Awful Gladness

Isn't this lovely? It's an opening spread for a P G Wodehouse story in the May, 1925, edition of The Strand Magazine.

There's something evocative about seeing these Wodehouse stories in their contemporary setting, presented to readers who would have lived in - or would at least have been familiar with - the world these stories portray; of country houses, and butlers and chaps about town for whom finding he has the wrong suitcase and will be unable to dress for dinner in his fiance's parent's home is a serious embarrassment. In other words, this is the real thing - not a TV adaptation made by people doing their best to get the period feel right.

Wodehouse made many appearances in The Strand. It's surprising to find Jeeves introduced way back in the 'teens. He and Wooster weren't products of the 20s/30s at all.

I'm slowly making my way through The Strands of the 1920s and 30s (and indeed 40s). I'll post any other gems - or at least things I think are gems - as I find them.