The Pothunters

Wodehouse, P. G. (Pelham Grenville), 1881-1975Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 228K words
Chapters: 23

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Pothunters by P. G. WodehouseAuthor: Wodehouse, P. G. (Pelham Grenville), 1881-1975,Language: English, Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres, Release Date: Nov 1, 2004

Editor's review

This is an early school novel by P. G. Wodehouse, set in an English public school and built around campus life and cricket in a light, humorous narrative. Wodehouse later became famous for the Jeeves series; though this is one of his earlier works, it already shows his signature wit and his fine eye for the ecology of English school life. The story moves briskly, the dialogue is playful, and it works well as an introduction to where Wodehouse's writing began and to English humor. Because it is a public-domain eBook from Project Gutenberg, it is easy to obtain and free to read. There is no need to look for intricate plotting or deep themes; it suits casual reading in short stretches, on a commute or before bed, for a taste of schoolboy mischief with an old-fashioned flavor. For readers studying Wodehouse's early style or English public-school literature, it also offers an interesting sample text.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy English humor and light school stories
Readers who want to understand Wodehouse's early style
Readers interested in English public-school fiction
Readers looking for free public-domain English classics

Not a good fit for

Readers of serious fiction who prefer complex plots and deep themes
Readers unfamiliar with English school settings who do not want to look things up
Readers hoping for Wodehouse's mature Jeeves series

Reading tips

Read a chapter or two first to get a feel for the style before deciding whether to read the whole book
Don't pause over cricket terms or public-school slang; just follow the overall fun
Good as light bedtime or commute reading, a chapter or two at a time
Afterward, compare it with Wodehouse's later works to see how his humor evolved

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book related to Wodehouse's Jeeves series?

Not directly. This is an early school novel by Wodehouse, while the Jeeves series is his later, better-known adult humor. Both share the author's comic touch, but the characters and settings are completely different.

Can I read this book if my English is only average?

The language is generally light, but it includes English public-school and cricket terms. Readers with intermediate English can get through it with a dictionary; with weaker English, some scene descriptions may be tough going.

Is this the complete novel or an excerpt?

This is the public-domain eBook released by Project Gutenberg. It contains the full text of the novel, not an excerpt, and can be downloaded and read for free.

Comments

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About the author

Wodehouse, P. G. (Pelham Grenville), 1881-1975 Author

P. G. Wodehouse (Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, 1881–1975) was a British humorist and novelist known for his light, witty comic style. The library holds 41 of his works, including the Jeeves books Right Ho, Jeeves, My Man Jeeves, and The Inimitable Jeeves, as well as The Clicking of Cuthbert, The Girl on the Boat, A Damsel in Distress, The Man Upstairs and Other Stories, and Psmith, Journalist. These works often turn on the mismatched relations between idle aristocrats, clumsy young men, and shrewd servants, with plots driven by misunderstanding, coincidence, and role reversal, and prose marked by irony and exaggeration. Wodehouse's easy elegance, brisk dialogue, and comic invention had a lasting influence on twentieth-century English humorous writing. Public information is limited, so no biographical details are conjectured here.