Welcome back to my audio serialisation of P G Wodehouse's comic romp The Girl on the Boat. In tonight's episode, the narrator feels the thrills have been coming a bit too thick and fast:
As I read over the last few chapters of this narrative, I see that I have been giving the reader rather too jumpy a time. To almost a painful degree I have excited his pity and terror; and, though that is what Aristotle says one ought to do, I feel that a little respite would not be out of order. The reader can stand having his emotions tortured up to a certain point; after that he wants to take it easy for a bit. It is with pleasure, therefore, that I turn now to depict a quiet, peaceful scene in domestic life. It won't last long—three minutes, perhaps, by a good stop-watch—but that is not my fault...
If you're a member of The Mark Steyn Club you can hear Part Eighteen of our serialisation of The Girl on the Boat simply by clicking here and logging-in. All previous episodes can be found here.
Thank you for your kind comments on this latest Tale. However, an Israeli member of The Mark Steyn Club, Israel Pickholtz, remains baffled by one plot point:
How is it that Wilhelmina and Eustace were to be married and her father did not know?
Well, Wodehouse is very tightly plotted, Israel, down to very teeny-weeny details, so one must assume this was conscious on the author's part. I think the idea is that all the boys love her - Sam, Eustace, Bream - and thus Wilhelmina's reciprocity tends to be a bit sudden and whimsical. After all, her betrothal to Eustace was unknown to the poor chap's mother until the morning of the wedding. We shall see whether these serial engagements eventually encounter something more substantial.
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And do join me tomorrow for the nineteenth episode of The Girl on the Boat.
