Full Moon (novel)

1947 novel by P. G. Wodehouse

Full Moon

First edition (US)

Author| P. G. Wodehouse
Language| English
Genre| Comedy novel
Publisher| Doubleday (US)
Herbert Jenkins (UK)

Publication date

| 22 May 1947 (US)
17 Oct 1947 (UK)
Publication place| United States
Media type| Print (hardcover)
Preceded by| Uncle Fred in the Springtime
Followed by| "Birth of a Salesman" (short), Pigs Have Wings (novel)

Full Moon is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States by Doubleday & Company on 22 May 1947, and in the United Kingdom by Herbert Jenkins on 17 October 1947.[1] It is the sixth full-length novel to be set at the beautiful but trouble-ridden Blandings Castle, home of Lord Emsworth.

## Plot introduction

[edit]

Clarence, 9th Earl of Emsworth, is forced to play host to his younger son Freddie, while two of his nieces, Prudence Garland and Veronica Wedge are romantically entangled with, respectively, Gally's godson Bill Lister and American millionaire Tipton Plimsoll. Complications ensue when the near-alcoholic Tipton thinks that Bill's gorilla-like face is an apparition brought about by too much drink; Lister, purporting to be a notable artist named Landseer, is commissioned to paint the portrait of Emsworth's prize pig, the Empress of Blandings; and the valuable necklace of Freddie's wife, Aggie, goes missing.

## Plot summary

[edit]

Lord Emsworth is aghast to learn that his younger son Freddie is back in England from America, sent over to push "Donaldson's Dog-Joy" to the English dog-owning public. He is less worried to hear that his niece Prudence Garland is being called a "dream rabbit" by unknown men over the telephone. Freddie meets Prudence, and learns her caller was none other than Bill Lister, an old pal of Freddie's and godson of his uncle Galahad, with whom Prudence plans to elope.

The elopement is scuppered, however, when Prudence's mother Lady Dora has her sent to Blandings to cool off. Freddie and Galahad arrange for Lister to be near her, getting him a job painting Lord Emsworth's pig, Empress of Blandings. Freddie's wealthy American friend Tipton Plimsoll, after a lengthy binge celebrating his new-found wealth, decides to lay off the booze after mistaking Lister's gorilla-like face for an apparition, and heads down to Blandings with Freddie, who hopes to sell dog-biscuits to Tipton's stores.

At Blandings, Colonel and Lady Hermione Wedge are excited by the prospect of their beautiful daughter Veronica meeting such a wealthy man, even more so when the two hit it off immediately. Plimsoll, however, is thrown off by the reappearance of the face (Lister having come to gaze up at his beloved's window), and by Veronica's intimacy with Freddie, to whom, he learns, she was once engaged.

Lister's style fails to please Lord Emsworth, and the two fall out, but Freddie, at Gally's suggestion, smuggles him back into the castle disguised as a false-bearded gardener, having paid off Angus McAllister. Lister soon ruins things, however, when after scaring Plimsoll once more and terrifying Veronica, he mistakes her mother for the cook and tries to bribe her to pass a note to Prudence.

Gally heads to Blandings himself, for Veronica's birthday, and soon brings her and Plimsoll together by the simple expedient of putting the Empress in her bedroom. He also brings Lister with him, introducing him as another artist by the name of Landseer, counting on Emsworth's poor memory and the thick false beard to keep him from being recognised, but Freddie blows the gaff to Lady Hermione, while Gally is off bribing Pott the pig man to keep quiet, and Lister is asked to leave.

Also thanks to Emsworth's distracted nature, Freddie accidentally gives Veronica his wife's expensive diamond necklace (while the pendant he had bought for her was sent to Aggie in Paris). Gally smooths over a resurgence of jealousy in Plimsoll on seeing Vee in the necklace, by claiming it is false, and Plimsoll gives it to Prudence for the church jumble sale.

With Freddie desperate to get the necklace shipped over to his increasingly irate wife, and threatening to disrupt Plimsoll and Vee's happiness, Gally proposes to hold the family to ransom, getting the family's blessing for Prudence and Lister's marriage in return for the jewels. Lister, lurking in the gardens, glimpses an overjoyed Prudence on a balcony, but cannot catch her attention, so he fetches a ladder and climbs to the balcony. He is spotted by Colonel Wedge, who mistakes him for a burglar and fetches footmen and his revolver.

Lister, hearing the Colonel, tries to flee along a ledge to a drainpipe. He climbs down the drainpipe safely, but lands on Pott the pig man, who keeps him there until Wedge arrives. When Wedge hears Lister's story from Gally, he is impressed with the man's spirit and leaves him. Gally reveals he has lost the necklace, but hopes to bluff his sister.

Plimsoll arrives to confront his nemesis, and is delighted to learn Lister is real. Hermione approaches, and Gally successfully fools her into thinking he still holds the necklace; Emsworth, hearing his son is in danger of getting divorced and returning home for good, hurriedly pays for Lister's business. When Gally tells Hermione where the necklace is (in the flask taken from his room by Plimsoll), she is annoyed to realise she had it all along, Plimsoll having handed it to her when he still thought Lister was an hallucination.

## Characters

[edit]

* The Earl of Emsworth, the absent-minded master of Blandings
* Freddie Threepwood, his younger son, back from America
* Tipton Plimsoll, a wealthy American friend of Freddie's
* Lady Dora Garland, Emsworth's tall and stately sister
* Prudence Garland, her pretty daughter
* Lady Hermione Wedge, Emsworth's short and dumpy sister
* Colonel Egbert Wedge, Hermione's doting husband
* Veronica Wedge, their beautiful but simple daughter
* The Hon. Galahad Threepwood, Emsworth's dashing brother
* Bill Lister, Galahad's godson, an artist, in love with Prudence
* Empress of Blandings, Emsworth's prize pig, painted by Lister
* Sebastian Beach, dignified head butler at the Castle

## Publication history

[edit]

The first US edition dust jacket was illustrated by Paul Galdone. Illustrations by Galdone were included throughout the novel. The first UK edition dust jacket was illustrated by Frank Ford.[1]

A condensed version of the story was published in Liberty (US) in November 1947, illustrated by Wallace Morgan.[2]

## Reception

[edit]

Wodehouse biographer Richard Usborne wrote, "This novel is too episodic for comfort, and unevenly paced. In patches Gally, its real hero, acts and talks more like Lord Ickenham than himself. 'Spreading sweetness and light' is Lord Ickenham's specific role, but here, Wodehouse, seeming to forget, applies these words to Gally. It strikes an odd note."[3]

## Adaptations

[edit]

The book was adapted as a radio drama by Douglas Young for BBC Radio 4. The radio drama first aired in four parts in April 1999, featuring Giles Havergal as both Lord Emsworth and Lady Hermione Wedge, Paul Birchard as Tipton Plimsoll, Alexander Morton as Colonel Wedge, Lucy Paterson as Veronica Wedge, Matthew Whittle as both Freddie Threepwood and Pott the pig man, Gerda Stevenson as Prudence Garland, Simon Tait as both Bill Lister and the Empress of Blandings, and Derwent Watson as both Galahad Threepwood and Beach.[4]

## See also

[edit]

The affairs of Tipton Plimsoll and the Wedge family are continued in Galahad at Blandings (1965).

## References

[edit]

Notes

1. ^ a b McIlvaine (1990), pp. 81–82, A66.
2. ^ McIlvaine (1990), p. 152, D36.55.
3. ^ Usborne, Richard (1988). The Penguin Wodehouse Companion. Penguin Books. p. 70\. ISBN 0-14-011165-4.
4. ^ "Full Moon". BBC Genome. BBC. 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2019. Full credits are taken from recordings of the episodes.

Sources

* McIlvaine, Eileen; Sherby, Louise S.; Heineman, James H. (1990). P. G. Wodehouse: A Comprehensive Bibliography and Checklist. New York: James H. Heineman Inc. ISBN 978-0-87008-125-5.

## External links

[edit]

* The Russian Wodehouse Society's page, with a list of characters
* Fantastic Fiction's page, with details of published editions, photos of book covers and links to used copies

* v
* t
* e

P. G. Wodehouse's Blandings Castle

Novels|

* Something Fresh (1915)
* Leave It to Psmith (1923)
* Summer Lightning (1929)
* Heavy Weather (1933)
* Uncle Fred in the Springtime (1939)
* Full Moon (1947)
* Pigs Have Wings (1952)
* Service with a Smile (1961)
* Galahad at Blandings (1964)
* A Pelican at Blandings (1969)
* Sunset at Blandings (1977)

Short stories|

* Blandings Castle and Elsewhere (1935)
* "The Custody of the Pumpkin"
* "Lord Emsworth Acts for the Best"
* "Pig-hoo-o-o-o-ey"
* "Company for Gertrude"
* "The Go-Getter"
* "Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend"
* Lord Emsworth and Others (1937)
* "The Crime Wave at Blandings"
* Nothing Serious (1950)
* "Birth of a Salesman"
* Plum Pie (1966)
* "Sticky Wicket at Blandings"

Main characters|

* Lord Emsworth
* Lady Constance Keeble
* Galahad Threepwood
* Freddie Threepwood
* Sebastian Beach
* Empress of Blandings
* Rupert Baxter
* Sir Gregory Parsloe

Other characters|

* Uncle Fred
* Pongo Twistleton
* Psmith
* Percy Pilbeam
* Lord Tilbury
* Roderick Glossop
* Daphne Winkworth
* Monty Bodkin

Adaptations|

| Film|

* Leave It to Me (1933)
* Summer Lightning (1933)
* Thunder and Lightning (1938)

|

Television|

* The World of Wodehouse (1967)
* Heavy Weather (1995)
* Blandings (2013–14)

Other|

* Leave It to Psmith (play) (1930)
* Blandings (radio series) (1985–92)
* List of adaptations

* v
* t
* e

P. G. Wodehouse

* Bibliography
* Short stories
* Characters
* Locations
* Songs

Series|

* Jeeves
* Blandings Castle
* Psmith
* Uncle Fred
* Mr. Mulliner
* Oldest Member
* Drones Club
* Ukridge
* School stories

Novels|

* The Pothunters
* A Prefect's Uncle
* The Gold Bat
* William Tell Told Again
* The Head of Kay's
* Love Among the Chickens
* The White Feather
* Not George Washington
* The Swoop!
* Mike
* A Gentleman of Leisure
* Psmith in the City
* The Prince and Betty
* The Little Nugget
* Psmith, Journalist
* Something Fresh
* Uneasy Money
* Piccadilly Jim
* A Damsel in Distress
* The Coming of Bill
* Jill the Reckless
* The Girl on the Boat
* The Adventures of Sally
* Leave It to Psmith
* Bill the Conqueror
* Sam the Sudden
* The Small Bachelor
* Money for Nothing
* Summer Lightning
* Big Money
* If I Were You
* Doctor Sally
* Hot Water
* Heavy Weather
* Thank You, Jeeves
* Right Ho, Jeeves
* The Luck of the Bodkins
* Laughing Gas
* Summer Moonshine
* The Code of the Woosters
* Uncle Fred in the Springtime
* Quick Service
* Money in the Bank
* Joy in the Morning
* Full Moon
* Spring Fever
* Uncle Dynamite
* The Mating Season
* The Old Reliable
* Barmy in Wonderland
* Pigs Have Wings
* Ring for Jeeves
* Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit
* French Leave
* Something Fishy
* Cocktail Time
* Jeeves in the Offing
* Ice in the Bedroom
* Service with a Smile
* Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves
* Frozen Assets
* Galahad at Blandings
* Company for Henry
* Do Butlers Burgle Banks?
* A Pelican at Blandings
* The Girl in Blue
* Much Obliged, Jeeves
* Pearls, Girls and Monty Bodkin
* Bachelors Anonymous
* Aunts Aren't Gentlemen

Short story
collections|

* Tales of St. Austin's
* The Man Upstairs
* The Man with Two Left Feet
* My Man Jeeves
* Indiscretions of Archie
* The Clicking of Cuthbert
* The Inimitable Jeeves
* Ukridge
* Carry On, Jeeves
* The Heart of a Goof
* Meet Mr Mulliner
* Mr Mulliner Speaking
* Very Good, Jeeves
* Mulliner Nights
* Blandings Castle and Elsewhere
* Young Men in Spats
* Lord Emsworth and Others
* Eggs, Beans and Crumpets
* Nothing Serious
* A Few Quick Ones
* Plum Pie

Posthumously
published books|

* The Uncollected Wodehouse
* Sunset at Blandings
* The Swoop! and Other Stories
* The Eighteen-Carat Kid and Other Stories
* A Man of Means
* Plum Stones
* The Luck Stone
* Tales of Wrykyn and Elsewhere

Musicals|

* The Beauty of Bath
* Nuts and Wine
* Oh, Boy!
* Leave It to Jane
* The Riviera Girl
* Miss 1917
* Oh, Lady! Lady!!
* The Girl Behind the Gun
* Kissing Time
* Oh, My Dear!
* Sally
* The Cabaret Girl
* The Beauty Prize
* Oh, Kay!
* Show Boat
* Rosalie
* The Three Musketeers
* Anything Goes

Plays|

* The Play's the Thing
* Good Morning, Bill
* Leave It to Psmith
* Come On, Jeeves

Autobiographies|

* Bring On the Girls!
* Performing Flea
* Over Seventy

Adaptations|

| Film|

* A Gentleman of Leisure (1915)
* Uneasy Money (1918)
* A Damsel in Distress (1919)
* Piccadilly Jim (1919)
* The Prince and Betty (1919)
* Oh, Lady, Lady (1920)
* Their Mutual Child (1920)
* A Gentleman of Leisure (1923)
* The Clicking of Cuthbert (1924)
* The Golden Butterfly (1926)
* The Small Bachelor (1927)
* The Cardboard Lover (1927)
* Oh, Kay! (1928)
* Brother Alfred (1932)
* The Passionate Plumber (1932)
* Leave It to Me (1933)
* Summer Lightning (1933)
* Anything Goes (1936)
* Piccadilly Jim (1936)
* Thank You, Jeeves! (1936)
* Step Lively, Jeeves (1937)
* A Damsel in Distress (1937)
* Thunder and Lightning (1938)
* Her Cardboard Lover (1942)
* Anything Goes (1956)
* The Girl on the Boat (1961)
* By Jeeves (2001)
* Piccadilly Jim (2004)

|

Television|

* The World of Wooster (1965–67)
* The World of Wodehouse (1967–68)
* Wodehouse Playhouse (1975–78)
* Jeeves and Wooster (1990–93)
* Heavy Weather (1995)
* Blandings (2013–14)

Radio|

* What Ho! Jeeves (1973–81)
* Blandings (1985–92)

Stage|

* Jeeves (later By Jeeves) (1975/1996)
* Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense (2013)
* A Damsel in Distress (2015)

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz work

|

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