Which P.G. Wodehouse short story is related to Smith of Wootton Major?
July 1, 2013 10:50 AM Subscribe
Many sources claim Tolkien's Smith of Wootton Major was retitled "to suggest an early work by PG Wodehouse." Which early work of Wodehouse is referred to?
from Wayne Hammond’s JRR Tolkien: A Bibliography - ’In 1964 Tolkien was invited to write a preface to a new edition of ’The Golden Key’ by George MacDonald, ... He intended the preface to explain the meaning of Fairy by means of a brief story about a cook and a cake [see biography, pp. 242-3] but the story tooki on a life of it’s own and the preface was abandoned. Tolkien first called his tale ’The Great Cake’. It’s later title ’Sith of Wootton Major’ was meant to suggesst an early work by PG Wodehouse or a story in the Boys Own Paper’.
from Wayne Hammond’s JRR Tolkien: A Bibliography - ’In 1964 Tolkien was invited to write a preface to a new edition of ’The Golden Key’ by George MacDonald, ... He intended the preface to explain the meaning of Fairy by means of a brief story about a cook and a cake [see biography, pp. 242-3] but the story tooki on a life of it’s own and the preface was abandoned. Tolkien first called his tale ’The Great Cake’. It’s later title ’Sith of Wootton Major’ was meant to suggesst an early work by PG Wodehouse or a story in the Boys Own Paper’.
There's the whole series of Wodehouse stories about "Psmith."
posted by yoink at 10:54 AM on July 1, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by yoink at 10:54 AM on July 1, 2013 [1 favorite]
I don't think he means the plotline. Wodehouse had an early character called Psmith (the P is silent) and titles like Psmith Journalist. It was just a hearty style of title common at the time; Wodehouse started out writing school stories for boys and Psmith kind of branched off that.
posted by zadcat at 10:55 AM on July 1, 2013
posted by zadcat at 10:55 AM on July 1, 2013
Response by poster: Ok, thanks. I was looking through Tales of St. Austin's and other early Wodehouse to find something directly linked to the story somehow. A little dissapointed that it's probably just a reference to Psmith. Though always kind of neat when authors you like reference eachother.
posted by pseudonick at 12:29 PM on July 1, 2013
posted by pseudonick at 12:29 PM on July 1, 2013
It's highly unlikely Wodehouse would or could have written a story about a man selected by the king of elvendom to visit the perilous realm.
posted by zadcat at 5:51 PM on July 1, 2013
posted by zadcat at 5:51 PM on July 1, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by pseudonick at 10:53 AM on July 1, 2013