Blandings: The Wonderful World of Wodehouse

Miscellaneous Titles

In the course of researching this site I've come across many references to titles not in my collection. Some are well documented stories but not (as far as I know) available in books, some are different titles for their original magazine publications, some appear without any attribution or provenance and might not be by Wodehouse, and some might be by Wodehouse but are articles or poems, not stories. Those I know enough about are listed under the book, story or article pages. The remainder are listed here, for the sake of completeness. See also the Notes for Collectors page which has some relevant advice for story hunters. NB: Wodehouse's stories etc are still under copyright protection in the UK and many other countries.

If you can help with more information, please e-mail Reggie.

Adrian Mulliner, Detective

Said to be an alternative title for The Smile that Wins.

Adrian Mulliner's Greatest Triumph

Published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, February 1975 and possibly in Punch, 20 May 1959 and The Misadventures of Sherlock Holmes [Citadel Press 1989]. Widely said to be the original title for From a Detective's Notebook.

After the Show

Written with Herbert Westbrook, 1911. Probably a stage sketch but described variously as a music-hall sketch, a dramatic sketch and a play.

Archie, Art Connoisseur

Probably an alternative magazine title for part of The Indiscretions of Archie.

The Big House

Listed in the online catalogue of the A. P. Watt & Company ¹ records, but with no indication of what it is.

Bingo Little's Wild Night Out

Probably an alternative title for The Word in Season in a later magazine publication.

Bread What?

An online bookseller ² attributes this as an excerpt of Uneasy Money. Apparently it can be found in The Nonsensibus, an anthology (nonsense omnibus?) edited by D. B. W. Lewis, published in 1936 by Methuen, London.

Breaking Into Society

Said to be an alternative title for The Mixer II (He Moves in Society) in its US magazine appearance. This seems likely.

Conversation Piece

An online bookseller ² attributes this as an excerpt of The Small Bachelor. Apparently it can be found in The Nonsensibus, an anthology edited by D. B. W. Lewis, published in 1936 by Methuen, London. The title is also used for a short extract from Laughing Gas in Weekend Wodehouse.

Crime and the Courts

Name given to a small collection of early Punch articles by PG. ³

A Dinner of Herbs

Said to be an alternative title for The Best Sauce in its US magazine appearance.

Fatal Kink in Algernon

Said to be an alternative title for The Man who Disliked Cats in its US magazine appearance.

A Fiscal Pantomime, The Sleeping Beauty

A 'playlet' said to be written with Bertram Fletcher Robinson (1870-1907) and published in the Daily Express on 23 December 1903.

Four Short Stories

Name given to a small collection of early Punch stories by PG. ³

The Game's the Thing

Name given to a small collection of early Punch articles by PG. ³

Good Guns

Listed in the online catalogue of the A. P. Watt & Company ¹ records. Is this an (understandable) mistype for 'Good Gnus', the poem from The Unpleasantness at Bludleigh Court, a magazine article or the working title for something else?

Growing Boy

Probably an alternative magazine title for part of The Indiscretions of Archie (also a chapter title).

The Haggis Situation

Listed in the online catalogue of the A. P. Watt & Company ¹ records. This is probably the 'something about haggis' mentioned by Robert McCrum in his biography as being written for the Daily Mail newspaper in 1935. It might also be the article printed as I Explode the Haggis in Weekend Wodehouse.

Hats Off to Algernon

Said to be an alternative title for Leave it to Algy in its American magazine appearance.

A Highway Episode

Named in both the McCrum and Jasen biographies, apparently bought but not published.

How I Became a Poet

Found in an on-line advert; the seller states he believes it is a fake!

How Kid Brady Assisted a Damsel in Distress

Published in Pearson's Magazine (US), March 1906.

How Kid Brady Broke Training

Published in Pearson's Magazine (US), November 1905.

How Kid Brady Fought for his Eyes

Published in Pearson's Magazine (US), July 1906.

How Kid Brady Joined the Press

Published in Pearson's Magazine (US), May 1906.

How Kid Brady Took a Sea Voyage

Published in Pearson's Magazine (US), March 1907.

How Kid Brady Won the Championship

Published in Pearson's Magazine (US), January 1906.

In the Springtime

An item of this name is listed as having its copyright renewed from a publication in the Brooklyn Standard Union on 17 May 1925. This Long Island newspaper (1864-1935) also re-published a few stories so this could be an alternative title. (Possibly Jeeves in the Springtime from about four years previously?)

Jeeves and the Borrowed Dog

Quoted by US copyright renewals (1957) as a title for The Episode of the Dog McIntosh in Cosmopolitan magazine (October 1929). Probably an earlier working title changed before publication.

Jeeves and the Stolen Venus

Appeared in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, August 1959. Said to be an alternative title for Jeeves Makes an Omelette, the title fits the story.

Jeeves Cracks the Great Pearl Robbery

Condensed version of Aunt Agatha Takes the Count published in the Evening News 26 May 1975.

Jeeves in Springtime

Listed as published in The Holiday Book, 1934. Probably a short story or excerpt, possibly of Jeeves in the Springtime from 1921 (part of The Inimitable Jeeves). The book has 50 stories in 1024 pages.

Keeping It From Cuthbert

Probably an alternative title for Keeping It From Harold in a later appearance in Liberty magazine (US) on February 27, 1926 (presumably with a different main character name).

Keep Your Temper, Walter

Said to be an alternative title for Joy Bells for Walter in its magazine appearance. The title fits the story.

Kid Brady - Light-weight (How He Made His Debut)

Published in Pearson's (US), September 1905.

Life at Home

Name given to a small collection of early Punch articles by PG. ³

Life of Writers

Name given to a small collection of early Punch articles by PG. ³

Lines and Business

Said to be an alternative title for Helping Freddie and published in Pictorial Review, March 1912 (a US magazine). The story and crucial text fit so this is very likely.

Mainly About Boots

An online bookseller ² attributes this as an excerpt of Mike (it is the title of Chapter 51). Apparently it can be found in Humor of Today, an anthology edited by F. H. Pritchard, published in 1927 by Harrap, London.

The Man Who Did Me Down

Listed in the online catalogue of the A. P. Watt & Company ¹ records. The title suggests a newspaper or magazine article rather than a short story, but I have no information either way.

Matrimonial Sweepstakes

Said to be an alternative title for The Good Angel in its US magazine appearance.

The Meteorite Racket

An article with this title was published in Punch on 2.11.1955. However, it is also a Chapter heading in America, I like you. It is not clear if they are the same and, if so (and as they were publised at about the same time) which was the original. At least three other chapter headings match titles used for Punch articles around this time.

Mr. Connolly, Music Lover

Probably an alternative magazine title for part of The Indiscretions of Archie.

Mr Mulliner, Private Detective

Said to be an alternative title for The Smile that Wins.

Not Out of Distance

Said to be an alternative title for There's Always Golf in its American magazine appearance.

The Ordeal of Bingo Little

Said to have been published in Bluebook magazine (US) in May 1954, but no book publication.

Our Christmas Pantomime - Little Red Riding Hood: or, The Virtuous British Public and the Smart Set Wolf

A 'playlet' said to be written with B. F. Robinson and published in Vanity Fair on 8 December 1904. 4 pages.

Out of Bounds!

Probably an alternative title for The Manouevres of Charteris in Tales of Wrykyn and Elsewhere. The title fits the story.

The Pitcher and the Plutocrat

Probably an earlier title for The Goal Keeper and the Plutocrat, published first and re-written as 'The Goal Keeper...' for a British audience that would not have understood baseball (and still don't).

Rallying Round Clarence

Said to be an alternative title for Doing Clarence a Bit of Good in its American magazine appearance.

The Rest Cure

Said to be an alternative title for Mr Potter takes a Rest Cure in its American magazine appearance.

The Ripton Match

Although listed by a bookseller as an article in Rugger Stories, Putnam 1932 (ed. Howard Marshall), another source lists this as being an excerpt from The Gold Bat; it is the title of Chapter 16.

Roderick the Runt

Said to be an alternative title for Sir Agravaine in a later US magazine appearance.

The Romance of Mac's

Said to be an alternative title for The Making of Mac's in its US magazine appearance.

Rupert has a Relapse

Said to be an alternative title for Rodney has a Relapse (presumably with a different character name) and published in the National Home Monthly, Canada.

School Days

Name given to a small collection of early Punch articles by PG. ³

Scott's Sister

Said to be published in Greyfriars' Holiday Annual, 1924. A story called Playing the Game appears in Tales of Wrykyn which makes two prominent references to Scott's sister as its prime subject.

Shaking a Head at New York

Claimed by an online seller to be an unpublished article from 1950. It's also a chapter heading in Over Seventy.

Shock Dogs

Published in Punch, February 14, 1940. (Said to be a discussion between Mr Mulliner and the other regulars in the bar parlour of the Angler's Rest, not a story in the usual sense.)

Springtime for Uncle

Quoted by US copyright renewals as an alternative title for Uncle Fred in the Springtime.

Stage Hands

Listed in Short Stories magazine, September 1956 but as the cover claims 'no reprints' and it takes up only four pages it's probably a humorous article in story form.

Taking Issue with Miss U. S. Swisher

Sometimes listed as a poem but is really a line from an untitled poem in Over Seventy, reproduced as Prometheus Unbound in the collection The Parrot. It is also listed as Taking Issue with P. G. Swisher.

To Marry or not to Marry

Name given to a small collection of early Punch articles by PG. ³

Ukie Invests in Human Nature

Published in Argosy, March 1948. Said to be an alternative title for Success Story in its magazine appearance.

A Very Shy Gentleman

Said to be an alternative title for The Mixer I (He Meets a Shy Gentleman) in its US magazine appearance. This seems likely.

Wilton's Vacation.

Probably an alternative title for Wilton's Holiday in its US magazine appearance.

A Winter's Tale - King Arthur and His Court

A 'playlet' said to be written with B. F. Robinson and published in Vanity Fair on 14 December 1905. 4 pages.

1. A. P. Watts & Company, mentioned above, were PG's UK agents from 1935.

2. The bookseller was Clouds Hill Books of New York, New York. It's a pity others don't include such information.

3. It's not clear when or where these titles originated but they are in widespread use and occasionally listed as article titles in error.

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Provenance:
It's like this. Someone puts a piece of information on their web site in good faith, but it's wrong. Someone else sees it, assumes it's correct and uses it in their site, also in good faith, and so on. Before long, the false information has become the respected truth by repetition. It's not a Wodehouse problem, more 'the curse of the web'; information is so easy to find that people don't check it as much as they should. Like works of art, one has to be able to trace the origin of something - its provenance. Now I can't guarantee that everything I've written on this site is 100% accurate, although I've done my best, but I can share my uncertainty so as not to propagate other peoples' errors - even when that means questioning a statement that may turn out to be true. Hence this page.