P. G. Wodehouse (Pelham Grenville Wodehouse)

P. G. Wodehouse was an English novelist, short-story writer, and humorist whose exquisite command of comic language established him among the most celebrated masters of twentieth-century British fiction. Born in Guildford, Surrey, into a family connected with the British colonial administration, he spent much of his childhood in England while his parents lived abroad. Educated at Dulwich College, he briefly worked in banking before abandoning commercial employment for journalism and literature. His early writing developed through school stories, comic journalism, and collaborations with musical theatre, eventually leading to a remarkably successful career in both British and American publishing. Wodehouse possessed an extraordinary gift for elaborate plotting, verbal invention, and the affectionate exposure of human absurdity, creating a fictional England populated by eccentric aristocrats, formidable aunts, bewildered young gentlemen, and resourceful servants.

His most celebrated creations are the amiable but hopelessly confused Bertie Wooster and his brilliantly resourceful valet Jeeves, whose adventures include *Right Ho, Jeeves* (1934) and *The Code of the Woosters* (1938). Other enduring characters inhabit the worlds of Blandings Castle, Psmith, and the Drones Club. During the Second World War, Wodehouse was interned by German authorities and later made controversial radio broadcasts from Berlin, an episode that damaged his reputation in Britain. He subsequently settled in the United States and continued writing almost until his death. His novels remain cherished for their linguistic brilliance, ingenious comic constructions, and creation of an imaginative world in which human folly becomes an inexhaustible source of delight.