Stanley Featherstone Ukridge visits his old friend James Corcoran with six Pekingese dogs; he is about to take them to a cottage in Kent as the first 'pupils' in his college for performing dogs. He sees it as a scheme to make a fortune away from his aunt in Wimbledon.
A few weeks later, Ukridge calls his friend for help. His new landlord is holding the dogs in lieu of rent and Ukridge needs some capital. They send for George Tupper ...
| S. F. Ukridge | our hero |
| James Corcoran | his friend, the narrator |
| George Tupper | their mutual friend |
| Bowles | Corcoran's landlord |
| Mr Nickerson | Ukridge's landlord in Sheep's Cray, Kent |
| Julia Ukridge | Ukridge's aunt |
First published April 1923 in Cosmopolitan magazine (US).
Also published May 1923 in the Strand magazine.
When the US copyright was renewed on 14 March 1950, the story appears to have been called Ukridge's Dog Collection but a second entry as Uridge's [sic] Dog Collection points to typographical errors rather than different names.
Foreign Office
- UK equivalent of the US State Department.
Selfridge's
- a large department store in Oxford Street, London.
'I suppose you're living off the fat of the land.'
- Genesis: Chapter 45, Verse 18.
Squash hat
- a hat made of soft felt.
'... no more imprison that great man permanently than Elba did Napoleon.'
- Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) was exiled to Elba in 1814 after his defeat but escaped nine months later.
Sheep's Cray
- there are North Cray, Foots Cray, St. Paul's Cray and St. Mary Cray in Kent, but no Sheep's Cray.
'Life is stern and life is earnest.'
- probably Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, A Psalm of Life.
Charing Cross Station
- a mainline railway station serving the south of England.
'It was the sort of telegram that Job might have sent off after a lengthy session with Bildad the Shuhite.'
- Bildad was one of 'Job's comforters' in Job: Chapter 2, Verse 11.
Ballet Russe
- properly 'Ballets Russes', the most influential ballet company of the 20th C., it was founded by Sergei Diaghilev in 1909 and closed in 1929.
Kempton Park
- a racecourse in Surrey, since 1878.
'Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the party.'
- a typing drill.
Welsh rabbit
- a common mistake as it should be Welsh rarebit; essentially grilled cheese on toast.
'... like one that on a lonesome road doth walk in fear ... close behind him tread.'
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
'[He] looked like one of the less amiable prophets of the Old Testament about to interview the captive monarch of the Amalekites.'
- Samuel interviewing Agag, just before having him killed (see 1 Samuel: Chapter 15, Verses 32-33).
Salt of the earth
- type of person that makes the world a better place (from Matthew: Chapter 5, Verse 5).