Ukridge and the Home from Home

Ukridge and the Home from Home

"Ukridge and the Home from Home" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, which first appeared in the United States in the February 1931 issue of "Cosmopolitan" and in the United Kingdom in the June 1931 "Strand". It was included in the collection "Lord Emsworth and Others", published in the U.K in 1937, and in the U.S. version of "Eggs, Beans, and Crumpets", published in 1940. It features the irrepressible Stanley Featherstonehaugh Ukridge.

Main characters

* Stanley Featherstonehaugh Ukridge, the irrepressible entrepreneur
** Julia Ukridge, his haughty writer aunt
* Jimmy Corcoran, Ukridge's writer friend
* "Lieutenant-Colonel B. B. Bagnew", late of the Fourth Loyal Lincolnshires, a guest of the house
* "Lady Bastable", widow of a Northern knight, a guest of the house
* "Mr Wapshott", retired inspector of drains, a guest of the house
* Angelica Vining, a poetess, a friend of Julia Ukridge

Plot

Ukridge arrives at his friend Jimmy Corcoran's house at 3 a.m., dressed in his pyjamas and mackintosh. He relates to his friend how he had been left in charge of his Aunt Julia's house, and had come up with the ingenious idea of renting out rooms to an exclusive clientele of boarders while she was away.

For a time the plan goes smoothly. With the staff bribed to help, he fills the house with paying guests, and rakes in their money while playing the gracious host. However, meeting an old friend of his Aunt's, he hears she is returning sooner than expected, and tries to think of a way to get rid of the guests before their contracted stays are up.

After a plot to imply the drainage in the house is faulty fails, Ukridge decides to claim the house is infected with Scarlet fever, but receiving a telegram from his aunt saying she will arrive in Paris the following week, and knowing a trip there always takes his aunt a few weeks, decides to delay shutting down his plan to grab a few more weeks rent.

Soon after, the house is aroused by shooting. One of guests, a retired Colonel, convinced he has seen a burglar, opened fire with his service revolver. Ukridge calms the house, but on retiring to bed, finds Aunt Julia hiding in the cupboard, convinced the butler has gone insane. Ukridge attempts to smuggle her out of the house, but she insists on getting some things from her bedroom. Entering the room, she disturbs the guest staying there, who screams; the Colonel rushes in and opens fire once more. Ukridge, taking advantage of the confusion, grabs his coat and slips away, ending up at his friend's bedside in the small hours of the night.

ee also

* List of Wodehouse's Ukridge stories


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Ukridge and the Old Stepper — is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, which first appeared in the United States in the June 9 1928 issue of Liberty , and in the United Kingdom in the June 1928 Strand . It was included in the collection Eggs, Beans, and Crumpets , published in… …   Wikipedia

  • Minor characters in the Ukridge stories — The following is an incomplete compendium of the fictional characters featured in the Ukridge stories of P. G. Wodehouse, in alphabetical order by surname. Beale The hired man at Ukridge s chicken farm in Love Among the Chickens ; a hardy and… …   Wikipedia

  • List of minor Ukridge characters — Lists of P. G. Wodehouse characters Characters in all Wodehouse stories Characters in the Blandings stories Characters in the Drones Club stories Characters in the Jeeves stories Characters in the Mulliner stories Characters in the Ukridge… …   Wikipedia

  • Stanley Featherstonehaugh Ukridge — (pronounced Fanshawe Ewkridge (as in fridge)) is a fictional character from the short stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse.Ukridge is a schemer who will do anything to increase his funding except, of course, work. An alert and creative… …   Wikipedia

  • Eggs, Beans and Crumpets — is a collection of nine short stories by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the UK on April 26 1940 by Herbert Jenkins, London, then with a slightly different content in the U.S. on May 10 1940 by Doubleday Doran, New York. A Penguin Books… …   Wikipedia

  • The Level Business Head — is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, which first appeared in the United Kingdom in the May 1926 issue of the Strand , and in the United States in the February 1926 Liberty . It was included in the collection Lord Emsworth and Others , published… …   Wikipedia

  • Lord Emsworth and Others — is a collection of nine short stories by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the UK on March 19 1937 by Herbert Jenkins, London. The U.S. equivalent was published with a rather different content on June 25 1937 by Doubleday Doran, New York, under …   Wikipedia

  • The Return of Battling Billson — is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, which first appeared in the United States in the August 1923 issue of Cosmopolitan and in the United Kingdom in the September 1923 Strand . It features the irrepressible Stanley Featherstonehaugh Ukridge, and… …   Wikipedia

  • The Man Upstairs — 1st edition The Man Upstairs is a collection of short stories by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on 23 January 1914 by Methuen Co., London. Most of the stories had previously appeared in magazines, generally Strand Magazine …   Wikipedia

  • Ukridge (short stories) — Ukridge is a collection of short stories by P.G. Wodehouse, first published in the U.K. on June 3 1924 by Herbert Jenkins, London, and in the U.S. on March 19 1926 by George H. Doran, New York, under the title He Rather Enjoyed It .The stories… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”