Something New - Wodehouse, P. G.

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Résumé :
There's a divinity that shapes our ends. Consider the case of Henry Pifield Rice, detective. I must explain Henry early, to avoid disappointment. If I simply said he was a detective, and let it go at that, I should be obtaining the reader's interest under false pretences. He was really only a sort of detective, a species of sleuth. At Stafford's International Investigation Bureau, in the Strand, where he was employed, they did not require him to solve mysteries which had baffled the police. He had never measured a footprint in his life, and what he did not know about bloodstains would have filled a library. The sort of job they gave Henry was to stand outside a restaurant in the rain, and note what time someone inside left it. In short, it is not 'Pifield Rice, Investigator. No. 1.-The Adventure of the Maharajah's Ruby' that I submit to your notice, but the unsensational doings of a quite commonplace young man, variously known to his comrades at the Bureau as 'Fathead', 'That blighter what's-his-name', and 'Here, you!'

Biographie:
English writer Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, or P.G. Wodehouse, was born on October 15, 1881, and died on February 14, 1975. He was well known for his clever and light-hearted writing, especially for the novels and short tales he wrote that starred Bertie Wooster and Jeeves and were set in the picturesque English countryside. Before turning to creating plays and books, Wodehouse started out as a humourist for different periodicals. He wrote a large amount of literature, which included several plays, essays, short tales, and more than 90 novels. His writing frequently captured the eccentricities and vices of the upper class in Britain, presenting them in a humorous and light-hearted way. Wodehouse's conduct during World War II caused criticism in his later years, notwithstanding his popularity. While residing in France in 1940, he was detained by the Germans and gave a number of radio transmissions from Berlin that were heavily criticised for showing support for the Nazis. Even though Wodehouse insisted that his acts were innocent rather than treasonous, the broadcasts caused a great deal of controversy and allegations of betrayal....

Sommaire:
There's a divinity that shapes our ends. Consider the case of Henry Pifield Rice, detective. I must explain Henry early, to avoid disappointment. If I simply said he was a detective, and let it go at that, I should be obtaining the reader's interest under false pretences. He was really only a sort of detective, a species of sleuth. At Stafford's International Investigation Bureau, in the Strand, where he was employed, they did not require him to solve mysteries which had baffled the police. He had never measured a footprint in his life, and what he did not know about bloodstains would have filled a library. The sort of job they gave Henry was to stand outside a restaurant in the rain, and note what time someone inside left it. In short, it is not 'Pifield Rice, Investigator. No. 1.-The Adventure of the Maharajah's Ruby' that I submit to your notice, but the unsensational doings of a quite commonplace young man, variously known to his comrades at the Bureau as 'Fathead', 'That blighter what's-his-name', and 'Here, you!'...