The Den(ver) of the Secret Nine will next meet at 12:30 pm September 10th at Pints Pub to discuss the P.G. Wodehouse novel Uncle Dynamite. Keen-eyed observers of our reading list will recognize this as the follow-up to our July 2023 meeting where we discussed Uncle Fred in the Springtime.
Those same keen-eyed observers might also realize we are dispensing with our habit of reading Wodehouse in strict chronological (in terms of publication date) order, as Full Moon is the next Blandings novel (those stories set in the grounds and messuages of Blandings Castles, the stately home of Lord Emsworth and the noble pig the Empress of Blandings). We (meaning the Nine) had several years ago decided that we would read three Wodehouse novels (or collections) on the same theme—Jeeves and Wooster, Blandings, Mulliner, Psmith and the one-offs—before switching to a different theme. And we would read said novels (or collections) in order of the publication date, thus ensuring that we would read the entirety of Wodehouse.
Those days, however, seem to be over. I shall not delve into the whys and wherefores of this change, but be assured there was no scaly work at the crossroads. It’s the same reason there are few performances of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Grand Duke or Shakespeare’s Pericles. While no doubt estimable in their own right, many consider these works less worthy of praise than others.
Let’s face it, Jeeves and Wooster and the Blandings novels loom large with the public. For every nine Wodehouseans bellying up to the bar and demanding that The Code of the Woosters or A Pelican at Blandings be on the menu, there is only a solitary voice calling for Not George Washington or The Swoop, and that voice can easily be silenced with a sharp elbow in the fleshy bits.
In this specific instance, Uncle Fred (aka Lord Ickenham), so captivated the attention of those who attended the July meeting, that we have decided to jump ahead to Uncle Dynamite. In fact, we’ve jumped ahead about nine years, as Uncle Fred in the Springtime was published in 1939, and Uncle Dynamite in 1948. Uncle Dynamite is not a Blandings novel, but it promises to be quite the enjoyable read.
Of course, the ne plus ultra of keen-eyed observers might argue that we have not actually discarded the Blandings theme, but instead we are pursuing the Uncle Fred theme, and that our next book after Uncle Dynamite should be Cocktail Time. And to that k.e.o., I award a gold star.
A word of warning, however: Cocktail Time has yet to be approved to follow Uncle Dynamite. That action would be taken at the September meeting.
The Denver of the Secret Nine 