October 2022 marks the 120th anniversary of Wodehouse’s first novel, The Pothunters, originally published in 1902.
Set in the fictional St. Austin’s boarding school, the book follows Jim Thomson – a talented sportsman who has the unfortunate habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time – when two of the school’s silver sports cups are stolen in a burglary.
Featuring a man from Scotland Yard, chases through the woods and an exasperated headmaster, The Pothunters is a paean to Wodehouse’s beloved, idyllic late Victorian schooldays, punctuated by bouts of gentlemanly sport and comic escapades. All the hallmarks of what makes Wodehouse the greatest comic writer of all time are in evidence here, in a spiffing read for Wodehouse aficionados and the uninitiated alike.
Four other Wodehouse Penguin paperbacks will be reissued on 6 October with new jacket designs, plus a fifth book voted for by bookshops and booksellers across the UK:
