Blandings Castle
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In the stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse, Blandings Castle is the seat of Clarence Threepwood, 9th Earl of Emsworth as well as the name given to the series of books which take place at the castle and its immediate environs.
Lord Emsworth's nine sisters, his brother Galahad, his sons Freddie and Thomas, and his numerous nieces, nephews, and in-laws inhabit the castle from time to time, as does his prize sow, the Empress of Blandings. For the Threepwood family, relatives, and their friends, the castle is forever available for indefinite residence, and is occasionally used as a temporary prison – known as "Devil's Island" or "The Bastille" – for love-struck young men and ladies to calm down.
Blandings's ever-present butler is Sebastian Beach, and its other domestic servants have at various times included Mrs Twemlow the housekeeper, an under-butler named Merridew, Scottish head gardeners Angus McAllister and Thorne, chauffeurs Slingsby and Alfred Voules, and a number of footman. Emsworth has employed a series of secretaries, notable among them Rupert Baxter and Ronald Psmith, and numerous pig caretakers, especially George Cyril Wellbeloved and James Pirbright.
Lady Constance Keeble, Emsworth's sister, was chatelaine of the castle before she married American millionaire George Schoonmaker.
Blandings Castle, located in Shropshire, England, is two miles the town of Market Blandings, home to at least nine pubs, most notably the Emsworth Arms. The tiny hamlet of Blandings Parva lies directly outside the castle gates and the town of Much Matchingham, home to Matchingham Hall, the residence of Sir Gregory Parsloe-Parsloe, is also nearby.
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Books
Blandings Castle serves as the setting for eleven novels and nine short stories, written between 1915 and Wodehouse's death in 1977.
- Something Fresh (1915)
- Leave it to Psmith (1923)
- Summer Lightning (1929)
- Heavy Weather (1933)
- Blandings Castle (1935) – Twelve short stories, six of which are about Blandings: "The Custody of the Pumpkin", "Lord Emsworth Acts for the Best", "Pig-Hoo-o-o-o-ey", "Company for Gertrude", "The Go-getter", and "Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend". Written from 1926 to 1928, they occur before the events of Summer Lightning.
- Lord Emsworth and Others (1937) – Despite its title, only one of the nine stories, "The Crime Wave at Blandings", takes place at Blandings.
- Uncle Fred in the Springtime (1939)
- Full Moon (1947)
- Nothing Serious (1950) – One story of ten, "Birth of a Salesman"
- Pigs Have Wings (1952)
- Service with a Smile (1961)
- Galahad at Blandings (1965)
- Plum Pie (1966) – One story of nine, "Sticky Wicket at Blandings"
- A Pelican at Blandings (1969)
- Sunset at Blandings (1977)
Wodehouse worked on Sunset at Blandings until his death, writing even in his hospital bed. It was unfinished and untitled when he died, and was subsequently edited and released in its incomplete form with extensive notes on the content.
References
See also
External link
- BBC News: Zeroing in on Blandings (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3078912.stm) – Two researchers' attempt to locate the castle