june-july 2022 books…

Right Ho, Jeeves (PG Wodehouse): In yet another effort to avoid all the horrible stuff going in the world, I’m afraid I reverted to the ‘tried-and-tested’ Wodehouse to brighten things a little. This book (first published in 1934) is yet another of his somewhat predictable upper-class sagas about country houses, expensive living and not-so-bright-young-things featuring Jeeves and his trusty butler Wooster. The story is rather like many of Wodehouse’s other Jeeves’ books, but I enjoy his writing style (obviously now very dated) and clipped remarks… and, of course, the ridiculous character names (Gussie Fink-Nottle, Tuppy Glossop, Pongo Twistleton and the like). Easy reading.
Encounters With Peggy Guggenheim (Stefan Moses): I bought this book (published 2018 and still available at Waterstones for a mere £22.50!) at the £3 Bookshop. Renowned photographer Stefan Moses (who was also given access to her private family album) reveals his collection of behind-the-scenes photographs of the eccentric, wealthy, art collecting PeggyG, taken between 1969 and 1974, in her favourite places around Venice, surrounded by her Lhasa Apso dogs and wearing her iconic butterfly glasses. The quality of the photographs (to my amateur eye) varies enormously… perhaps best described as “candid snaps” of a somewhat fearless woman, her Venetian surroundings, her art and those she entertained.
The Code Of The Woosters (PG Wodehouse): Virtually a continuation of the issues raised in ‘Right Ho, Jeeves’ (see above!) which, perhaps strangely, I found far more enjoyable (I love the way in which Wooster attempts to justify his actions in hindsight and to recall various outrageous adventures from his school/university days. Ridiculous character names continued to amuse: Bingo Little, Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright, Barmy Fotheringay-Phipps, Sinker Pinker and the like. Kept me entertained and smiling!
Elisabeth’s Lists (Lulah Ellender): This book was a random purchase from the £3 Bookshop and, as a self-confessed list-maker, I felt I needed to read it! The Elisabeth in question is the author’s grandmother (who died well before the author was born) – who lived a rather glamorous life as an ambassador’s daughter in 1930s China and subsequently as the wife of a British diplomat (with postings to Madrid under Franco’s regime, post-war Beirut, Rio de Janeiro and Paris). The author inherited her grandmother’s rather battered book of handwritten lists (something of a coping mechanism and a “source of structure and comfort” throughout her brief life – she died aged 42) which triggered a desire to learn more (through her diaries and letters). Something of a family memoir – albeit of a rather privileged, upper/middle-class existence. Interesting nevertheless.
House Arrest (Alan Bennett): This is a short book of extracts from Bennett’s diary compiled between February 2020 and March 2022 – “a year in and out of lockdown”. It’s a rather lovely, typical collection of amusing observations and reminiscences from Bennett during a time that had such a profound effect of everyone’s lives. He seemed to cope quite well – his partner working from home meant he received regular cups of tea and a hot lunch! I particular enjoyed his description of one of their regular 3-minute evening walks round the block – which on one occasion coincided with the “fusillade of clapping and pan-banging from neighbours out on their balconies in celebration of the NHS”… “Rupert can clap, but I can’t as I need to hold on to my walking stick. It also appears that, with me walking in the road, I am acknowledging the applause and even generating it. I try to disavow this by feebly smiling and shaking my head, but this just looks like modesty”!