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Blandings Castle cover art

Blandings Castle

By: P. G. Wodehouse
Narrated by: James Saxon
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Summary

The ivied walls of Blandings Castle have seldom glowed as sunnily as in these wonderful stories - but there are snakes in the rolling parkland ready to nip Clarence, the absent-minded Ninth Earl of Emsworth, when he least expects it.

For a start the Empress of Blandings, in the running for her first prize in the Fat Pigs Class at the Shropshire Agricultural Show, is off her food ­- and can only be coaxed back to the trough by a call in her own language. Then there is the feud with Head Gardener McAllister, aided by Clarence's sister, the terrifying Lady Constance, and the horrible prospect of the summer fête - twin problems solved by the arrival of a delightfully rebellious little girl from London. But first of all there is the vexed matter of the custody of the pumpkin.

Skipping an ocean and a continent, Wodehouse also treats us to some unputdownable stories of excess from the monstrous Golden Age of Hollywood.

©1971 The Estate of P.G. Wodehouse (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about Blandings Castle

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

wonderful light listening

I am a great fan of PG Wodehouse and have enjoyed the books narrated by Jonathan Cecil. I was worried with the change of narrator but James Saxon is very good.
This is really two shorter books with distinct characters and the usual convoluted stories. Very funny but not his best.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Very funny

It made me laugh a lot and I would definitely recommend it to get you through a long journey

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Short story jewels

Each story is a perfect glistening example of a masterly technique. Utterly frivolous and inconsequential and yet full of a profound and sympathetic humanity.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Wodehouse at his best.

Hilarious vintage Wodehouse, superbly rendered by James Saxon. The stories had me chortling, and Saxon's readings just hit the spot. Superb stuff.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent

What a shame James died in 1986! RIP! A perfect performance, he did Plum proud!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good, but not great

Here we have 4 Blandings stories, mostly featuring Freddie Threepwood: 1 Bobby Wickham story - the only one which isn’t part of the Jeeves canon, I think: and 4 Mr Mulliner Hollywood stories.
They are all well read and well performed, without hitting the heights achieved by Martin Jarvis. For me, James Saxon doesn’t “get” Lord Emsworth, and the “mild and dreamy peer” keeps coming across as a choleric colonel.
I’ve never really taken to the Hollywood stories, although they are quite good, so these grated on me a little.
All in all, a good collection, but not a favourite for me

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Dr
  • 07-04-13

More than just Blandings

The book starts with Blandings, Lord Emsworth, the Empress and a scary battalion of powerful women. Classic Wodehouse set amongst the aristocracy. The wit is sharper then Lady Constance's voice. The second part of the book contains Mr Mulliner stories, which are less well known and set in Hollywood, where Wodehouse worked writing scripts. They are not what you would expect if your only experience of Wodehouse are the TV series. Thoroughly recommend, a book to listen to again and again.

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6 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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A super story

A wonderful audiobook, wonderfully narrated. The characters are so full of life and depth. Brilliant!!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

disappointing

I misrakenly thought all the stories would be based at Blandings with the usual cast of wonderful characters. However many of the tales related to adventures in the US with less interesting individuals. I would not have chosen this one had I realised. Good narrator.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

This book contains seperate stories

Just calling each track a chapter is useless! They're stories, with seperate titles. Not being able to tell which chapter is which story and even which stories are in the book, is so annoying. And surely not rocket science to remedy. And it's the same on all Audible short story collections, it seems.

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10 people found this helpful