Psmith: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|"One can date exactly the first moment when [Wodehouse] was touched by the sacred flame. It occurs halfway through ''Mike'' ... Psmith appears and the light is kindled which has burned with growing brilliancy for half a century."|'''[[Evelyn Waugh]]'''}}
{{quote|"One can date exactly the first moment when [Wodehouse] was touched by the sacred flame. It occurs halfway through ''Mike'' ... Psmith appears and the light is kindled which has burned with growing brilliancy for half a century."|'''[[Evelyn Waugh]]'''}}


Psmith (the p is silent, as in psychic) features in four novels by [[PG Wodehouse (Creator)|PG Wodehouse]]. A dandyish figure with a monocle, elaborate way of speech, and a knack for navigating wild adventures and emerging unruffled, he was introduced as a supporting character to Mike Jackson, but took over the series to the extent that Mike is now invariably remembered as Psmith's supporting character. The adventures of Mike and Psmith bridge the school stories of Wodehouse's early writing and the elaborately-plotted comedies for which he is more generally known in series like ''[[Blandings Castle (Literature)|Blandings Castle]]''; in fact, the last Psmith novel is also one of the earliest of the Blandings series.
Psmith (the p is silent, as in psychic) features in four novels by [[P. G. Wodehouse|PG Wodehouse]]. A dandyish figure with a monocle, elaborate way of speech, and a knack for navigating wild adventures and emerging unruffled, he was introduced as a supporting character to Mike Jackson, but took over the series to the extent that Mike is now invariably remembered as Psmith's supporting character. The adventures of Mike and Psmith bridge the school stories of Wodehouse's early writing and the elaborately-plotted comedies for which he is more generally known in series like ''[[Blandings Castle]]''; in fact, the last Psmith novel is also one of the earliest of the Blandings series.


Mike Jackson, schoolboy cricketing ace, was introduced in "Jackson Junior", serialised in ''The Captain'' magazine in 1907. A sequel the following year, "The Lost Lambs", sees Mike transferred by his father to a new school, where he meets and befriends Psmith, another recent arrival to the school under similar circumstances. These two serials were published in book form together as ''Mike'' in 1909, and separately as ''Mike at Wrykyn'' and ''Mike and Psmith'' in 1953. (The latter was also published separately as ''Enter Psmith'' in 1935.)
Mike Jackson, schoolboy cricketing ace, was introduced in "Jackson Junior", serialised in ''The Captain'' magazine in 1907. A sequel the following year, "The Lost Lambs", sees Mike transferred by his father to a new school, where he meets and befriends Psmith, another recent arrival to the school under similar circumstances. These two serials were published in book form together as ''Mike'' in 1909, and separately as ''Mike at Wrykyn'' and ''Mike and Psmith'' in 1953. (The latter was also published separately as ''Enter Psmith'' in 1935.)
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In ''Psmith, Journalist'' (serial, 1909; book, 1915), Psmith accompanies Mike to America, where Mike's cricket team is touring, and becomes side-tracked into a series of adventures involving gangsters, slum landlords, lost cats, crooked boxing, and an intrepid journalist reduced to working for a magazine called ''Cozy Moments''.
In ''Psmith, Journalist'' (serial, 1909; book, 1915), Psmith accompanies Mike to America, where Mike's cricket team is touring, and becomes side-tracked into a series of adventures involving gangsters, slum landlords, lost cats, crooked boxing, and an intrepid journalist reduced to working for a magazine called ''Cozy Moments''.


In ''Leave It to Psmith'' (serial, 1923; book, with revised ending, 1923), Psmith's family fortunes suffer a serious reversal, leaving him facing the horrible prospect of having to get a real job. (Mike, newly-married and facing his own financial difficulties, appears early on to explain why he can't help, then disappears from the plot.) Salvation appears in the form of Freddie Threepwood, who is willing to pay Psmith for help with his latest contribution to [[Blandings Castle (Literature)|Blandings Castle]]'s chronic [[Zany Scheme]] problem; [[Hilarity Ensues]] -- and so, to Psmith's uncharacteristic befuddlement, does romance.
In ''Leave It to Psmith'' (serial, 1923; book, with revised ending, 1923), Psmith's family fortunes suffer a serious reversal, leaving him facing the horrible prospect of having to get a real job. (Mike, newly-married and facing his own financial difficulties, appears early on to explain why he can't help, then disappears from the plot.) Salvation appears in the form of Freddie Threepwood, who is willing to pay Psmith for help with his latest contribution to [[Blandings Castle]]'s chronic [[Zany Scheme]] problem; [[Hilarity Ensues]] -- and so, to Psmith's uncharacteristic befuddlement, does romance.




Not to be confused with [[Buck Godot Zap Gun for Hire|PSmIth]].
Not to be confused with [[Buck Godot: Zap Gun for Hire|PSmIth]].
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* [[One Steve Limit]]: At the beginning of the series, Psmith gives his first name as Rupert, but in ''Leave It to Psmith'' he's become a Ronald, probably because the Blandings series already contained a Rupert Baxter. (Psmith technically has a prior claim to the forename, but as he's Psmith to all and sundry he was less attached to it.)
* [[One Steve Limit]]: At the beginning of the series, Psmith gives his first name as Rupert, but in ''Leave It to Psmith'' he's become a Ronald, probably because the Blandings series already contained a Rupert Baxter. (Psmith technically has a prior claim to the forename, but as he's Psmith to all and sundry he was less attached to it.)
* [[Psmith Psyndrome]]: The [[Trope Namer]]. Even though the P is silent, Psmith can tell when someone pronounces his name without it.
* [[Psmith Psyndrome]]: The [[Trope Namer]]. Even though the P is silent, Psmith can tell when someone pronounces his name without it.
* [[Smoky Gentlemen's Club]]: Psmith is a member of at least two: The Senior Conservative Club, mostly the preserve of older men like his father and his boss in ''Psmith in the City'', and the Drones Club, whose other members include [[Blandings Castle (Literature)|Freddie Threepwood]], [[Jeeves and Wooster (Literature)|Bertie Wooster]], and most of Wodehouse's other foolish young heroes.
* [[Smoky Gentlemen's Club]]: Psmith is a member of at least two: The Senior Conservative Club, mostly the preserve of older men like his father and his boss in ''Psmith in the City'', and the Drones Club, whose other members include [[Blandings Castle|Freddie Threepwood]], [[Jeeves and Wooster (novel)|Bertie Wooster]], and most of Wodehouse's other foolish young heroes.
* [[Stiff Upper Lip]]: Psmith takes this to [[Fearless Fool]]-level extremes.
* [[Stiff Upper Lip]]: Psmith takes this to [[Fearless Fool]]-level extremes.
* [[Upper Class Wit]]: Psmith.
* [[Upper Class Wit]]: Psmith.
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