''Bachelors Anonymous'' is a

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...

P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeve ...

, first published in the United Kingdom on 15 October 1973 (Wodehouse's 92nd birthday) by

Barrie & Jenkins Barrie & Jenkins was a small British publishing house that was formed in 1964 from the merger of the companies Herbert Jenkins (founded by English writer Herbert George Jenkins) and Barrie & Rockliff (whose managing director was Leopold Ullstein ...

, London and in the United States on 28 August 1974 by Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York.McIlvaine, E., Sherby, L.S. and Heineman, J.H. (1990) ''P.G. Wodehouse: A comprehensive bibliography and checklist''. New York: James H. Heineman, pp. 104-105. In the novel, movie mogul Ivor Llewellyn, who has divorced five times, is interested to learn from his lawyer Ephraim Trout about a support group for bachelors who help keep each other from making impulsive marriage proposals. Ivor Llewellyn previously appeared in ''

The Luck of the Bodkins ''The Luck of the Bodkins'' is a novel by P.G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on 11 October 1935 by Herbert Jenkins, and in the United States on 3 January 1936 by Little, Brown and Company.McIlvaine (1990), pp. 69–70, A54. ...

'' (1935), '' Frozen Assets'' (1964), and '' Pearls, Girls and Monty Bodkin'' (1972). Another character, lawyer Jerry Nichols, appeared in '' Uneasy Money'' (1916). ''Bachelors Anonymous'' was the second last novel completed by Wodehouse, with the last being ''

Aunts Aren't Gentlemen ''Aunts Aren't Gentlemen'' is a comic novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom in October 1974 by Barrie & Jenkins, London, and in the United States under the title ''The Cat-nappers'' on 14 April 1975 by Simon & Schuste ...

''.

Plot

Ephraim Trout of Trout, Wapshott and Edelstein, a legal firm employed by Ivor Llewellyn, head of the Superba-Llewellyn studio of Hollywood, has handled Llewellyn's five divorces. Llewellyn is on his way to London on business, and Trout sees Llewellyn off at the Los Angeles airport. Trout warns him against any more impulsive proposals. Trout has managed to stay single since he belongs to a California group called Bachelors Anonymous, inspired by

Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international mutual aid fellowship of alcoholics dedicated to abstinence-based recovery from alcoholism through its spiritually-inclined Twelve Step program. Following its Twelve Traditions, AA is non-professi ...

. When one member feels the impulse to take a woman out to dinner, he seeks out the other members and they reason with him. He advises Llewellyn to consult the legal firm of Nichols, Erridge and Trubshaw in London, as they can find someone to act as a similar advisor for Llewellyn. Other members of Bachelors Anonymous convince Trout to follow Llewellyn to London to help. In London, Llewellyn meets Vera Dalrymple, the star of the Regal Theatre's stage comedy ''Cousin Angela'', written by Joseph "Joe" Pickering (who makes his living working for the solicitors Shoesmith, Shoesmith, Shoesmith, and Shoesmith, mentioned in other stories such as ''

Ice in the Bedroom ''Ice in the Bedroom'' is a novel by P.G. Wodehouse, first published as a book in the United States (where the title was ''The Ice in the Bedroom'') on February 2, 1961 by Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York, and in the United Kingdom on October 1 ...

''). Joe is interviewed by Sally Fitch (from Much Middlefold) for a women's paper, and they get along well. Vera monopolizes the show and ''Cousin Angela'' closes after only 16 performances. The Regal Theatre's stage-doorkeeper Mac (who appeared in '' A Damsel in Distress'' and ''

Summer Lightning ''Summer Lightning'' is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on 1 July 1929 by Doubleday, Doran, New York, under the title ''Fish Preferred'', and in the United Kingdom on 19 July 1929 by Herbert Jenkins, London ...

'') gives his sympathy to Joe. While waiting to see Vera, a drunk man threatens Mac, so Joe throws him out. Joe learns from his friend Jerry Nichols, of the Nichols, Erridge and Trubshaw law firm, that he can earn a lucrative salary working for Llewellyn. Joe falls in love with Sally and makes plans to have lunch with her at Barribault's. Jerry tells Sally that she has inherited a legacy from a former employer, Letitia Carberry, supporter of the Anti-Tobacco League. Carberry left most of her money to the League but left Sally twenty-five thousand pounds on the condition that she not smoke for two years. Sally is to live in a posh

Park Lane Park Lane is a dual carriageway road in the City of Westminster in Central London. It is part of the London Inner Ring Road and runs from Hyde Park Corner in the south to Marble Arch in the north. It separates Hyde Park to the west from ...

apartment with a private detective, Daphne Dolby, the owner of the Eagle Eye detective agency, who will know if Sally smokes. Daphne is engaged to Sir Jaklyn Warner, Baronet, because she is interested in his title and he in her money. Jaklyn, who is Sally's ex-fiancé, hears about Sally's inheritance. Sally accidentally falls asleep and misses lunch with Joe. Llewellyn explains the Bachelors Anonymous idea to Joe, and recognizes him as the man who threw him out at the theatre and kept him from having dinner with Vera. Impressed, Llewellyn hires him. Sally apologizes to Joe for missing lunch and agrees to dinner. Trout sees Llewellyn, who is concerned that Joe has fallen for Sally. This worries Trout, and to keep Joe from going to dinner, he slips Joe a Mickey Finn. Sally is disappointed when Joe fails to appear, believing it to be petty revenge for her missing lunch. Jaklyn proposes to her (for her money) and she accepts, not knowing he is engaged to Daphne. She mentions her engagement to Daphne, and Daphne realizes what occurred. With one of her operatives, the intimidating Cyril Pemberton, she makes Jaklyn join her at the registry office to get married. Sally refuses to listen to Joe and goes to

Valley Fields Valley Fields is a 1,750-seat outdoor stadium and practice facility in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, primarily used by the varsity men's and women's soccer and lacrosse teams at Marquette University, all of which compete in the Big East Conference. The co ...

to see her former nanny Jane Priestley, who turns Joe and Trout away. Trout's hand is bitten by a dog named Percy, and the dog's owner, Amelia Bingham, bandages his hand. She is a hospital nurse. Trout falls for her, and now approves of marriage. Llewellyn is astonished when Trout accepts dinner with Vera on Llewellyn's behalf. Joe suggests that Llewellyn get a check-up at a hospital to hide from Vera. Trout, who has resigned from Bachelors Anonymous, admits to slipping Joe a Mickey Finn and apologizes to him. Trout tells Sally everything, and she reconciles with Joe. Unaware that Jaklyn is now married, Trout pays him off with fifty pounds to prevent a

breach of promise Breach of promise is a common law tort, abolished in many jurisdictions. It was also called breach of contract to marry,N.Y. Civil Rights Act article 8, §§ 80-A to 84. and the remedy awarded was known as heart balm. From at least the Middle ...

case. Daphne catches Sally smoking, and Joe is fired by Llewellyn, who impulsively proposed to his nurse at the hospital, Amelia. However, all ends well when Llewellyn learns Trout has got engaged to Amelia. Llewellyn decides to make Joe's play into a movie and pays him two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and will become a member of Bachelors Anonymous when he returns to California with a letter of introduction from Trout.

Publication history

The illustration on the first UK edition dust jacket of Amelia Bingham bandaging Ephraim Trout's hand was drawn by

Osbert Lancaster Sir Osbert Lancaster, CBE (4 August 1908 – 27 July 1986) was an English cartoonist, architectural historian, stage designer and author. He was known for his cartoons in the British press, and for his lifelong work to inform the general p ...

. The back of the dust jacket features a photograph of Wodehouse looking out a window, taken by Tom Blau,

Camera Press Camera Press is a photographic picture agency founded in London in 1947 by Jewish Hungarian Tom Blau, a portrait photographer of major contemporary political figures, musicians and film stars, who, in 1935, migrated from Berlin where he was born an ...

. The same illustration and photograph were used for the first US edition for the front and back of the dust jacket respectively. The US edition of the book is dedicated: "To Peter Schwed, as always".

Peter Schwed Peter Schwed (1911–2003) was an American editor and the editorial chairman and a trade book publisher for Simon & Schuster. Among the authors he edited were P.G. Wodehouse, Irving Wallace, Harold Robbins, David McCullough and Cornelius Ryan. S ...

was Wodehouse's editor at

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publi ...

. Wodehouse had also dedicated the US editions of '' Bertie Wooster Sees It Through'', '' Author! Author!'', and '' The Purloined Paperweight'' to Schwed.

References

External links

The Russian Wodehouse Society's page
with a list of characters {{P. G. Wodehouse Novels by P. G. Wodehouse 1973 British novels Barrie & Jenkins books Simon & Schuster books British comedy novels