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細節
WODEHOUSE, Sir Pelham Grenville -- A SERIES OF 10 AUTOGRAPH AND 64 TYPED LETTERS, ALL UNPUBLISHED, SIGNED "P.G. WODEHOUSE," "P.G.," AND "PLUM, TO "BILLY" GRIFFITH, from various addresses in England, France and the United States, 27 September 1932-20 December 1974, together 75 letters, 97 pages in total, most closely typed; with, in addition, a signed photograph of Wodehouse and his foxhound, Bill (5 x 3in; 12.5 x 6.6cm), framed and glazed.
The basis of the friendship between P.G. Wodehouse (1881-1975) and "Billy" Griffith (1914-1993) was that both attended Dulwich school and loved games. Wodehouse was twelve when he joined the school on 2 May 1894. He stayed for six years, and in the final two, 1899 to 1900, was selected for the first teams in both rugby and cricket, making a reputation as "a fast right-hand bowler with a good swing," a "much improved" batsman, and "wonderfully improved" fielder "though rather hampered by his sight" (see Jasen P.G. Wodehouse, 1981, p. 16).
Griffith joined the prep school in 1922 and remained at Dulwich until going up to Cambridge in 1933. He was in the eleven for four years, keeping wicket in the last two and scoring over 1000 runs. Like "P.G.," he was also in the first team for rugby, and as Usborne notes led the team through a season without defeat. The earliest letters in this archive were written to him as a Dulwich schoolboy. Although the first of Wodehouse's letters does not survive, Usborne records that it was written before the two had actually met, and concerned a tense rugby match in which Griffith was playing. Wodehouse was so anxious to see Dulwich win the game that he had been unable to watch it to the end (Wodehouse at Work, 1961, p. 40). At Pembroke College, Cambridge, Griffith won a cricket blue and soon afterwards toured Australia and New Zealand with an M.C.C. side. He played one game for Surrey in 1934, and in 1937 joined Sussex, playing 122 matches for his county up to 1954. For two years before the war, he taught at his old school, and then served with distinction in the Glider Pilot Regiment. After the war, Griffith immediately returned to cricket. He captained Sussex in 1946, and was secretary to the club from 1946 to 1950. To Wodehouse's delight, he kept wicket in the five "Victory" Tests against Australia in 1945, but to his astonishment was not picked for the tour to Australia that followed. He became cricket correspondent of the Sunday Times for two years before being appointed assistant secretary of M.C.C. in 1952. In 1962 he succeeded Ronald Aird as secretary, eventually retiring in 1974, but then becoming President in 1979-80. He had two children, Pauline and Mike, both of whom were godchildren to the author.
Quintessentially English as Wodehouse is, controversy over his German broadcasts and income tax liabilities meant that he would never return to England or be able to watch another Dulwich match after the war. Instead, he enjoyed cricket vicariously by writing to "Billy," and once Griffith retired as a player he was able to follow the budding career of his son, Mike, who also played for Cambridge 1963-65 and for Sussex from 1962-74. If not complete, the correspondence is a remarkably full one. Although other early letters, besides the first, may have gone astray, the only obvious hiatus is between late 1947 and the spring of 1952 -- the least happy period of Wodehouse's adult life (hence there is no mention of Griffith's maiden Test century in the West Indies, or his replacement of Godfrey Evans for two Tests against South Africa 1948-49). While Griffith was politely prepared to talk to Usborne about the letter which began their friendship, he was reluctant to go further. Usborne's persistence may have enabled him to learn more about the correspondence but, even if he did, Wodehouse would not permit any other details to appear in the Usborne book. Subsequent biographers have mentioned the existence of this sporting friendship without knowing a great deal about it, and this important archive, so full of charm, humour and eccentricity, has remained hidden from public view until now.
1932-1940 (14 letters, 7 autograph and 7 typed, most large 4to., others 8vo., and an autograph card, signed "P.G. Wodehouse" and "P.G.," from Domaine de la Frayère, Auribeau; Constitutional Club, Northumberland Avenue; 17 Norfolk Street, Park Lane; Shipbourne Grange, Tonbridge, Kent; 1315 Angelo Drive, Beverly Hills, California; Low Wood, Le Touquet; 40 Berkeley Square, Mayfair; Carlton Hotel, Cannes; and Golf-Hotel du Touquet, Sept. 27 1932-Feb. 2 1940, a total of 18 pages).
Wodehouse's first letter, addressed to "Dear Griffith" from Domaine de la Frayère, France, Sept. 27 1932, asks for "a footer card" and regrets he "can't get over for the match against Bedford," though he hopes to attend other rugby games against Haileybury, Sherborne and Tonbridge. In the next, from the Constitutional Club, March 11 1933, Wodehouse agrees to write "something for the Alleynian, only I must have a lay-off for a week or so, as I have just finished a novel and am rather exhausted." His letter from 17 Norfolk Street, 30 June 1933, is the first to address Griffith as "Billy," and makes him the present of a cricket bat. On July 28, 1933, Wodehouse tells Billy "I am going to come to Cambridge a lot while you are up," mentions that he is renting Hunstanton Hall, Norfolk, for two months, and promises to forward his new book, Heavy Weather. Another short letter, sent from Shipbourne Grange, May 17, 1935, congratulates Billy on his Cambridge blue and praises Hugh [Bartlett's] "great century."
In a contrastingly long t.l.s. from 1315 Angelo Drive, Beverly Hills, March 15 1937, Wodehouse mentions the possibility of returning to live in London or Le Touquet, so he can attend matches, wonders what Billy's plans are after Cambridge, and if Hugh [Bartlett] will captain Sussex. Although Sussex is now a better team than Surrey, he has fond memories of Surrey's "great days thirty years ago, when Lord Dalmeny was captaining them and N.A. Knox and J.N. Crawford played regularly. The rest of the side were pros who batted just like amateurs, going for the bowling directly they went in. I used to love going to the Oval then." He is not the only person in Hollywood to take an interest in Test match cricket. During his previous stay [May 1930-Nov. 1931], a writer named Balderston was able to pick up ball by ball commentary on Australian radio, he would then pass the news on "to Aubrey Smith, who would send it on to Nigel Bruce, from whom I got it," says Wodehouse. Defeat in the current tour of Australia [England won the first 2, and lost the last 3 games] convinces him of the lack of star quality in the side: "I really did think we had them in the fourth game, when we were 180 for two. The trouble about modern English cricket is that there are no real stars except Hammond. The English side ought to consist of seven or eight men who pick themselves ." After signing himself "P.G.," he tells Billy: "P.S. I think the time has come to drop the 'Mr Wodehouse', don't you?"
Of three letters from Low Wood in 1938, the last describes "an extraordinarily fine performance" by Dulwich in a rugby match (20 Nov. 1938). Another, penned in Cannes on 23 Jan. 1939, apologises that he can't "manage the footer dinner this year" as tax liabilities will prevent his return to England before April 6, however it was "awfully nice" seeing Billy at their last meeting. Billy's forthcoming marriage to Barbara [Reynolds], and possible changes to Uncle Fred before it can be serialised in the States, are the subject of the next typewritten letter from Low Wood (March 6 1939). On 6 June, Wodehouse applauds Billy's "nice knock" against the army and outlines the schedule for the D. Litt. ceremony he is shortly to attend at Oxford. On 27 June, a plaudit for Billy's unexpected place in the Gentlemen v. Players match is followed by a delightfully ironic account of his Oxford visit. In the one wartime letter (Low Wood, 2 Feb. 1940), Wodehouse welcomes the prospect of being godfather to Billy's first child [Pauline]. He has read in the Alleynian that Billy has "joined up," tells him that he has "the gift of getting on with everyone," and wishes "we could get together for one of our evenings and discuss the situation." Low Wood is a rallying centre for R.A.F. men on short leave. His poor French is a handicap. "Yesterday our cook was bursting in with the news, as I thought, that the postman was dead. What it turned out to be was that the Pekinese had bitten the policeman." Wonder, the Peke, has given up outdoor life. It is a remarkable coincidence that Billy should be stationed at Shipbourne, near his stepdaughter's home. He wonders "what the public school situation is going to be after the war" and has made arrangements to send Billy some Escudo [tobacco] for Christmas.
1945-1947 (5 typed letters, large 4to., signed "P.G. (P.G.Wodehouse)" and "P.G.," from 78 Avenue Paul Doumer, Paris; 36 Boulevard Suchet, Paris; 53 East 66th Street, New York; and Hotel Adams, New York, July 17 1945-Nov. 11 1947, 10 pages in total).
In an important letter from from Paris, July 17 1945, the author congratulates Billy on the birth of his son, Mike ("We must at once begin coaching him to flight the ball and make it dip and to shove his weight in the scrum"), and alludes to his "noble effort in the first innings" of the Lord's Test despite his failure to score in the second. He seems to anticipate Billy taking over the England captaincy in continuing: "it must be some compensation when you suddenly become captain. I can't imagine what it must be like to lead an England team onto the field at Lord's." In view of Billy's wicket-keeping talents, it is ironic that he should at first have been made to field in the deep at Dulwich, and frustrating that the Paris Daily Mail "omits all details of yesterday's play, so I don't know how many people you caught or stumped." Aware that both Billy and Hugh fought at Arnhem, Wodehouse is anxious to hear of their wartime experiences. Townend has told him that Billy is "to take on the secretaryship of Sussex," a step he approves of, especially in view of his own early decision to give up cricket in order to pursue a writing career. In a fascinating description of cricket in interment camp [at Tost], he admits to a decline of form, but conveys the huge pleasure of playing again "after a brief lay-off of twenty-seven years." As bowler, he found: "I could still skittle the rabble out, but was helpless when I came up against a decent bat." As opening batsman, he experienced the bathos of making the the top score of 5 in "one of our local Test matches, the rest of the side scored 0 -- Total 5." Even remembering how to hold the bat was a problem. "I wanted to grip it like a golf club. We used to play in the yard with a string ball, but towards the end of my stay they let us out once a week to the sports field, where we had a real ball."
On Sept. 1 1945, Wodehouse is irritated by postal delays ("fancy mine of July 17 taking nearly a month"), but delighted at news of England's win in the last of the "Victory" Tests [Old Trafford, Aug. 20-23 1945]. Thanks to the poor reporting of the Paris Daily Mail he doesn't know the details. With the coming tour of Ausralia in mind, he comments on Hugh's return to form and the "great reports of Bailey and Mallett." To restore the house at Le Touquet is "rather a difficult problem" owing to high prices and the extent to which it has been stripped ("I wish the local thieves had left us at least the baths and the heating system"). With his latest play in mind, he expresses frustration at not being able to use the actors that he knew forty years ago, and mentions that there may be an opportunity "to run my camp book serially in the U.S.A." The expense of cricket flannels astounds him ("mine cost me four mille which is twenty quid") and makes him imagine the post-war attire of "Surrey v. Middlesex at Lord's with short leg in black trousers in braces, as in the village match." Again, he is reminded of cricket in internment camp being played "stripped to the waist, which lent terrific zip to one's bowling." The camp pitch was "studded with roots of trees," and there was "one root just where a good length ball pitched, if you could manage to hit it just right you got an unplayable break."
Writing a 2-page letter from 78 Paul Doumer, but heading the letter 36 Boulevard Suchet, Nov. 8 1945, the address of his new flat, Wodehouse explains that his latest play "suddenly went wrong and had to be practically rewritten." It is welcome news that Billy has found a house and is "all set for a long and prosperous career with the Sussex team," and his own life seems sure to improve once he is near the Boise de Boulonge and able "to give the peke [Wonder] a country ramble every day." Billy is thanked for sending the score of the last Test [at Old Trafford] and asked if his 6 catches in the last innings isn't a wonderful new record. By way of eulogy, Wodehouse quotes Bill Townend's description of how "'Billy Griffith covered himself with glory,'" and he loyally considers whether Billy might be asked to captain the coming Australian tour instead of Hammond. Money in the Bank, the book he wrote in camp, is to be published next May, but he is "to postpone publication of my book about my camp experiences," promising, however, to send it to Billy [the "camp book" was to remain unpublished].
By July 4, 1947, the 66 year old author is in New York, undertaking to forward the American edition of Full Moon, and telling Billy to be philosophical about not playing for England. Although his theatrical work is going well ("with any luck I might have four or five shows on Broadway in the Autumn"), he is dismayed by changes in "the theatre world" and the need to find heavy financial backing for productions. His short stories are "beginning to sell," and royalties from his old music publisher are significant ("$3000 is nice sugar"). The affluence of the United States is an enormous contrast to France. "It's odd how quickly one gets used to being able to have everything one wants over here," he concludes. "I have just been eating an orange and eating it quite nonchalantly, in France I couldn't have got a smell of an orange." He especially likes the availability of "sleeveless sports shirts." In his next letter (11 Nov. 1947), P.G. loyally tells Billy that "the failure of the English team in Australia was entirely due to the fact that, having seen the selections, I formally put the Curse of the Wodehouses on them. When I found they had left you out, I said 'This can't go on' and acted accordingly."
1952-1959 (23 typed letters, most large 4to., the final letters small 4to., all signed "P.G.," from 1000 Park Avenue, New York, and Remsenburg, Long Island, March 11 1952 to Dec. 27 1959, a total of 40pp., the t.l.s. of May 22 1954 with a 3-line manuscript note at head).
"I'm so glad the ham and chocolates arrived all right," begins the letter of March 11 1952. "What an age since I wrote to you! I'm awfully sorry. I can't give as an excuse the mad rush of life in New York, because I don't suppose two people ever led a quieter existence than Ethel and me." Knowing that Billy has taken over Neville Cardus's job on the Sunday Times, he recalls his own work as a sports reporter, and mentions how, after buying all of Cardus's books, it was a disappointment to find one was about music and not cricket. Cardus's autobiography is "extraordinarily intertesting, particularly the bit where he gets a job as assistant cricket pro at Shrewsbury." On Dec. 16 1952, Billy is congratulated on getting "the Lord's job" [that of assistant secretary to Ronnie Aird] at the same time as another friend, Malcom Muggeridge, has become editor of Punch. Two months later (Feb. 15 1953), Wodehouse extols the value of a house that "adjoins Lord's. I've always thought that's where I should like to live, with a garden gate opening on the ground." Getting cricket news from the New York papers is hit and miss. An admirer of A.A. Thomson's books, he appreciates Thomson's gift of a year's subscription to The Cricketer (Dec. 21 1954), and frequently thanks Billy for sending the Daily Telegraph. E.W. Swanton is "very good reading" (July 4 1956), whereas the "breezy familiarity" of the Daily Express is disdainful.
Billy's games for Sussex are still commended, and his new interest in real tennis leads Wodehouse to "remember Victor Cazalet bringing Helen Wills to Lord's to play and she was hopeless" (April 5 1957). Wodehouse is delighted by Mike's progress at Ludgrove. That there can be any alternative to Dulwich as a senior school is something he finds hard to accept, even if the status of sport has declined. "A win against Bedford nowadays gets the same space [in the school magazine] as a report of the Dramatic Society's production of Chekov's latest," he remarks disapprovingly (March 11 1952). The school has also become too big. "I think it's crazy having a school of 1350. But what a heavenly school it was when there were only about 600" (Dec. 21 1954). To see Mike "making a double century against Dulwich" would be "agony" (Aug. 25 1953), yet in the end he is enough of a realist to accept the choice of Marlborough, who do have a match at Lord's. Having learned from the Cricketer that Mike has not only got into "the Lord's team but contributed largely to the Marlborough win in his first summer" (Sept. 7 1958), he sends a cheque for £14, "a tribute" of "a pound a run."
Gleaning the chance news of England's win in the fifth Test from the New York Times (Aug. 25 1953), Wodehouse imagines "How bucked everybody must be about it. I'm glad it was a clean-cut win, with Australia winning the toss and so on. I never like those matches where it is a sitter for the side winning the toss." Writing from Remsenburg a year later (Sept. 25 1954), P.G. thanks Billy for "inside" news about the selection of the 1954-55 touring team and agrees with his doubts about the choice of Len Hutton as captain. "Surely he will be a total loss on the social, speech-making side. Almost any pro would be bad enough, and H. is such a dour, silent pro. Sheppard would have been the man." He is sorry Billy won't be tour manager, and believes "there is a very good story to be written about the clash between touring cricket and private life." Low scoring by both sides makes him wonder what is amiss. "On Sunday the Times had the first innings score of the second Test, with England out for 158 and Bailey saving the day with his four wickets, Australia leading by only 74," he writes on Dec. 21 1954. "But, my gosh, fancy 158 in a Test match. What's the matter with these people? The Australian bowling can't be as good as all that, why didn't they take you along as manager and you could have subbed for Evans? Can you imagine Len winning the toss and putting them in!" In view of what Billy has told him about the M.C.C. debate on "brighter cricket," Wodehouse on another occasion suggests that it would be "much better if cricket was run like baseball" (April 5 1957) while two years later (May 20 1959), he is convinced that "cautious" batting and bowling have led to "the great danger" of cricket losing "its charm as a spectacle." He believes there is too much county cricket, with too little chance of getting a result over three days, so that even the spectacular batting of Fry and Ranji for Sussex was matched by Abel and Hayward for Surrey and commonly led to a draw.
In addition to their sporting interest, this group of letters describes alterations to the house in Remsenburg [purchased in 1952, it became the Wodehouses' permanent home from 1955], and the frolics of new family pets, especially the much-loved foxhound, Bill, and Squeaky, the peke. P.G. has all the benefits of an unchanging routine which, in addition to writing, involves toe-touching exercises, a four mile walk each day, and regular martinis. His "dizzy spells" make him determined to ignore medical advice and go on smoking, but income tax, and the complex arrangements needed to help his two godchildren financially, are more serious concerns. Payment for five Encounter articles, containing the text of his German broadcasts, is to go to Billy. He undertakes to pay at least £200 of the £500 a year fees for Mike's education at Marlborough, and Billy is also promised a "substantial sum" in his will (June 21 1958). As before, he sends the family copies of his latest book, and is also touchingly concerned to ensure that Billy is well-stocked with tobacco.
At the age of 75 (April 5 1957), Wodehouse declares "I never feel old." If he is disconcerted that "Slacker" [Christian], a Dulwich contemporary, is only able "just to crawl along," it encourages him that Eden Philpotts has just published another novel at 94. Proud of the pace at which he can work and pleased with his reviving popularity, he mentions the unexpected difficulty of finding a first edition of Mike for republication by Herbert Jenkins. Ring for Jeeves and Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit are the latest Jeeves stories, and he feels that the latter "has come out awfully well, but the devil of it is every time I get a particularly good idea, I have to re-read all the other Jeeves books to make sure I haven't used it before" (March 28 1953). Other new titles are The Butler did It, issued as Something Fishy in England, and Cocktail Time which he believes he cannot better with his next book. "At present I haven't a glimmering of an idea what to write about next, but I always go through this phase" (Nov. 8 1957). His collaboration with Guy Bolton in Bring on the Girls is said to be "rather like a scrum half and a fly half. He did all the solid work and I the flashy stuff," while the only review of A Performing Flea to upset him is by a woman on the Daily Express who probably hasn't read it (Jan. 12 1954). Wodehouse can only wonder at the slow progress of Richard Usborne's book [Wodehouse at Work]. Having told Billy that Usborne received his commission "not later than 1952," he continues: "I don't know what to say about letting him see my letters to you. Quite okay as far as I'm concerned, but it seems to me there is a grave danger of his holding up the book for another year while he traced your career at Dulwich and Cambridge" (Dec. 27 1959).
1960-1969 (28 letters, 2 manuscript, the rest typed, signed "P.G.," from Remsenberg, Long Island, Oct. 20 1960-Dec. 15 1969, a total of 58 pages).
Delays in writing to Billy are blamed on his need to reply to fan letters. "A perfect tidal waves of letters from fans poured in" after a report of his 79th birthday in the New York Times (Oct. 20 1960). Demands are also being made for his autograph on books. On Jan. 15 1961, Wodehouse mentions the arrival of "twenty-one cases, each with forty-eight books," which he signs "'With best wishes, P.G. Wodehouse' a thousand times" on behalf of a Chicago bookstore. At Billy's request, he agrees to autograph books for John Arlott, confirming (Sept. 22 1965) that Arlott has "sent me some of my books to autograph and three of his own which I thought awfully good. A.A. Thomson always sends me his so I have quite a large cricket library. Edward Cazalet, my grandson, who passed through here with his bride on their way to Honolulu, brought me Freddie Trueman's book. It didn't impress me very favourably, but all cricket books are good. One I did really like was Compton's End of an Innings."
After being offered a job as secretary to the Rugby Union, Billy is encouraged to make the most of his strong negotiating position with the M.C.C. By May 12 1961, it has become clear that he has "landed the Lord's job," but Wodehouse is concerned about his operation [for the removal of a lung] and "anxious" to hear that "everything has gone well." At the start of the following year the appointment has become official, and Billy is congratulated on successfully fighting to double his salary. Recognising how difficult it is "to talk about money," the author comments: "If I hadn't had stern-faced agents all my writing career, I know I would have accepted anything I was offered for my stories" (Jan. 30 1962). The probability that Billy will stop over in New York, early in 1963, causes a stir of excitement in letters of Sept. 25 and Dec. 9 1962. In the end, it is Billy who calls off the trip. Wodehouse says his visit to New York with Guy Bolton in order to take part in a television tribute to Jerome Kern was "on the day you would have arrived" (Jan. 22 1963). His next letter (March 4 1963) regrets that: "our meeting couldn't come off. If it wasn't for the two dogs and two cats, I would come to England, but I don't see how they could manage without me."
Despite being a generation apart, the two correspondents share a dislike of post-war changes. Billy's view that Cambridge University does not pay "any attention to 'on the field' excellence" is endorsed by Wodehouse who remembers it as "a place where you could get in if you could read and write. Bertie Wooster and his pals just walked into their university, presumably purely on charm of manner, and I think that's how it ought to be" (Jan. 30 1962). That Mike is eighteen and has succeeded in getting into Cambridge is another reminder of the passing of time. Wodehouse recalls A.L. Inglis "who was captain of football in 1899 and gave me my cap. It does seem extraordinary that he, like me, is now eighty." It becomes Mike rather than Billy whose feats as Cambridge wicket-keeper are eulogised, while Billy himself is soon to be a grandfather. "Fancy you being a grandfather!" teases P.G. (April 18, 1964). "The Wodehouse grandfather fought at Waterloo, which makes one think a bit."
On the matter of Test selections, Wodehouse supports Dexter's captaincy, doubting that Sheppard "would have been as good" (26 Aug. 1962). He takes pleasure in the centuries scored by Cowdrey and Sheppard in his letter of Jan. 22 1963, and is encouraged by the success of Stewart and Edrich as an opening pair. "Stewart in particular seems to be just the man needed " (July 12 1963). The South Africans are regarded as a "hot side" (Dec. 15 1963), whereas Test cricket in India is "dull" (April 18 1964). By August 4 1964, though, doubts are occuring : "the England team doesn't inspire much confidence" and Dexter "seems to handle the bowling rather oddly (Though all I know is what I read in the papers, which are always misleading)." Another cause of misgiving is the abolition of amateur status. "There's nothing one can say against it logically, but it just jars on one," Wodehouse tells Billy (Jan 22 1963). "Who would have thought Gentlemen v Players would ever have come to an end!" Great admiration is shown for Billy's work as M.C.C. secretary ("what a responsible position yours is"), particularly in view of current controversies such as the "Close trouble" (Oct. 14 1967) and "the D'Oliveira thing" (Dec. 20 1968), and the general tendency of the press to be "in the hands of cads, probably with long hair and beards" (Dec. 15 1969).
New novels include Stiff Upper Lip Jeeves ("a really good one"), Frozen Assets, Galahad at Blandings, Do Butlers Burgle Banks, A Pelican at Blandings and Much Obliged Jeeves. This is in spite of the arthritis affecting his hands and a decline in the market for serials. Copies of his latest book continue to be sent as presents, and on June 6 1961 the tireless author even sends Billy by sea mail "the MS of my last book" [Service with a Smile], a year ahead of publication. "I thought you might like to read it while you are convalescing," he remarks, "and there's another thing. They had a sale of MSS at Christie's a year ago and one of mine fetched a hundred quid, so this one may be valuable and bring you a bit later on. I am enclosing with it the notes I made before starting writing, as these are what a collector (if any!) would pay money for. Don't try to read them as they are absolutely incoherent." On Nov. 7 1961, he asks if Billy knows "anything about the jargon of rugger," as he has a plot in his new Jeeves novel [Stiff Upper Lip Jeeves] which hinges upon "a crank on the subject of rugger" confronting Bertie who "of course doesn't understand a word." His next letter thanks Billy "for the rugger stuff. It's just what I want" (Dec. 14 1961). He agrees that the performances of Ian Carmichael and Dennis Price, in the first television production of the Jeeves stories, "were both terrific especially Dennis Price" (June 23 1965).
There are several mentions of Usborne's book. "Did I tell you I got a letter from Usborne asking me which side of Dover Street the Drones Club was on? He does certainly find the craziest questions to ask" (May 22 1960). Wodehouse expects the book to be good, if only it can be finished, and tells Billy "I am glad you didn't bring up the subject of our correspondence when you met him!" From a letter of May 12 1961, it is clear that Usborne had been given some form of access to the correspondence for the author is furious about the "rough manuscript" of Usborne's book sent to him by [Derek] Grimsdick. "I thought it was awful!" he comments "I must have cut out at least twenty thousand words. What the final version will be like I don't know. I wish we had never trusted him with those letters." However, the proofs of the book turn out better. "I was very relieved to find that it was quite all right, in fact very good," a calmer Wodehouse writes to Billy on June 6 1961. "He doesn't quote any of your letters!" [indicating that Usborne read Billy's rather than his own letters].
1970-1974 (3 typed letters, 4to., signed "P.G." and "Plum," from Remsenberg, Long Island, New York, Dec. 21 1970-Dec. 20 1974, 4pp. in total).
On Dec. 21 1970, Wodehouse sends a Christmas present for the family. Although a virus has left him "very deaf," he gets the Sunday Times every week, and so has a "tantalising view of the Tests." England have "started well in the second," but he wonders whether he will "ever know the result." In his next letter (Jan. 31 1971), news of Billy's "troubles at Lord's" has made him "absolutely sick." However, despite the postal strike in England, "a Sunday Times has got through," and he is "pleased to see that England had won the fourth Test. It shows how out of touch I am that I had never heard of the felloe who goes in first with Boycott" [B.W. Luckhurst]. The rest of this letter revives his proposal to make cricket more like baseball. In the final letter of Dec. 20 1974, he describes being in a "terrific rush" with his writing, and consoles Billy who must "be having a worrying time just now with England doing so badly in the Tests. Those Australian fast bowlers must be devils. But these things always go in ups and downs. Probably two years from now the England team will be unbeatable." His short final paragraph is characteristically affectionate: "Love to all. Nice card from Mike. Why isn't he the England wicket keeper? Yours ever Plum." (74)
The basis of the friendship between P.G. Wodehouse (1881-1975) and "Billy" Griffith (1914-1993) was that both attended Dulwich school and loved games. Wodehouse was twelve when he joined the school on 2 May 1894. He stayed for six years, and in the final two, 1899 to 1900, was selected for the first teams in both rugby and cricket, making a reputation as "a fast right-hand bowler with a good swing," a "much improved" batsman, and "wonderfully improved" fielder "though rather hampered by his sight" (see Jasen P.G. Wodehouse, 1981, p. 16).
Griffith joined the prep school in 1922 and remained at Dulwich until going up to Cambridge in 1933. He was in the eleven for four years, keeping wicket in the last two and scoring over 1000 runs. Like "P.G.," he was also in the first team for rugby, and as Usborne notes led the team through a season without defeat. The earliest letters in this archive were written to him as a Dulwich schoolboy. Although the first of Wodehouse's letters does not survive, Usborne records that it was written before the two had actually met, and concerned a tense rugby match in which Griffith was playing. Wodehouse was so anxious to see Dulwich win the game that he had been unable to watch it to the end (Wodehouse at Work, 1961, p. 40). At Pembroke College, Cambridge, Griffith won a cricket blue and soon afterwards toured Australia and New Zealand with an M.C.C. side. He played one game for Surrey in 1934, and in 1937 joined Sussex, playing 122 matches for his county up to 1954. For two years before the war, he taught at his old school, and then served with distinction in the Glider Pilot Regiment. After the war, Griffith immediately returned to cricket. He captained Sussex in 1946, and was secretary to the club from 1946 to 1950. To Wodehouse's delight, he kept wicket in the five "Victory" Tests against Australia in 1945, but to his astonishment was not picked for the tour to Australia that followed. He became cricket correspondent of the Sunday Times for two years before being appointed assistant secretary of M.C.C. in 1952. In 1962 he succeeded Ronald Aird as secretary, eventually retiring in 1974, but then becoming President in 1979-80. He had two children, Pauline and Mike, both of whom were godchildren to the author.
Quintessentially English as Wodehouse is, controversy over his German broadcasts and income tax liabilities meant that he would never return to England or be able to watch another Dulwich match after the war. Instead, he enjoyed cricket vicariously by writing to "Billy," and once Griffith retired as a player he was able to follow the budding career of his son, Mike, who also played for Cambridge 1963-65 and for Sussex from 1962-74. If not complete, the correspondence is a remarkably full one. Although other early letters, besides the first, may have gone astray, the only obvious hiatus is between late 1947 and the spring of 1952 -- the least happy period of Wodehouse's adult life (hence there is no mention of Griffith's maiden Test century in the West Indies, or his replacement of Godfrey Evans for two Tests against South Africa 1948-49). While Griffith was politely prepared to talk to Usborne about the letter which began their friendship, he was reluctant to go further. Usborne's persistence may have enabled him to learn more about the correspondence but, even if he did, Wodehouse would not permit any other details to appear in the Usborne book. Subsequent biographers have mentioned the existence of this sporting friendship without knowing a great deal about it, and this important archive, so full of charm, humour and eccentricity, has remained hidden from public view until now.
1932-1940 (14 letters, 7 autograph and 7 typed, most large 4to., others 8vo., and an autograph card, signed "P.G. Wodehouse" and "P.G.," from Domaine de la Frayère, Auribeau; Constitutional Club, Northumberland Avenue; 17 Norfolk Street, Park Lane; Shipbourne Grange, Tonbridge, Kent; 1315 Angelo Drive, Beverly Hills, California; Low Wood, Le Touquet; 40 Berkeley Square, Mayfair; Carlton Hotel, Cannes; and Golf-Hotel du Touquet, Sept. 27 1932-Feb. 2 1940, a total of 18 pages).
Wodehouse's first letter, addressed to "Dear Griffith" from Domaine de la Frayère, France, Sept. 27 1932, asks for "a footer card" and regrets he "can't get over for the match against Bedford," though he hopes to attend other rugby games against Haileybury, Sherborne and Tonbridge. In the next, from the Constitutional Club, March 11 1933, Wodehouse agrees to write "something for the Alleynian, only I must have a lay-off for a week or so, as I have just finished a novel and am rather exhausted." His letter from 17 Norfolk Street, 30 June 1933, is the first to address Griffith as "Billy," and makes him the present of a cricket bat. On July 28, 1933, Wodehouse tells Billy "I am going to come to Cambridge a lot while you are up," mentions that he is renting Hunstanton Hall, Norfolk, for two months, and promises to forward his new book, Heavy Weather. Another short letter, sent from Shipbourne Grange, May 17, 1935, congratulates Billy on his Cambridge blue and praises Hugh [Bartlett's] "great century."
In a contrastingly long t.l.s. from 1315 Angelo Drive, Beverly Hills, March 15 1937, Wodehouse mentions the possibility of returning to live in London or Le Touquet, so he can attend matches, wonders what Billy's plans are after Cambridge, and if Hugh [Bartlett] will captain Sussex. Although Sussex is now a better team than Surrey, he has fond memories of Surrey's "great days thirty years ago, when Lord Dalmeny was captaining them and N.A. Knox and J.N. Crawford played regularly. The rest of the side were pros who batted just like amateurs, going for the bowling directly they went in. I used to love going to the Oval then." He is not the only person in Hollywood to take an interest in Test match cricket. During his previous stay [May 1930-Nov. 1931], a writer named Balderston was able to pick up ball by ball commentary on Australian radio, he would then pass the news on "to Aubrey Smith, who would send it on to Nigel Bruce, from whom I got it," says Wodehouse. Defeat in the current tour of Australia [England won the first 2, and lost the last 3 games] convinces him of the lack of star quality in the side: "I really did think we had them in the fourth game, when we were 180 for two. The trouble about modern English cricket is that there are no real stars except Hammond. The English side ought to consist of seven or eight men who pick themselves ." After signing himself "P.G.," he tells Billy: "P.S. I think the time has come to drop the 'Mr Wodehouse', don't you?"
Of three letters from Low Wood in 1938, the last describes "an extraordinarily fine performance" by Dulwich in a rugby match (20 Nov. 1938). Another, penned in Cannes on 23 Jan. 1939, apologises that he can't "manage the footer dinner this year" as tax liabilities will prevent his return to England before April 6, however it was "awfully nice" seeing Billy at their last meeting. Billy's forthcoming marriage to Barbara [Reynolds], and possible changes to Uncle Fred before it can be serialised in the States, are the subject of the next typewritten letter from Low Wood (March 6 1939). On 6 June, Wodehouse applauds Billy's "nice knock" against the army and outlines the schedule for the D. Litt. ceremony he is shortly to attend at Oxford. On 27 June, a plaudit for Billy's unexpected place in the Gentlemen v. Players match is followed by a delightfully ironic account of his Oxford visit. In the one wartime letter (Low Wood, 2 Feb. 1940), Wodehouse welcomes the prospect of being godfather to Billy's first child [Pauline]. He has read in the Alleynian that Billy has "joined up," tells him that he has "the gift of getting on with everyone," and wishes "we could get together for one of our evenings and discuss the situation." Low Wood is a rallying centre for R.A.F. men on short leave. His poor French is a handicap. "Yesterday our cook was bursting in with the news, as I thought, that the postman was dead. What it turned out to be was that the Pekinese had bitten the policeman." Wonder, the Peke, has given up outdoor life. It is a remarkable coincidence that Billy should be stationed at Shipbourne, near his stepdaughter's home. He wonders "what the public school situation is going to be after the war" and has made arrangements to send Billy some Escudo [tobacco] for Christmas.
1945-1947 (5 typed letters, large 4to., signed "P.G. (P.G.Wodehouse)" and "P.G.," from 78 Avenue Paul Doumer, Paris; 36 Boulevard Suchet, Paris; 53 East 66th Street, New York; and Hotel Adams, New York, July 17 1945-Nov. 11 1947, 10 pages in total).
In an important letter from from Paris, July 17 1945, the author congratulates Billy on the birth of his son, Mike ("We must at once begin coaching him to flight the ball and make it dip and to shove his weight in the scrum"), and alludes to his "noble effort in the first innings" of the Lord's Test despite his failure to score in the second. He seems to anticipate Billy taking over the England captaincy in continuing: "it must be some compensation when you suddenly become captain. I can't imagine what it must be like to lead an England team onto the field at Lord's." In view of Billy's wicket-keeping talents, it is ironic that he should at first have been made to field in the deep at Dulwich, and frustrating that the Paris Daily Mail "omits all details of yesterday's play, so I don't know how many people you caught or stumped." Aware that both Billy and Hugh fought at Arnhem, Wodehouse is anxious to hear of their wartime experiences. Townend has told him that Billy is "to take on the secretaryship of Sussex," a step he approves of, especially in view of his own early decision to give up cricket in order to pursue a writing career. In a fascinating description of cricket in interment camp [at Tost], he admits to a decline of form, but conveys the huge pleasure of playing again "after a brief lay-off of twenty-seven years." As bowler, he found: "I could still skittle the rabble out, but was helpless when I came up against a decent bat." As opening batsman, he experienced the bathos of making the the top score of 5 in "one of our local Test matches, the rest of the side scored 0 -- Total 5." Even remembering how to hold the bat was a problem. "I wanted to grip it like a golf club. We used to play in the yard with a string ball, but towards the end of my stay they let us out once a week to the sports field, where we had a real ball."
On Sept. 1 1945, Wodehouse is irritated by postal delays ("fancy mine of July 17 taking nearly a month"), but delighted at news of England's win in the last of the "Victory" Tests [Old Trafford, Aug. 20-23 1945]. Thanks to the poor reporting of the Paris Daily Mail he doesn't know the details. With the coming tour of Ausralia in mind, he comments on Hugh's return to form and the "great reports of Bailey and Mallett." To restore the house at Le Touquet is "rather a difficult problem" owing to high prices and the extent to which it has been stripped ("I wish the local thieves had left us at least the baths and the heating system"). With his latest play in mind, he expresses frustration at not being able to use the actors that he knew forty years ago, and mentions that there may be an opportunity "to run my camp book serially in the U.S.A." The expense of cricket flannels astounds him ("mine cost me four mille which is twenty quid") and makes him imagine the post-war attire of "Surrey v. Middlesex at Lord's with short leg in black trousers in braces, as in the village match." Again, he is reminded of cricket in internment camp being played "stripped to the waist, which lent terrific zip to one's bowling." The camp pitch was "studded with roots of trees," and there was "one root just where a good length ball pitched, if you could manage to hit it just right you got an unplayable break."
Writing a 2-page letter from 78 Paul Doumer, but heading the letter 36 Boulevard Suchet, Nov. 8 1945, the address of his new flat, Wodehouse explains that his latest play "suddenly went wrong and had to be practically rewritten." It is welcome news that Billy has found a house and is "all set for a long and prosperous career with the Sussex team," and his own life seems sure to improve once he is near the Boise de Boulonge and able "to give the peke [Wonder] a country ramble every day." Billy is thanked for sending the score of the last Test [at Old Trafford] and asked if his 6 catches in the last innings isn't a wonderful new record. By way of eulogy, Wodehouse quotes Bill Townend's description of how "'Billy Griffith covered himself with glory,'" and he loyally considers whether Billy might be asked to captain the coming Australian tour instead of Hammond. Money in the Bank, the book he wrote in camp, is to be published next May, but he is "to postpone publication of my book about my camp experiences," promising, however, to send it to Billy [the "camp book" was to remain unpublished].
By July 4, 1947, the 66 year old author is in New York, undertaking to forward the American edition of Full Moon, and telling Billy to be philosophical about not playing for England. Although his theatrical work is going well ("with any luck I might have four or five shows on Broadway in the Autumn"), he is dismayed by changes in "the theatre world" and the need to find heavy financial backing for productions. His short stories are "beginning to sell," and royalties from his old music publisher are significant ("$3000 is nice sugar"). The affluence of the United States is an enormous contrast to France. "It's odd how quickly one gets used to being able to have everything one wants over here," he concludes. "I have just been eating an orange and eating it quite nonchalantly, in France I couldn't have got a smell of an orange." He especially likes the availability of "sleeveless sports shirts." In his next letter (11 Nov. 1947), P.G. loyally tells Billy that "the failure of the English team in Australia was entirely due to the fact that, having seen the selections, I formally put the Curse of the Wodehouses on them. When I found they had left you out, I said 'This can't go on' and acted accordingly."
1952-1959 (23 typed letters, most large 4to., the final letters small 4to., all signed "P.G.," from 1000 Park Avenue, New York, and Remsenburg, Long Island, March 11 1952 to Dec. 27 1959, a total of 40pp., the t.l.s. of May 22 1954 with a 3-line manuscript note at head).
"I'm so glad the ham and chocolates arrived all right," begins the letter of March 11 1952. "What an age since I wrote to you! I'm awfully sorry. I can't give as an excuse the mad rush of life in New York, because I don't suppose two people ever led a quieter existence than Ethel and me." Knowing that Billy has taken over Neville Cardus's job on the Sunday Times, he recalls his own work as a sports reporter, and mentions how, after buying all of Cardus's books, it was a disappointment to find one was about music and not cricket. Cardus's autobiography is "extraordinarily intertesting, particularly the bit where he gets a job as assistant cricket pro at Shrewsbury." On Dec. 16 1952, Billy is congratulated on getting "the Lord's job" [that of assistant secretary to Ronnie Aird] at the same time as another friend, Malcom Muggeridge, has become editor of Punch. Two months later (Feb. 15 1953), Wodehouse extols the value of a house that "adjoins Lord's. I've always thought that's where I should like to live, with a garden gate opening on the ground." Getting cricket news from the New York papers is hit and miss. An admirer of A.A. Thomson's books, he appreciates Thomson's gift of a year's subscription to The Cricketer (Dec. 21 1954), and frequently thanks Billy for sending the Daily Telegraph. E.W. Swanton is "very good reading" (July 4 1956), whereas the "breezy familiarity" of the Daily Express is disdainful.
Billy's games for Sussex are still commended, and his new interest in real tennis leads Wodehouse to "remember Victor Cazalet bringing Helen Wills to Lord's to play and she was hopeless" (April 5 1957). Wodehouse is delighted by Mike's progress at Ludgrove. That there can be any alternative to Dulwich as a senior school is something he finds hard to accept, even if the status of sport has declined. "A win against Bedford nowadays gets the same space [in the school magazine] as a report of the Dramatic Society's production of Chekov's latest," he remarks disapprovingly (March 11 1952). The school has also become too big. "I think it's crazy having a school of 1350. But what a heavenly school it was when there were only about 600" (Dec. 21 1954). To see Mike "making a double century against Dulwich" would be "agony" (Aug. 25 1953), yet in the end he is enough of a realist to accept the choice of Marlborough, who do have a match at Lord's. Having learned from the Cricketer that Mike has not only got into "the Lord's team but contributed largely to the Marlborough win in his first summer" (Sept. 7 1958), he sends a cheque for £14, "a tribute" of "a pound a run."
Gleaning the chance news of England's win in the fifth Test from the New York Times (Aug. 25 1953), Wodehouse imagines "How bucked everybody must be about it. I'm glad it was a clean-cut win, with Australia winning the toss and so on. I never like those matches where it is a sitter for the side winning the toss." Writing from Remsenburg a year later (Sept. 25 1954), P.G. thanks Billy for "inside" news about the selection of the 1954-55 touring team and agrees with his doubts about the choice of Len Hutton as captain. "Surely he will be a total loss on the social, speech-making side. Almost any pro would be bad enough, and H. is such a dour, silent pro. Sheppard would have been the man." He is sorry Billy won't be tour manager, and believes "there is a very good story to be written about the clash between touring cricket and private life." Low scoring by both sides makes him wonder what is amiss. "On Sunday the Times had the first innings score of the second Test, with England out for 158 and Bailey saving the day with his four wickets, Australia leading by only 74," he writes on Dec. 21 1954. "But, my gosh, fancy 158 in a Test match. What's the matter with these people? The Australian bowling can't be as good as all that, why didn't they take you along as manager and you could have subbed for Evans? Can you imagine Len winning the toss and putting them in!" In view of what Billy has told him about the M.C.C. debate on "brighter cricket," Wodehouse on another occasion suggests that it would be "much better if cricket was run like baseball" (April 5 1957) while two years later (May 20 1959), he is convinced that "cautious" batting and bowling have led to "the great danger" of cricket losing "its charm as a spectacle." He believes there is too much county cricket, with too little chance of getting a result over three days, so that even the spectacular batting of Fry and Ranji for Sussex was matched by Abel and Hayward for Surrey and commonly led to a draw.
In addition to their sporting interest, this group of letters describes alterations to the house in Remsenburg [purchased in 1952, it became the Wodehouses' permanent home from 1955], and the frolics of new family pets, especially the much-loved foxhound, Bill, and Squeaky, the peke. P.G. has all the benefits of an unchanging routine which, in addition to writing, involves toe-touching exercises, a four mile walk each day, and regular martinis. His "dizzy spells" make him determined to ignore medical advice and go on smoking, but income tax, and the complex arrangements needed to help his two godchildren financially, are more serious concerns. Payment for five Encounter articles, containing the text of his German broadcasts, is to go to Billy. He undertakes to pay at least £200 of the £500 a year fees for Mike's education at Marlborough, and Billy is also promised a "substantial sum" in his will (June 21 1958). As before, he sends the family copies of his latest book, and is also touchingly concerned to ensure that Billy is well-stocked with tobacco.
At the age of 75 (April 5 1957), Wodehouse declares "I never feel old." If he is disconcerted that "Slacker" [Christian], a Dulwich contemporary, is only able "just to crawl along," it encourages him that Eden Philpotts has just published another novel at 94. Proud of the pace at which he can work and pleased with his reviving popularity, he mentions the unexpected difficulty of finding a first edition of Mike for republication by Herbert Jenkins. Ring for Jeeves and Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit are the latest Jeeves stories, and he feels that the latter "has come out awfully well, but the devil of it is every time I get a particularly good idea, I have to re-read all the other Jeeves books to make sure I haven't used it before" (March 28 1953). Other new titles are The Butler did It, issued as Something Fishy in England, and Cocktail Time which he believes he cannot better with his next book. "At present I haven't a glimmering of an idea what to write about next, but I always go through this phase" (Nov. 8 1957). His collaboration with Guy Bolton in Bring on the Girls is said to be "rather like a scrum half and a fly half. He did all the solid work and I the flashy stuff," while the only review of A Performing Flea to upset him is by a woman on the Daily Express who probably hasn't read it (Jan. 12 1954). Wodehouse can only wonder at the slow progress of Richard Usborne's book [Wodehouse at Work]. Having told Billy that Usborne received his commission "not later than 1952," he continues: "I don't know what to say about letting him see my letters to you. Quite okay as far as I'm concerned, but it seems to me there is a grave danger of his holding up the book for another year while he traced your career at Dulwich and Cambridge" (Dec. 27 1959).
1960-1969 (28 letters, 2 manuscript, the rest typed, signed "P.G.," from Remsenberg, Long Island, Oct. 20 1960-Dec. 15 1969, a total of 58 pages).
Delays in writing to Billy are blamed on his need to reply to fan letters. "A perfect tidal waves of letters from fans poured in" after a report of his 79th birthday in the New York Times (Oct. 20 1960). Demands are also being made for his autograph on books. On Jan. 15 1961, Wodehouse mentions the arrival of "twenty-one cases, each with forty-eight books," which he signs "'With best wishes, P.G. Wodehouse' a thousand times" on behalf of a Chicago bookstore. At Billy's request, he agrees to autograph books for John Arlott, confirming (Sept. 22 1965) that Arlott has "sent me some of my books to autograph and three of his own which I thought awfully good. A.A. Thomson always sends me his so I have quite a large cricket library. Edward Cazalet, my grandson, who passed through here with his bride on their way to Honolulu, brought me Freddie Trueman's book. It didn't impress me very favourably, but all cricket books are good. One I did really like was Compton's End of an Innings."
After being offered a job as secretary to the Rugby Union, Billy is encouraged to make the most of his strong negotiating position with the M.C.C. By May 12 1961, it has become clear that he has "landed the Lord's job," but Wodehouse is concerned about his operation [for the removal of a lung] and "anxious" to hear that "everything has gone well." At the start of the following year the appointment has become official, and Billy is congratulated on successfully fighting to double his salary. Recognising how difficult it is "to talk about money," the author comments: "If I hadn't had stern-faced agents all my writing career, I know I would have accepted anything I was offered for my stories" (Jan. 30 1962). The probability that Billy will stop over in New York, early in 1963, causes a stir of excitement in letters of Sept. 25 and Dec. 9 1962. In the end, it is Billy who calls off the trip. Wodehouse says his visit to New York with Guy Bolton in order to take part in a television tribute to Jerome Kern was "on the day you would have arrived" (Jan. 22 1963). His next letter (March 4 1963) regrets that: "our meeting couldn't come off. If it wasn't for the two dogs and two cats, I would come to England, but I don't see how they could manage without me."
Despite being a generation apart, the two correspondents share a dislike of post-war changes. Billy's view that Cambridge University does not pay "any attention to 'on the field' excellence" is endorsed by Wodehouse who remembers it as "a place where you could get in if you could read and write. Bertie Wooster and his pals just walked into their university, presumably purely on charm of manner, and I think that's how it ought to be" (Jan. 30 1962). That Mike is eighteen and has succeeded in getting into Cambridge is another reminder of the passing of time. Wodehouse recalls A.L. Inglis "who was captain of football in 1899 and gave me my cap. It does seem extraordinary that he, like me, is now eighty." It becomes Mike rather than Billy whose feats as Cambridge wicket-keeper are eulogised, while Billy himself is soon to be a grandfather. "Fancy you being a grandfather!" teases P.G. (April 18, 1964). "The Wodehouse grandfather fought at Waterloo, which makes one think a bit."
On the matter of Test selections, Wodehouse supports Dexter's captaincy, doubting that Sheppard "would have been as good" (26 Aug. 1962). He takes pleasure in the centuries scored by Cowdrey and Sheppard in his letter of Jan. 22 1963, and is encouraged by the success of Stewart and Edrich as an opening pair. "Stewart in particular seems to be just the man needed " (July 12 1963). The South Africans are regarded as a "hot side" (Dec. 15 1963), whereas Test cricket in India is "dull" (April 18 1964). By August 4 1964, though, doubts are occuring : "the England team doesn't inspire much confidence" and Dexter "seems to handle the bowling rather oddly (Though all I know is what I read in the papers, which are always misleading)." Another cause of misgiving is the abolition of amateur status. "There's nothing one can say against it logically, but it just jars on one," Wodehouse tells Billy (Jan 22 1963). "Who would have thought Gentlemen v Players would ever have come to an end!" Great admiration is shown for Billy's work as M.C.C. secretary ("what a responsible position yours is"), particularly in view of current controversies such as the "Close trouble" (Oct. 14 1967) and "the D'Oliveira thing" (Dec. 20 1968), and the general tendency of the press to be "in the hands of cads, probably with long hair and beards" (Dec. 15 1969).
New novels include Stiff Upper Lip Jeeves ("a really good one"), Frozen Assets, Galahad at Blandings, Do Butlers Burgle Banks, A Pelican at Blandings and Much Obliged Jeeves. This is in spite of the arthritis affecting his hands and a decline in the market for serials. Copies of his latest book continue to be sent as presents, and on June 6 1961 the tireless author even sends Billy by sea mail "the MS of my last book" [Service with a Smile], a year ahead of publication. "I thought you might like to read it while you are convalescing," he remarks, "and there's another thing. They had a sale of MSS at Christie's a year ago and one of mine fetched a hundred quid, so this one may be valuable and bring you a bit later on. I am enclosing with it the notes I made before starting writing, as these are what a collector (if any!) would pay money for. Don't try to read them as they are absolutely incoherent." On Nov. 7 1961, he asks if Billy knows "anything about the jargon of rugger," as he has a plot in his new Jeeves novel [Stiff Upper Lip Jeeves] which hinges upon "a crank on the subject of rugger" confronting Bertie who "of course doesn't understand a word." His next letter thanks Billy "for the rugger stuff. It's just what I want" (Dec. 14 1961). He agrees that the performances of Ian Carmichael and Dennis Price, in the first television production of the Jeeves stories, "were both terrific especially Dennis Price" (June 23 1965).
There are several mentions of Usborne's book. "Did I tell you I got a letter from Usborne asking me which side of Dover Street the Drones Club was on? He does certainly find the craziest questions to ask" (May 22 1960). Wodehouse expects the book to be good, if only it can be finished, and tells Billy "I am glad you didn't bring up the subject of our correspondence when you met him!" From a letter of May 12 1961, it is clear that Usborne had been given some form of access to the correspondence for the author is furious about the "rough manuscript" of Usborne's book sent to him by [Derek] Grimsdick. "I thought it was awful!" he comments "I must have cut out at least twenty thousand words. What the final version will be like I don't know. I wish we had never trusted him with those letters." However, the proofs of the book turn out better. "I was very relieved to find that it was quite all right, in fact very good," a calmer Wodehouse writes to Billy on June 6 1961. "He doesn't quote any of your letters!" [indicating that Usborne read Billy's rather than his own letters].
1970-1974 (3 typed letters, 4to., signed "P.G." and "Plum," from Remsenberg, Long Island, New York, Dec. 21 1970-Dec. 20 1974, 4pp. in total).
On Dec. 21 1970, Wodehouse sends a Christmas present for the family. Although a virus has left him "very deaf," he gets the Sunday Times every week, and so has a "tantalising view of the Tests." England have "started well in the second," but he wonders whether he will "ever know the result." In his next letter (Jan. 31 1971), news of Billy's "troubles at Lord's" has made him "absolutely sick." However, despite the postal strike in England, "a Sunday Times has got through," and he is "pleased to see that England had won the fourth Test. It shows how out of touch I am that I had never heard of the felloe who goes in first with Boycott" [B.W. Luckhurst]. The rest of this letter revives his proposal to make cricket more like baseball. In the final letter of Dec. 20 1974, he describes being in a "terrific rush" with his writing, and consoles Billy who must "be having a worrying time just now with England doing so badly in the Tests. Those Australian fast bowlers must be devils. But these things always go in ups and downs. Probably two years from now the England team will be unbeatable." His short final paragraph is characteristically affectionate: "Love to all. Nice card from Mike. Why isn't he the England wicket keeper? Yours ever Plum." (74)
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