It takes a lot of effort for Jimmy Crocker to become Piccadilly Jim – nights on the town roistering, headlines in the gossip columns, a string of broken hearts and breaches of promise. Eventually he bacomes rather good at it and manages to go to pieces with his eyes open. But no sooner has Jimmy cut wild swathe through fashionable London than his terrifying Aunt Nesta decides he must mend his … mend his ways. He then falls in love with the girl he has hurt most of all, and after that things get complicated.
In a dizzying plot, impersonations pile on impersonations so that (for reasons that will become clear, we promise) Jimmy ends up having to pretend he’s himself. Piccadilly Jim is one of P.G. Wodehouse’s most renowned early comic novels, and has been filmed three times.
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“Piccadilly Jim” is a complete romp of a novel. This PG Wodehouse story, like many of his works, appeared as a serial in the Saturday Evening Post before being published as a novel (USA edition) in 1917. “Piccadilly Jim” was published in England in 1918.
It is my belief that Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse–PG Wodehouse, ‘Plum’ to family and friends–had a thoroughly smashing good time concocting this tale. “Piccadilly Jim” is a mashup of all his favorite themes. The novel is set in both New York and London; two cities he loved. It is peppered throughout with the denizens he collected in his happy travels. There are butlers, of course, both real and impersonated. There are Americans in London, and Englishmen on the wrong side of The Pond. Obnoxious children worth a good drowning vie for attention with young women who are headstrong and beautiful. Fierce matrons storm about in an attempt to restore order, while New York toughs lurk in the background. The thing is a romp, an absolute romp.
For this story, PG Wodehouse took a page or two from Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde. There are dual-identity gags, imposter gags, and assorted disguised persons gags. The hero of the story, Jimmy Crocker, is mad for the Head-strong Modern Girl (HMG), of course. Unfortunately, he ‘done her wrong’ when she was a young woman, writing a stinging review of her first published poems. The two meet in London, naturally, and without recognizing or remembering each other. During the ‘Getting to know you chat,’ our HMG spits out the name of Jimmy Crocker as if a vile insect had left a bad taste in her mouth. Our man Jim, already on the lam from a dust-up in a London club, takes the hint and pinches the name of his family butler. This first false identity sets the stage for many more.
Laughs come at the expense of both sides of The Pond. Our dear American Cousins suffer terribly under the weirdness of cricket. Jimmy Crocker’s father, a rich American in London, hates cricket. All he wants is a seat at a baseball game, without any more talk of Peerages or London Society. The poor man will do anything to get away, absolutely anything. Stage set, and off we go: People who aren’t who they seem, obnoxious kids to kidnap, secret formulas that may blow up New York, and a new love to be saved.
Unlike many of PG Wodehouse’s other novels, “Piccadilly Jim” is actually a complete novel. Some of Wodehouse’s books are collections of short stories that seem to work towards some end. They are delightful stories, but not necessarily novels. This is also a stand-alone novel. The obnoxious kid Ogden, and his overbearing mother Nesta, are the only reappearing characters.
“Piccadilly Jim” is one of my favorite Wodehouse novels. The plot is completely over-the-top, and yet so well-crafted that it is a joy to read. The characters are all great fun, comeuppances are doled out as needed, and there are laughs aplenty. It all gets wrapped up with a big, tidy bow. If a Jeeves and Wooster fan were to ask for a starting point for Wodehouse’s many other works, this is most likely where I would point them. Until next time, happy reading!