- Psmith in the City by P.G Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse was one of the most popular humourists of the 20th century and his ‘’Psmith in the City’’ (1910) remains a glaring testimony to the author’s immense sense of humour. A farcical novel, ‘’Psmith in the City’’ has cricket as the central focus and deals with the life of Mike Jackson; the youngest son of a renowned cricketing family. The story first appeared in the magazine, ‘The Captain’ in two separate parts. The first half of the story (which was later republished in 1953 under the title ‘’Mike at Wrykyn’’), introduces us to Mike and his two brothers named Joe and Bob. While Mike’s eldest brother Joe is a reasonably good first-class player, Bob is on the verge of breaking into the school team. Mike’s inclination towards cricket grows manifold when he visits Wrykyn, where he is confronted with alitany of problems; thanks to his love of adventure.Mike’s family members thrust their expectations onto him as they are hopeful of him making the cut for the school team.
The sequel to ‘’Mike at Wrykyn’’ is ‘’Mike and Psmith’’ (also known as ‘’Enter Psmith’’). Here, Mike reappears after a gap of two years since his visit to Wrykynand is all set to captain the cricket team. However, Mike’s ambitions are cut shot as he is withdrawn from the school by his father and subsequently transferred to an inferior school called Sedleigh. There he comes across Rupert Smith; another new arrival from the famous school of Eton. Over the course of time, they become the best of friends and cricket becomes their staple diet. The most ludicrous scene in the story has to be the one where John Bickersdyke, a local bully walks past the sightscreen distracting Mike who is unbeaten on 98. Victimised by Bickersdyke’s blooper, Mike gets clean bowled and his team loses the game. Bickersdyke was indeed fortunate enough not to have been born in this era!
