WODEHOUSE, P. G.

£12,500 · Offered by Peter Harrington · No longer available

The Pothunters. First edition, presentation copy, inscribed by Wodehouse on the front free endpaper, "To N. G. Thwaites with the author's compliments". Both professionally and personally, Norman Graham Thwaites altered the course of Wodehouse's life: he helped to publish Wodehouse's first ever American edition and introduced the writer to his future wife, Ethel Wayman.Thwaites (1872-1956) was the European correspondent for the New York World with whom Wodehouse often stayed during youthful visits to the city. In his article "The First Time I Went to New York", Wodehouse describes Thwaites as the "English friend living in ew York" who directed the manuscript of Love Among the Chickens (1906) to the literary agent A. E. Baerman, leading to the author's first American publication in 1909. Five years later, Thwaites welcomed Wodehouse back to New York and introduced him to Wayman for a double date. As stated by Wodehouse's biographer, "They met on 3 August 1914 and on 30 September they were married" (Donaldson, p. 90).An extroverted actress, Wayman (née Newton, 1885-1984) made an unlikely partner for the shy writer, but she quickly became the love of his life and Wodehouse adopted her daughter from a previous marriage. Wayman managed Wodehouse's non-literary affairs so he could devote himself to writing, and her personality influenced many of his novels. "The typical Wodehouse heroine changed after Plum got married: she put on more flesh and blood. She was no longer someone who b

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