Love Among the Chickens (1921)
TO W. TOWNEND
Dear Bill,—
I have never been much of a lad for the
TO
But For Whose Sympathy and Encouragement
This Book
Would Never Have Been Written
type of dedication. It sounds so weak-minded. But in the case of Love Among the Chickens it is unavoidable. It was not so much that you sympathised and encouraged—where you really came out strong was that you gave me the stuff. I like people who sympathise with me. I am grateful to those who encourage me. But the man to whom I raise the Wodehouse hat—owing to the increased cost of living, the same old brown one I had last year—it is being complained of on all sides, but the public must bear it like men till the straw hat season comes round—I say, the man to whom I raise this venerable relic is the man who gives me the material.
Sixteen years ago, my William, when we were young and spritely lads; when you were a tricky centre-forward and I a fast bowler; when your head was covered with hair and my list of "Hobbies" in Who's Who included Boxing; I received from you one morning about thirty closely-written foolscap pages, giving me the details of your friend ——'s adventures on his Devonshire chicken farm. Round these I wove as funny a plot as I could, but the book stands or falls by the stuff you gave me about "Ukridge"—the things that actually happened.
You will notice that I have practically re-written the book. There was some pretty bad work in it, and it had "dated." As an instance of the way in which the march of modern civilisation has left the 1906 edition behind, I may mention that on page twenty-one I was able to make Ukridge speak of selling eggs at six for fivepence!
Yours ever,
P. G. Wodehouse
London, 1920.
CONTENTS
[edit]- I. A LETTER WITH A POSTSCRIPT
- II. MR. AND MRS. S. F. UKRIDGE
- III. WATERLOO STATION, SOME FELLOW-TRAVELLERS, AND A GIRL WITH BROWN HAIR
- IV. THE ARRIVAL
- V. BUCKLING TO
- VI. MR. GARNET'S NARRATIVE—HAS TO DO WITH A REUNION
- VII. THE ENTENTE CORDIALE IS SEALED
- VIII. A LITTLE DINNER AT UKRIDGE'S
- IX. DIES IRAE
- X. I ENLIST THE SERVICES OF A MINION
- XI. THE BRAVE PRESERVER
- XII. SOME EMOTIONS AND YELLOW LUPIN
- XIII. TEA AND TENNIS
- XIV. A COUNCIL OF WAR
- XV. THE ARRIVAL OF NEMESIS
- XVI. A CHANCE MEETING
- XVII. OF A SENTIMENTAL NATURE
- XVIII. UKRIDGE GIVES ME ADVICE
- XIX. ASKING PAPA
- XX. SCIENTIFIC GOLF
- XXI. THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM
- XXII. THE STORM BREAKS
- XXIII. AFTER THE STORM
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.
The longest-living author of this work died in 1975, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 48 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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