The Prince and Betty

infobox Book |
name = The Prince and Betty
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = P. G. Wodehouse
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = United Kingdom
language = English
series =
genre = Comic novel
publisher = Mills & Boon, London
release_date = May 1 1912
english_release_date =
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages =
isbn = NA
preceded_by =
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"The Prince and Betty" is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse. Originally released as a serial in early 1912, it appeared in the famous "Strand Magazine" in the United Kingdom and in "Ainslee's" in the United States; it was published in book form, in the UK only, by Mills & Boon, London, on May 1 the same year.

Plot introduction

The story tells of how unscrupulous millionaire Benjamin Scobell decides to build a casino on the small Mediterranean island of Mervo, dragging in the unwitting heir to the throne to help. Little does he know that his stepdaughter Betty has history with the young man John Maude, and his schemes lead to a rift between the newly-reunited pair.

Characters in "The Prince and Betty"

* Benjamin Scobell, a wealthy and unscrupulous financier
** Betty Silver, Scobell's attractive stepdaughter
* John Maude, unwitting heir to a princedom, long admired by Betty

US version

The book published in the U.S. under the title "The Prince and Betty" (also in 1912) combines some elements of the original story, transferred to a New York setting, along with content taken from Wodehouse's "Psmith, Journalist" (1915), substantially rewritten to merge in the romance of John Maude (who becomes an American in this version) and Betty. For more details on this version, see here.

A silent, black-and-white film version was made in 1919; it featured Boris Karloff in what is described by the IMDB as an "undetermined role".

External links

* [http://wodehouse.ru/16.htm The Russian Wodehouse Society's page] , with photos of book covers and a list of characters
*imdb title | id=0010587 | title=The Prince and Betty (1919)
*" [http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/AbbrView.aspx?s=1&Movie=17572 The Prince and Betty (1919)] " at the AFI silent movie catalog
* [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/6955 Mislabeled American edition] at Project Gutenberg