Service with a Smile cover art

Service with a Smile

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About this listen

As a peer of the realm, Clarence, Ninth Earl of Emsworth, has an occasional duty to leave the Empress of Blandings, surely the most considerable pig in the whole world, and travel to London for the opening of parliament. It comes hard to him, for he has a proper sense of the priorities in life, which rate pigs and flowerbeds higher than politicians.

But no sooner has he returned to Blandings than his real problems begin: the dastardly Duke of Dunstable is out to steal the Empress. His sister Lady Constance has inflicted on him a particularly nasty new secretary. And the Church Lads' Brigade are camped all over his lawns.

Thank God for the Earl of Ickenham, better known as Uncle Fred, whose own particularly devious brand of sweetness and light aims to banish blackmailers and pig-stealers and restore true love all over the castle grounds.

©2014 Nigel Lambert (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Funny Comedy
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Misunderstandings and cheerful complications, entertaining characters and happy endings. A light-hearted listen. I found it highly enjoyable and it left me with a warm happy feeling.

Cheerful fun

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Thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book. Loads of laughs and great characters.

Read brilliantly and one I will listen to again multiple times.

Brilliance

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I was pleased to listen to Service with a smile, and the novel maintains the expectations of the others in the Blandings series. This ought to be recommendation enough. It is simply great, innocent Fun. Now it is time for me to winkle out the Blandings short stories within the Audible offerings. The joy of Wodehouse is his skill in capturing the speech characteristics of individuals. Beyond straightforward words, he presents words on the page with fresh invention, such as for Miss Briggs: ‘otharhwise’, desiah-ed’,’furthar’. It is a pity then that the performer of the audio-book – Nigel Lambert - leaves this aspect alone, save for ‘quate’ meaning ‘quite’. It misses the point and deprives the listener and the character of Miss Briggs. Still worth the listen.

Service with Laughs and Good Humour

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After downloading two other Wodehouse books here, both of which had disappointed because of the readings, this was a real joy. It made me laugh out loud and chuckle away whatever my mood had been on starting to listen.

Lovely gentle escapism

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Gloriously convoluted goings on at Blandings, many blissful Woodhouse phrases (insults it would be a joy to remember at an appropriate moment). Read with vivid characterisation and perfect timing. Tremendous fun.

Capital!

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