P.G. Wodehouse and Hollywood: Screenwriting, Satires and Adaptations

Beloved British humorist P.G. Wodehouse produced a wealth of literature in his lengthy career, contributing novels, short stories, plays, lyrics and essays to the canon of comic writing. His work in film and television included two stints as a screenwriter, and his stories have been the basis for more than 150 film and television productions. He also wrote several novels and essays about Hollywood, often satirizing the city and its entertainment magnates. This book studies P.G. Wodehouse’s extensive, but often overlooked, relationship with Tinsel Town. The book is arranged chronologically, covering Wodehouse’s Hollywood career from his early efforts in silent film, to his later contributions in television, to his work adapted posthumously for the screen. It includes a discussion of his internment in occupied France and how his brief appearances on German radio, which he intended as a way of communicating with concerned fans in America, led to his forced separation from his homeland and his assumption of American citizenship in 1955. Reflecting Wodehouse’s international appeal, the book cites both British and American sources and explains differences between international anthologies, performances and broadcasts of his work. Also included are a comprehensive, detailed list of Wodehouse’s stories and articles about Hollywood, and a complete filmography of motion picture and television works to which he contributed or which were based on his stories.