Full moon over Blandings Castle

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Full Moon over Blandings Castle (English original title Full Moon ) is the sixth novel by the British-American humorist PG Wodehouse , which is set on the country estate of Blandings Castle . The head of the house, the somewhat fuzzy Lord Emsworth , hosts his son Freddie, who has returned from the USA, and the families of two of his sisters. His two nieces Prudence Garland and Veronica Wedge are freshly in love: Veronica with the US millionaire Tipton Plimsoll and Prudence with the poor painter Bill Lister, who is also the godson of Lord Emsworth's younger brother Galahad . However, some obstacles stand in the way of the happiness of love, which are only removed by Galahad's intervention.

The novel was published in the USA by Doubleday and first appeared on May 22, 1947. The British publication followed on October 17, 1947.

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Lord Emsworth is not happy that his youngest son Freddie, whom he knows only as a frivolous useless person, has returned to England from the USA. In the novel Herr auf Schloss Brandings , published in 1935 , Freddie fell in love with the daughter of a wealthy American dog biscuit manufacturer and, to the surprise of Lord Emsworth, received a secure and well-paid job as a dowry in his factory.

"For Lord Emsworth it remained a mystery what added value Freddie would create in a dog biscuit factory, unless they employed him as a taster"

Freddie proved to be an energetic employee in the company of his father-in-law in the USA and is now supposed to conquer the English market for "Donaldson's dog luck". This worries Lord Emsworth far more than calls from an unknown man who calls his niece Prudence Garland, who is in London, his rabbit. As a result of these calls, Prudence is sent on compulsory leave to Blandings Castle by her mother, Lady Dora - this is to prevent any inappropriate connection.

At the same time, Freddie meets with his cousin Prudence and learns that the secret caller is the penniless painter Bill Lister and that Prudence is planning to secretly marry him. Her mother, whom Freddie describes as "the most ostentatious woman in England," would never agree to such a connection. However, Bill is not only an old friend of Freddie, but also the godson of her uncle Galahad Threepwood. Freddie and Galahad arrange for Bill to travel to Blandings Castle as well. Lord Emsworth has long been looking for a painter to paint a portrait of his award-winning favorite pig, Empress von Blandings , and arranges a corresponding commission for Bill. There may also be someone at Blandings Castle willing to lend him the £ 5,000 he needs to buy an inn that will keep him and Prudence going.

Freddie is also known with the Tipton Pimsoll. Tipton has unexpectedly become the heir to an American supermarket chain and has spent the months since the inheritance took place in a happy intoxication. His doctor predicts that without alcohol abstinence and a quiet life in the country, he will soon start seeing things. A series of short encounters with Bill Lister made Tipton believe that he was already showing signs of alcohol dementia and that Bill Lister's gorilla-like appearance was the "thing" that appeared to him because of it. So he willingly follows Freddie's suggestion to accompany him to Blandings Castle. At Blandings Castle, Freddie's aunt Hermione Wedge is thrilled that her beautiful daughter Veronica can meet the wealthy Tipton. Their enthusiasm increases when both show a lively interest in each other. Tipton, however, is convinced by a chance glance at Bill Lister, who is waiting under the window of his adored Prudence, that an incipient alcohol dementia is fooling him into "things". He also has to find out that Freddie was once engaged to Veronica. Nor is it consoling that Galahad justified Freddie's brief engagement with Veronica Wedge by saying that it happened during a stay on Blanding, when it was raining all the time and at some point you would have had enough of backgammon.

Lister cannot convince Lord Emsworth with his painting style and he loses the commission to make a portrait of the Empress von Blandings. At Galahad's suggestion, however, Freddie manages to give his friend access to Blandings Castle again. A small bribe to Lord Emsworth's chief gardener, Angus McAllister from Scots, is enough to make him work as an assistant gardener at Blandings Castle with a false beard. Unfortunately, this charade is soon discovered too: Bill takes the short and corpulent Hermione, sister of Lord Emsworth and mother of Veronica, for the cook and asks her to forward a letter to Prudence.

For Galahad Threepwood, Veronica's upcoming birthday is the reason to leave London and its diverse nightlife and return to Blandings Castle. He also immediately came up with a way to keep Bill accessing the manor house. He introduces Bill, with a false beard, to his brother as a Landseer in the firm confidence that his forgetful brother has escaped, that the real Landseer, who achieved great fame with the "Roaring Stag" ( Monarch of the Glens , 1851), has been dead for several decades. This does not apply to his sister Constance - which is why Galahad explains that it is another painter who became known with the Roaring Pig . But a roaring pig seems strange even to Lord Emsworth, whereupon Galahad explains:

“It wouldn't do that if you'd been around the world a little. Then you would know that Rørende is a village in Denmark where a famous type of pig is raised. On one of his art trips through Denmark, Landseer painted such a pig and of course called it the Rørende pig. "

Lord Emsworth's absent-mindedness leads Freddie to give Veronica the precious diamond necklace to his wife Aggie on the day of her birthday, while Aggie, who is in Paris, receives the pendant that was actually intended for Veronica. With Tipton this leads to a renewed attack of jealousy. However, he is quieted down by Galahad with the claim that the collar is not genuine, whereupon Tipton hands it over to Prudence with the request to sell it at her charity bazaar. Freddie, on the other hand, is extremely upset and sure that if he doesn't get Aggies back her jewelry, he will be divorced.

Galahad makes it clear to Prudence that with the diamond necklace she also holds the key to her own happiness in her hand. Since Veronica's mother firmly believes that Tipton will break off her engagement with Veronica as soon as someone tells him the real value of the collar, she should use this as a lever to get her family to agree to her marriage to Bill Lister. At the same time he is standing in the garden of Blandings Castle and sees the excited Prudence on the balcony. Since he cannot attract her attention, he takes one of the ladders lying around to climb onto her balcony. Colonelwege, Veronica's father, sees this and concludes that there was an attempted break-in. Armed with a revolver and followed by servants, Colonel Wedge storms toward Prudence's room. Bill hears the approaching people in time to try to escape through a drainpipe. His dangerous path also leads past the window of Tipton's room, who mistook Bill's brief appearance for another alcohol-induced hallucination. Shortly afterwards the drainpipe gives way - Bill falls and lands at the feet of Pott, who as the pigkeeper looks after Lord Emsworth's favorite pig. Pott holds Bill until Colonel Wedge arrives, who leads him off at gunpoint. Fortunately, Galahad joins them, who explains that the alleged burglar is his godson and that his love for Prudence has moved him to climb the ladder.

“Colonel Wedle was in a bind now. Being a romantic at heart, he had felt a secret sympathy for the man of her heart after his wife's revelations about the complicated love story of his niece Prudence. It must have been very unpleasant for the boy, he thought, when the bride was snatched from under his nose shortly before the wedding [...] Something like that would have gone against the grain. He was also impressed when young men took risks, and Bill's performances on the ladder and drain pipe met with approval. On the other hand, he was a loyal husband, and he knew his wife didn't care for this guy. She had spoken of him more than once in a way that did not allow any misunderstanding. "

Colonel Wedge resolves his dilemma by choosing not to get involved. Shortly after leaving Galahad and Bill alone, Plimsoll joins them. He discovers to his relief that Bill is not a hallucination, but a real person. Nothing stands in the way of his love happiness, while that of Prudence and Bill is still in the air. Still missing are the £ 5,000 necessary to buy the inn that will make Prudence and Bill financially independent. After all, it is Lord Emsworth who provides them with this sum. He is certain that if the collar does not return to its rightful owner, Frederick and Aggies will be divorced. And a divorced Frederick would return to Blandings Castle.

literature

  • Frances Donaldson: PG Wodehouse: A Biography . London 1982, ISBN 0-297-78105-7 .
  • Richard Usborne: Plum Sauce. A PG Wodehouse Companion. Overlook, Woodstock / NY 2003, ISBN 1-58567-441-9 .

Web links

Single receipts

  1. ↑ E. McIlvaine, LS Sherby, JH Heineman: PG Wodehouse: A comprehensive bibliography and checklist . James H. Heineman, New York, 1990, ISBN 0-87008-125-X . Pp. 81-82.
  2. ↑ PG Wodehouse: Blandings and Elsewhere . Chapter 1. The original quote is: Lord Emsworth could conceive of no way in which Freddie could be of value to a dog-biscuit firm, except possibly as a taster.
  3. ↑ PG Wodehouse: Full moon over Blandings Castle , p. 15.
  4. ↑ PG Wodehouse: Full moon over Blandings Castle , p. 34.
  5. ↑ PG Wodehouse: Full moon over Blandings Castle , p. 92.
  6. ↑ PG Wodehouse: Full moon over Blandings Castle , p. 153.
  7. ↑ PG Wodehouse: Full moon over Blandings Castle , p. 195.