French leave Book

Of all the Wodehouse I have read and re-read French Leave was the first I could, and sometimes wanted to put down. It is one of the most mature and sophisticated of Plums novels, but it is too derivative. That there is nothing novel in any part of the plot is forgivable in a Wodehouse novel. Almost none of his Jeeves books vary from each other. But here everything feels used.

Wodehouse admitted to his friend Guy Bulton that this book was derived from a storyline already used in three movies, the original , Three Blind Mice by Mr. Bulton. (from Wikipedia) Wikipedia will also note that many of the character names had been lifted from other sources and most will recognize the use of the name Quackenbush as being from earlier Max Brother's fame. None of the earlier sources are Wodehouse products.

The story line reads like the Anita Loos stories, How to Marry A Millionaire, and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. In fact I found myself humming, Two Girls from Little rock through the first 1/3 of this short story. Three ladies, having grown up in some sophistication (they speak French) but surviving as chicken farmers come into a small sum of money. The younger sisters execute a long held plan to blow their share of the money on a trip to France, where they will take turns pretending to be well off, the third sister will act as maid and before the money runs out they will have rich husbands. The older sister being more pragmatic and less pretty will chaperone the younger. In short a movie that had been or would be made at least 5 times plus the 1960's TV show. Wodehouse lifted these ideas, again no crime in this but he did so little with them.

Wodehouse's fame as one of the funniest authors of his generation stands on his skill with dialogue. No one does goofy English school boy irony and fatuousness better. In French Leave the conversation between father Marquis de Maufringneuse et Valerie-Moberanneand, and son, Comte d'Escrigno AKA Jeffy ; sparkles with some of best dialogue in the books. Elsewhere it ranges from mildly clever to vaguely inappropriate in the mouths of American speakers. "Hoy!" for "Hey" does not belong in the mouth of a post WWII American.

On the technical side there are issues with characters who come and go and never seem to have a purpose. The older sister is almost a wasted character. There are obvious plot twists and so forth. However this is intended as light humorous reading. It is a short novella and is an example of PG as an older writer working a more complex situation comedy than is his usual fare. A reader new to Wodehouse may enjoy this as a reasonable introduction to a great comedic writer and a loyal fan may appreciate the odd mixture of complexity and silliness. I do not dislike French Leave, I cannot be enthusiastic.

A brief note on this edition: This book, a hardback is part of a reissue by Overlook Press. Each book is a compact hardback with a reasonable price. Some of these titles are available in Kindle editions. I will be seeking more of these books, favoring the lower priced Kindle, but savoring these nicely bound hardbacks.