WODEHOUSE, P. G.

£15,000 · Offered by Peter Harrington · No longer available

Archive of correspondence to his American editor, Peter Schwed. These letters, each signed "Plum", were written over a period of more than two decades to his US editor and close friend, Peter Schwed (1911-2003), who worked for Simon & Schuster. The recipient believed "they reveal more of the great man's warmth and ebullient spirit than is likely to be encountered very often elsewhere" (Schwed, p. 5).Schwed was responsible for the US editions of Wodehouse's work from 1956 onwards, but revealed he did little except change some titles: "Plum's books needed virtually no editing. An editor is supposed to contribute something! So I became a gilder of the lily, and not too much else" (Schwed, p. 8). Schwed was the dedicatee of four of Wodehouse's works.Schwed first exhibited his letters at the 1995 Convention of the Wodehouse Society. He then published the correspondence in Plum to Peter in 1996. This was a signed limited edition of 500 copies, and a copy is included here.Subjects within the correspondence include international royalties, the writing of Cocktail Time, plans for Over Seventy, amazement at the lucrative royalties of the song "Bill", becoming a godfather, and advertising for The Most of P. G. Wodehouse. Wodehouse expresses concern over his potential overuse of the title "Lord" in his prose, admits having no idea for a new book ("I haven't been able to get what Bertie Wooster would call a point d'appui"), and wonders why his latest writing is short ("surely at eighty-fo

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.