Welcome to the conclusion of our springtime Tale for Our Time: The Girl on the Boat by P G Wodehouse. Many listeners will miss this caper, and indeed would wish for a Plum serialisation every month.
No doubt about it, but reactions to this rather prescient novel of 1907 run the gamut. On the one hand, Larry Durham, a South Carolina Steyn Clubber, writes:
Like many fellow Clubbers I hate for this TFOT to end. It would not hurt my feelings one bit if Mr. Steyn serialized something from Wodehouse frequently. Also, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the often insightful comments from members everywhere. Cheers to everyone on the cruise.
Thank you, Larry. This Tale was by way of our fiftieth-anniversary observance of the author's death. Richard Woodruff, a First Week Founding Member of The Mark Steyn Club, notes that, out in the wider world, the occasion went very well:
Hi Mark. I recently received the spring edition of Plum Lines, the quarterly journal of the North American Wodehouse Society. It features an article about a recent (February) ceremony at the Wodehouse memorial at Westminster Abbey, marking a half-century since his death. Several dozen were in attendance, including the step-grandson of P.G. Wodehouse, the chairmen or presidents of the N.A., UK, and Dutch societies, and, perhaps best of all, Hugh Laurie and Sir Stephen Fry were there, as well.
Indeed. For more on Fry and Laurie, see below. Back at Tales for Our Time, our final episode begins with some observations on motoring:
Like all cars which have been spending a considerable time in secluded inaction, it did not start readily. At each application of Billie's foot on the self-starter, it emitted a tinny and reproachful sound and then seemed to go to sleep again....
"The battery must be run down," said Billie.
"All right," said Bream.
Billie cast a glance of contempt at him out of the corner of her eyes. She hardly knew why she had spoken to him except that, as all motorists are aware, the impulse to say rude things about their battery is almost irresistible. To a motorist the art of conversation consists in rapping out scathing remarks either about the battery or the oiling-system.
Well, it's better than returning to the parking lot to find your Tesla keyed. Members of The Mark Steyn Club can hear me read the conclusion of The Girl on the Boat simply by clicking here and logging-in. Earlier episodes can be found here.
Re Fry and Laurie as Jeeves and Wooster, my late friend Clive Exton adapted Wodehouse for the small screen brilliantly. This was a favourite episode of my kids, in which, seeking to avoid a prospective father-in-law, Bertie gatecrashes his fellow Drones Club members' minstrel routine:
The YouTube comments are what you'd expect, but I especially treasure the one that complains he can't see what "Lady of Spain" has to do with the black American experience.
We'll have a new audio adventure for you later this month. In the meantime, a word on reader reaction to our other Tales: some like the ripping yarns for boys, some the more genteel social comedy for girls, and some of you even enjoy our ventures into summer whimsy from yours truly. But of the tales in totality all seem to be in favour.
If you've yet to hear any of them, you can enjoy seven-and-a-half years' worth of audio adventures - by Conan Doyle, Kafka, Conrad, Gogol, Dickens, Baroness Orczy, Jane Austen, George Orwell, Robert Louis Stevenson and more - by joining The Mark Steyn Club. For details on membership, see here - and, if you're seeking the perfect gift for a fan of classic fiction, don't forget our Steyn Club Gift Membership. Sign up that special someone today - it's the perfect birthday present!
Tales for Our Time will be back very soon, and don't forget the latest episode of Mark Steyn on the Town.
