In Memoriam: P. G. Wodehouse

In a country well-known for its humourists, P. G. Wodehouse may be the king of them all; over a career as a writer spanning an incredible 70 years (!!!) Wodehouse created many indelible characters of fiction, many of which are still renowned today...

The most famous of these, Jeeves and Wooster, present a subversion of class that is so delicious they've been embraced by hidebound Edwardians and post-ironic Gen Xers alike. Their portrayals on television by Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie became instant television classics when they began appearing in 1990.

Sadly, Wodehouse's reputation was one of the foremost casualties of the Second World War; a series of broadcasts made while he was interned by the Nazis in Poland led to accusations by his countrymen of collaboration. Among Wodehouse's most outspoken critics was A. A. Milne; to his defense came Evelyn Waugh and George Orwell.

Following the war, still stung by these accusations, Wodehouse moved to New York City, in whose vicinity he would remain for the rest of his life. He was granted US citizenship in 1955, and thereafter never returned to England.

Born on this day in 1881, when, at the age of 93, he found himself honoured with a knighthood and a waxwork at Madame Tussaud's, he said that he had no ambitions left; he died shortly thereafter, on Valentine's Day 1975.
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