Summer Lightning: (1929 Blandings Castle Saga)

While Blandings Castle sleeps in the summer sun, the Honorable Galahad Threepwood, brother of the Earl of Emsworth, is busily engaged in writing his reminiscences. And they look set to be as warm as the weather, if not warmer, for Galahad has led a thoroughly misspent life, and his acquaintances can all too easily recall their past follies in his company. Reputations are at stake and even the nobility and gentry are beginning to panic. While various attempts are made to prevent his stories from seeing the light of day, none are more curious than the sensational kidnapping of Lord Emsworth's prize-winning sow, the Empress of Blandings.

About the Author :
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse (1881-1975) was an English humorist who wrote novels, short stories, plays, poems, song lyrics, and numerous pieces of journalism. He was highly popular throughout a career that lasted more than seventy years, and his many writings continue to be widely read. He is best known for his novels and short stories of Bertie Wooster and his manservant Jeeves and for his settings of English upper-class society of the pre- and post-World War I era. He lived in several countries before settling in the United States after World War II. During the 1920s, he collaborated with Broadway legends like Cole Porter and George Gershwin on musicals and, in the 1930s, expanded his repertoire by writing for motion pictures. He was honored with a knighthood in 1975.

Review :
"[Blandings] is an entire world unto itself, and, one sense, Wodehouse pours into it his deepest feelings for England." -- "Stephen Fry, actor and author" "The gardens of Blandings Castle are that original garden from which we are all exiled." -- "Evelyn Waugh, English author, journalist, and reviewer" "Wodehouse has been narrated hilariously by a number of readers in the past few years, and John Wells now takes his place among them. He narrates the body of this work in measured British tones, but when he voices a character, he becomes another man (or woman). His aged Lord Emsworth, for example, is breathtakingly dotty, sounding perfectly vacuous and dazedly confused by everything. Even the women come across well, from Lady Constance, to the young love interests. The story is another Blandings Castle tale of impersonations, misunderstandings and upper-crust hauteur. With Wells' skill together and Wodehouse's humor--this audiobook is irresistible." -- "AudioFile"