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Mike and Psmith

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Mike and Psmith

By: P. G. Wodehouse
Narrated by: Graham Seed
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About this listen

An early Wodehouse novel, this is both a sporting story and a tale of friendship between two boys at boarding school. Mike (introduced in the novel Mike at Wrykyn) is a seriously good cricketer who forms an unlikely alliance with old Etonian Psmith (‘the P is silent’) after they both find themselves fish out of water at a new school, Sedleigh, where they eventually overcome the hostility of others and their own prejudices to become stars.

Even listeners uninterested in cricket are likely to be gripped by descriptions of matches, and the plot, though slight, reaches a satisfying conclusion. But the real meat of the novel is to be found in the characters, especially the elegant Psmith, one of Wodehouse’s immortal creations, who features in three of his later novels (Psmith in the City, Psmith Journalist, Leave it to Psmith).

©2013 The Trustees of the Wodehouse Estate (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Contemporary Fiction Genre Fiction Funny

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I first heard Psmith in the City on BBC radio and enjoyed it so much I wanted to try this story.
The writing is excellent of course and I enjoyed this story very much.
I particularly liked the reader whose voice suits the style of the writing well.

Very enjoyable

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Psmith = wit, warmth, elegance and effortless banter.

The perfect book to lift your spirits.

The narrator is easy to listen too and narrates with panache and passion.

Exquisitely crafted banter

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This very early work by Wodehouse was interesting as background to the later Psmith books but is very much a school story written for schoolboys, not really a novel for adults. It doesn't have the linguistic and situational comedy we associate with Wodehouse. The writing is still very good in its genre, and as a devoted Wodehouse fan I enjoyed it, but I'd say it's only suitable for fans who want to do some Wodehouse archaeology.

School story - historical interest only

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A timeless story, given new life by a sensitive and creative narrator whose love of the book and its author is supremely evident! Magnificent, many a happy evening spent listening to a chapter or two of this book.

All Round Classic

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Not laugh out loud like many of his later books but nevertheless witty and thoroughly enjoyable.

Very early Wodehouse

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I thoroughly enjoyed this book, have read it before and when I saw it on offer then I had to buy it. The reading is brilliant and clear and the story is just an easy and wonderful listen. There are 4 great Psmith books and I believe this is the first of a great quartet.

Another great book by PG

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Where does Mike and Psmith rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I have recently discovered Psmith read by Jonathan Cecil. There is no doubting the superiority of the later books and Cecil's narration has become the voice of Psmith, but if you enjoy the characters then this book is a must. Despite it being one of Wodehouse's earlier attempts, it is well written and thank goodness he went on to develop the characters as they because older. Graham Seed reads well.

What other book might you compare Mike and Psmith to, and why?

Wodehouse's golfing stories.

What three words best describe Graham Seed’s performance?

clear, well-paced voice.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The answer to life the universe and everything is...cricket.

Any additional comments?

This book should be more widely read, as should Psmith himself.

Mike and Psmith

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Psmith (pronounced with a silent “P”) is a Wodehouse character I was previously unfamiliar with except through keen word-of-mouth endorsements. I was expecting it to feature an adult male about the age of Bertie Wooster, but in this book we are introduced to him in his final year of public school at Sedleigh, after being expelled from Eton. Also new to the school is Mike Jackson, whose father withdrew him from cricket powerhouse Wrykyn and sent him to the much smaller and more academic Sedleigh due to a series of poor school reports. Mike is an expert cricketer, a batsman, who was about to become captain of cricket at Wrykyn, but on arrival at Sedleigh refuses to play for the school out of spite. Instead he turns out twice a week for the local village team and joins the archaeological society to curry favour with his housemaster, Mr Outwood.

The book follows the adventures of the two boys from their first day at Sedleigh through to the summer term, including battles with other boys over the choice studies and dormitories, and run-ins with Mr Downing, the unpopular master of another house. Although it’s not as laugh-out-loud funny as the Jeeves and Wooster novels, it is enjoyable to read and features some of Wodehouse’s familiar intricate plotting and wordplay. Psmith’s cool composure under pressure, way with words, and immaculate appearance is a precursor to Jeeves.

I found it interesting to read this as one of Wodehouse’s earlier works (the story was first serialized in 1908). Again you get the feeling of arriving mid-way through an ongoing narrative - and indeed Wodehouse has written about Mike’s time at Wrykyn - in the same way that you can dip into any Jeeves and Wooster novel without having read the prior ones.

The audiobook narration by Graham Seed captures the posh public school accents of the characters and is appropriate to the amiable and benign tone of the story.

Early Wodehouse, not as funny as Jeeves and Wooster

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