Description

In P.G. Wodehouse’s novel, The Coming of Bill, Ruth Bannister and Kirk Winfield don’t have much, but as long as they have each other, they are content. Against the protestations of Ruth’s father, the young couple marry and settle down. Kirk, an aspiring artist, makes an attempt at a career, but when the couple’s son Bill is born, Kirk gives up working to spend time with his wife and son. Life seems perfect for the little family until one dark day when bad news about their finances threatens Ruth and Kirk’s happiness. Kirk realizes that his family’s security rests on his shoulders and resolves to save them from disaster, setting out on a dangerous mission to South America to try and make a living. His hopes for future happiness give him courage. When Kirk returns from his difficult sojourn, his welcome home, however, is far different from what he ever could have expected. An unusually poignant work from the pen of one of England’s most light-hearted writers, The Coming of Bill is a must-read for anyone seeking to sample the full breadth of Wodehouse’s literary genius.

About the Author

Pelham Grenville Wodehouse (1881-1975) was born in Hong Kong to British parents. As a child, he returned to England with his family but spent several lonely years away from home at boarding school. Wodehouse was a passionate writer from early on but was unable to pursue his education at university due to his family's tight budget. Instead, Wodehouse was forced to choose a practical job as a banker, although he did not enjoy a second of it. He left his banking position to write features for British newspapers, and after finding success as a columnist, eventually moved to New York and began writing for American magazines. Wodehouse's talents as a writer brought him into the entertainment industry, where he wrote scripts, screenplays, and lyrics for some of the day's most famous Broadway shows and for early Hollywood films. After beginning to publish his first novels and short stories, Wodehouse settled into a career as an author. His success was followed by difficult times during the Second World War, when, while living in France, Wodehouse was arrested by occupying German forces and imprisoned for a year in a dismal internment camp. After the war, Wodehouse eventually moved back to New York, where he would remain for the rest of his life. Beloved for his entertaining characters and plots, Wodehouse is perhaps best-known as the creator of the Jeeves and Wooster novels, as well as a host of light-hearted and hilarious stories about the comic trials and tribulations of the well-to-do.

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Opening Lines (Experimental)

Mrs. Lora Delane Porter dismissed the hireling who had brought her automobile around from the garage and seated herself at the wheel. It was her habit to refresh her mind and improve her health by a daily drive between the hours of two and four in the afternoon.
The world knows little of its ...