A little later than usual (due to technical issues, for which I apologize), here's Part Five of our current Tale for Our Time: a bit of post-election escapism among the lowlifes of New York, as seen by P G Wodehouse - Psmith, Journalist. Yesterday's illustration by T M R Whitwell tickled several listeners' fancy, so I thought I'd throw in a bonus from Psmith in the City. As a young lad, I appreciated Mr Whitwell's choice of lines to illustrate, and how he did so. The picture at right, for example, accompanies the following text:
Psmith paused, and ate some porridge.
In tonight's episode Psmith meets a young boxer called Kid Brady. As Billy Windsor explains:
"He's from my part of the country—Wyoming. He wants to fight any one in the world at a hundred and thirty-three pounds."
"We all have our hobbies. Comrade Brady appears to have selected a somewhat exciting one. He would find stamp-collecting less exacting."
"It hasn't given him much excitement so far, poor chap," said Billy Windsor. "He's in the championship class, and here he has been pottering about New York for a month without being able to get a fight. It's always the way in this rotten East," continued Billy, warming up as was his custom when discussing a case of oppression and injustice. "It's all graft here. You've got to let half a dozen brutes dip into every dollar you earn, or you don't get a chance. If the kid had a manager, he'd get all the fights he wanted. And the manager would get nearly all the money... It's all just like the East. Everything in the East is as crooked as Pearl Street. If you want a square deal, you've got to come out Wyoming way."
Like many Englishmen of his generation, the young P G Wodehouse had a hazy grip on the particulars of the United States, such as the distinction, if there be such, between Wyoming and New York City. But, after a couple of trips, he's certainly beginning to grasp the essentials.
Members of The Mark Steyn Club can hear Part Five of our adventure simply by clicking here and logging-in. Earlier episodes of Psmith, Journalist can be found here, and previous Tales for Our Time here.
Thank you for all your comments about this latest Tale. Martha, a Mark Steyn Club member from beautiful Victoria, British Columbia, writes:
Thanks for this Mark. Very enjoyable, lots of cozy moments as I listen to it with my old arthritic cat in my lap. She is purring in agreement.
Thank you, Martha. Our content is explicitly designed to appeal to arthritic felines - a niche demographic, but somewhat underserved.
If you'd like to join us in The Mark Steyn Club, we'd love to have you: please see here. And, if you've a chum who enjoys classic fiction, we've introduced a special Steyn Gift Membership: you'll find more details here. Oh, and we also do video poetry.
Please join me back here tomorrow evening for Part Six of Psmith, Journalist.
