences to be published. Sir Gregory little dreamt, as he moved blithely from one scandal to another, that Nemesis would catch up with him in his sober Baronetcy. (Heavy Weather, Chapter 6)

2. Bertie Wooster (X) is impersonating his old pal Oliver Sipperly who's been jugged for thirty days by a bleak-eyed Bosher Street beak. His jangled nerves are further strained by the coy advances of Heloise Pringle and her determination to rid him of "his friend, Bertie Wooster". ("Without the Option", from Carry On Jeeves)

3. Patrick "Packy" Franklin's penchant for lunatic behaviour, and a taste for companions such as the Vicomte de Blissac, met with Lady Beatrice Bracken's icy disapproval during their -mercifully - brief engagement. (Hot Water, Chapter 2)

4. N (Nutcombe "Nutty" Boyd) brings home C (Bill Chalmers, alias Lord Dawlish) after a night out on the tiles, much to the indignation of his sister Elizabeth. A mutual love of bees and golf ultimately reconciles Elizabeth to Bill's presence. (Uneasy Money, Chapter 9)

Round 98 - 30 October 2001

1. Pongo Twistleton (X) has reason to rejoice. He irrepressible relative, Frederick Altamont Cornwallis Twistleton is out to do what he does best - spread sweetness and light - but this time, he's going to do it at Lord Emsworth's (Y's) Shropshire lair. For a nephew who still shudders at any mention of the dog races, this is blessed reprieve, indeed! (Service With A Smile, Chapter 2)

2. Syd Price (Y) excels in repartee - especially when it's a war of words with "uncle" Slingsby. While there's no doubt that Slingsby and the sozzled Mrs Price (X) are related by ties of blood, one cannot say the same as regards Syd. One sympathises with Slingsby - given a choice, he'd like to disown both. (If I Were You, Chapter 3)

3. Eustace's bitter outburst against brother Claude was actuated not by a rigid moral code, but by the fact that it was Claude, and not he, who conceived the idea of stealing their Uncle George's cigarette case as a gift for the glamorous Marion Wardour. ("The Delayed Exit of Claude and Eustace" from The Inimitable Jeeves)

4. Stanley Featherstonehaugh Ukridge, himself a disreputable relative (from his Aunt Julia's viewpoint), encounters a worse one in the shape of his Uncle Percy ("Ukridge and the Old Stepper" from Eggs, Beans and Crumpets). While the Old Stepper's kinship to Ukridge is a little vague (he having married Ukridge's late step mother's step sister); his dubiousness - when it comes to scrounging summer houses and sundials - is definitely pronounced!

Round 99 - 8 November 2001

1. Sir Jasper Addleton (who had just put up a questionable prospectus) was intimidated by Adrian Mulliner's smile to give up Lady Millicent Shipton-Bellinger (and a hundred thousand pounds) in 'The Smile that Wins' from Mulliner Nights.

2. T. Paterson Frisby (who needed his conscience sent to the cleaners), squirms in his seat to hear J.B Hoke telling him how to do down the innocent shareholder. Big Money, Chapter 8

3. Lord Ickenham is upto his devious schemes again. This time he's trying to put the Duke of Dunstable against Jimmy Schoonmaker in Service with a Smile, Chapter 11

4. Jill (X) ticked off her Uncle Chris for trying to put one over poor Otis Pilkington (Z) (Jill the Reckless, Chapter 19)

Round 100 - 19 November 2001

1. Some of the more endearing PGW young men inhabited Halsey Court before love and good fortune took them elsewhere. Apart from prowling cats and cold-shouldering by the aristocracy, Halsey Court comes with another peril - Ma Balsam's rock cakes. The intrepid young men were:

Jeff Miller (Money in the Bank)
Jerry Shoesmith (Frozen Assets)
Sam Bagshott (Galahad At Blandings)
John Halliday (A Pelican at Blandings)

Chimp Twist, in his J. Sheringham Adair avatar also inhabited Halsey Court. But we don't consider Chimp an 'endearing young man', do we?

2. Freddie Widgeon has loved and lost again … thus adding another popsy to the list that would, in theory, stretch from Piccadilly Circus to Hyde Park Corner. This time, the luckless swain places blame squarely on Bramley-on-Sea, and its tendency to let buxom blondes jump into your car. ("Bramley is So Bracing" from Nothing Serious)

3. Sam Shotter (X) has just had his pocket picked, been cut by Bates on the steps of the 'Angry Cheese' and has lost his good friend Willoughby Braddock. Pimlico must have looked bleaker than usual to his jaundiced eye. (Sam the Sudden, Chapter 5)

4. Wilfred Mulliner (the well known inventor of Mulliner's Magic Marvels) believes that the girl he loves has been immured at ffinch Hall by her guardian, and is planning to insinuate himself into the place as the infamous guardian's valet. No wonder he's slightly prejudiced about his future employer's abode. ("A Slice of Life" from Meet Mr Mulliner)