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[longficmod]

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Psmith - by P.G. Wodehouse

[aurilly]

What It Is
Short novels about a hilarious, eccentric, brilliant, badass, dandy hero in early 20th century England. In almost every book, Psmith ends up throwing himself on his sword in various hilarious and dramatic ways for the benefit of his best friend, Mike, who is a non-eccentric, everyman cricket star.

Why You Will Love It
Do you like completely devoted, self-sacrificing best friends who are immensely shippable? Do you like mysteries, heists, hijinks, and action scenes? Do you like some of the masterfully funny writing the English language has ever produced?

This series often gets recced as a good example of the English boarding school genre; however, only the first book takes place at school. The rest put the boys in a variety of locales and situations – from dreamy English castles to New York City to London.

The greatest draws of the series are:
• Psmith's dialogue – The guy talks non-stop and it's always so weird and funny and charming. But then, when necessity demands, he will very calmly, very sexily take you down and make you squirm. He's also surprisingly great in a fist or gunfight. He's perfect.

• Odd Couples – Mike is the opposite of Psmith in terms of dialogue and temperament. They complement one another so well, and he's such a woobie. Wodehouse allows Mike to wallow in so much angst, which makes Psmith's sly resolutions all the more satisfying.

Where You Can Find It
All four books are free for legal download on Gutenberg HERE. You don't need to read all of them, but just fyi, the order is:

• Mike & Psmith – classic boarding school hijinks | meet-cute | devoted roommates | so much loyalty porn
• Psmith In the City – living and working in London | devoted roommates | even more loyalty porn
• Psmith, Journalist – Psmith vs NYC gangsters | gun fights | running a newspaper | a ridiculously shippy Ch2 & Epilogue
• Leave It to Psmith – country estate hijinks | identity porn | grand larceny | comedy of errors

'Mike & Psmith' or 'Psmith In the City' are the most relevant for most requests, so it's best to start with one of those. 'Leave It to Psmith' is a greater masterpiece, and is the one I read first to fall in love with Psmith; unfortunately, Mike doesn't appear much (even though he is Psmith's main motivation. I'd read 'Psmith, Journalist' last.

If, after reading these, you find yourself (like me) equally in love with Mike as with Psmith, try the prequel called simply "Mike", found on Gutenberg here. It's a classic boarding school novel about Mike before he met Psmith. I wouldn't recommend starting with it, since it's not as interesting as the Psmith ones (and therefore might bore you and make you stop before you get to the good stuff). It isn't remotely necessary to understand the later ones.

Extra Note
I know a lot of people consider writing Wodehouse fic intimidating ; however, this is not Jeeves. Mike's canonical 3rd person POV is incredibly straightforward and simple. I promise. Please? Pretty please?