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''Plum Stones'' (subtitled ''The Hidden P. G. Wodehouse'') is a set of 12 volumes of uncollected short stories by
P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse ( ; 15 October 1881 – 14 February 1975) was an English writer and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Je ...
. All 25 stories were previously published in magazines, but not published in book form in the UK. The volumes were published posthumously between 1993 and 1995 in the UK by Galahad Books. The first two volumes were published in 1993, the following six in 1994, and last four in 1995. Each volume is a short booklet, with commentary on the stories by Tony Ring. The stories were printed in a limited edition with the permission of the Trustees of the Wodehouse Estate. The first sixteen sets were issued as an omnibus edition, published in 1993.


Volumes


''Wodehouse, Detective Writer''

First volume, 64 pages. *" The Strange Disappearance of Mr Buxton-Smythe" (also published in the 1997 UK collection '' Tales of Wrykyn and Elsewhere'') ** UK: ''
Public School Magazine ''Public School Magazine'' was a short-lived magazine for boys. It was started in 1898 by publishing company Adam and Charles Black and appeared monthly until March 1902, when it ceased publication, the copyright being sold to rival publisher Ge ...
'', December 1901 *" The Adventure of the Split Infinitive" (also in ''Tales of Wrykyn and Elsewhere'') ** UK: ''Public School Magazine'', March 1902 * "Death at the Excelsior" (also published in the 1976 US collection ''
The Uncollected Wodehouse ''The Uncollected Wodehouse'' is a collection of early newspaper and magazine articles and short story, short stories by P. G. Wodehouse. First published in the United States on 18 October 1976 by Seabury Press, New York City, it contains 14 sho ...
)'' ** UK: ''Pearson's'', December 1914 (as "The Education of Detective Oakes") ** US: ''
All-Story Cavalier Weekly ''Argosy'' was an American magazine, founded in 1882 as ''The Golden Argosy'', a children's weekly, edited by Frank Munsey and published by E. G. Rideout. Munsey took over as publisher when Rideout went bankrupt in 1883, and after many stru ...
'', March 13, 1915 (longest of all versions, under the title "The Harmonica Mystery", also printed under that title in ''The Saint Detective Magazine'', June 1955, and in May 1978 in ''
Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'' is a bi-monthly American digest size fiction magazine specializing in crime fiction, particularly detective fiction, and mystery fiction. Launched in fall 1941 by Mercury Press, ''EQMM'' is named after the fic ...
'', the source for this book) * "Mr McGee's Big Day" ** US: ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'', November 1950 "Mr McGee's Big Day" was six pages long in ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine''. For comparison, another Wodehouse story, " Strychnine in the Soup", was fifteen pages long when published in ''Ellery Queen'' in 1952.


''Unrepublished Reggie Pepper''

Second volume, 76 pages. All three stories feature the early Wodehouse character
Reggie Pepper Reginald "Reggie" Pepper is a fictional character who appears in seven short stories by English author P. G. Wodehouse. Reggie is a young man-about-town who gets drawn into trouble trying to help his pals. He is considered to be an early prototyp ...
. *" Disentangling Old Percy" **US: ''
Collier's } ''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter F. Collier, Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened i ...
'', 30 March 1912 (as "Disentangling Old Duggie") **UK: ''
Strand Strand or The Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa * Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * ...
'', August 1912 (source for this book) *" Concealed Art" **UK: ''Strand'', February 1915 (source for this book) **US: ''Pictorial Review'', July 1915 *" The Test Case" (also in ''The Uncollected Wodehouse'') **UK: ''Pearson's'', December 1915 **US: ''Illustrated Sunday Magazine'', 12 December 1915 (source for this book)


''Theatrical Stories''

Third volume, 64 pages. *"The Colour Line" **US: ''
McClure's ''McClure's'' or ''McClure's Magazine'' (1893–1929) was an American illustrated monthly periodical popular at the turn of the 20th century. The magazine is credited with having started the tradition of muckraking journalism (investigative journ ...
'', March/April 1920 (as "The Golden Flaw") **UK: ''
Grand Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation), ...
'', April 1920 (source for this book) Under the title "The Golden Flaw", the story was published in ''McClure's'' with illustrations by
Arthur William Brown Arthur William Brown (1881–1966) was a Canadian commercial artist, most known for his work as an illustrator for the ''Saturday Evening Post'', ''American Magazine'', and ''Redbook''. Education and works In the 1890s, he attended the Hamilton ...
. *"Back to the Garage" **UK: ''Strand'', July 1929 (source for this book) **US: ''
Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Internationalism * World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship * Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community * Cosmopolitan ...
'', July 1929 (as "Franklin's Favorite Daughter") "Franklin's Favorite Daughter" was illustrated by David Robinson in ''Cosmopolitan''. In the ''Strand'', "Back to the Garage" was illustrated by S. Abbey.


''Keggs, the Butler''

Fourth volume, 36 pages. *"Love Me, Love My Dog" **US: ''Hampton's'', July 1920 (as "The Watch Dog", also published in ''Home'' in August 1931 as "A Dog-Eared Romance" and ''Green Book'' in August 1933 as "The Watch Dog") **UK: ''Strand'', August 1910 (as "Love Me, Love My Dog."; source for this book) "Watch Dog" was illustrated by Phillips Ward in ''Hampton's Magazine''. "Love Me, Love My Dog" was illustrated by
Harry Rountree Harry Rountree (26 January 1878''1939 England and Wales Register'' – 26 September 1950) was a prolific illustrator working in England around the turn of the 20th century. Born in Auckland, New Zealand, he moved to London in 1901, when he was 2 ...
in the ''Strand''.


''First Impressions, Mature Reflections''

Fifth volume, 52 pages. *"A Job of Work" **UK: ''Strand'', January 1913 (source for this book) **US: ''Collier's'', 6 September 1913 The story was illustrated by
E. H. Shepard Ernest Howard Shepard (10 December 1879 – 24 March 1976) was an English artist and book illustrator. He is known especially for illustrations of the Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic animal and soft toy characters in ''The Wind in the Willow ...
in the ''Strand'', and by
John Sloan John French Sloan (August 2, 1871 – September 7, 1951) was an American painter and etcher. He is considered to be one of the founders of the Ashcan school of American art. He was also a member of the group known as The Eight (Ashcan School), T ...
in ''Collier's''. *"Ways to Get a Gal" (contains plot elements previously used in "Ahead of Schedule", collected in '' The Man Upstairs'') **US: ''Dream World'', February 1957 The story was illustrated by "R. L. S." in ''Dream World'', a Chicago-based magazine.


''There But For the Grace of God Goes Baxter''

Sixth volume, 28 pages. *"Creatures of Impulse" (later rewritten as "
The Crime Wave at Blandings "The Crime Wave at Blandings" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse that first appeared in the United States in two parts, in the October 10 and October 17, 1936 editions of the ''Saturday Evening Post'', and in the United Kingdom in the January 19 ...
") **UK: ''Strand'', October 1914 (source for this book) **US: ''McClure's'', October 1914


''Self-Derivatives'' Par Excellence

Seventh volume, 60 pages. *"
Big Business Big business involves large-scale corporate-controlled financial or business activities. As a term, it describes activities that run from "huge transactions" to the more general "doing big things". In corporate jargon, the concept is commonly ...
" (later rewritten as a Mr Mulliner story) **US: ''Collier's'', 13 December 1952 **UK: ''
Lilliput Lilliput is an island nation in Jonathan Swift's novel ''Gulliver's Travels''. Lilliput may also refer to: Geography * Lilliput (townland), a townland in County Westmeath, Ireland * Lilliput, Dorset, a district in the town of Poole in Dorset, ...
'', March 1953 (source for this book) *"Joy Bells for Barmy" (contains plot elements taken from "Dudley Is Back to Normal", and some reused in "The Right Approach" and '' Barmy in Wonderland'') **UK: ''Carnival'', November 1946 (as "A Wedding Has Been Arranged") **US: ''Cosmopolitan'', October 1947 (source for this book) *"
The Right Approach ''The Right Approach'' is a 1961 CinemaScope drama film directed by David Butler and starring Juliet Prowse, Frankie Vaughan (in his final film role) and Martha Hyer. It was known as ''The Live Wire''. Plot Army buddies return home to Pasaden ...
" (contains plot elements taken from "Joy Bells for Barmy", later rewritten as a Mr Mulliner story) **UK: ''Lilliput'', September 1958 (as a Mulliner story, collected in ''A Few Quick Ones'') **US: ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
'', January 1959 (source for this book, substantially revised from 1958 version)


''Bertie's Friends''

Eighth volume, 44 pages. The first story features Bobbie Wickham and the second
Bingo Little Richard P. "Bingo" Little is a recurring fictional character in the comedic Jeeves and Drones Club stories of English writer P. G. Wodehouse, being a friend of Jeeves's master Bertie Wooster and a member of the Drones Club. In his early appeara ...
. *"Dudley is Back to Normal" (contains plot elements reused in "Joy Bells for Barmy") **UK: ''Strand'', July 1940 *"The Great Fat Uncle Contest" (also published as " Stylish Stouts") **US: ''Playboy'', April 1965 (as "Stylist Stout") **UK: ''
London Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free of charge in London, England. It is print ...
'', 24 December 1965 (source for this book)


''"In That Shape, Rotten"''

Ninth volume, 40 pages. *"Reggie and the Greasy Bird" **US: ''
The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine published six times a year. It was published weekly from 1897 until 1963, and then every other week until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely circulated and influ ...
'', 28 November 1936 (source for this book, rewritten from " The Masked Troubadour") **UK: ''Strand'', December 1936 (as "The Masked Troubadour")


''Ethics and Eugenics''

Tenth volume, 52 pages. *"A Prisoner of War" (with a character that appears in '' The Coming of Bill'') **UK: ''Strand'', March 1915 (source for this book) **US: ''Illustrated Sunday Magazine'', 13 February 1916 "A Prisoner of War" was illustrated by
Alfred Leete Alfred Ambrose Chew Leete (1882–1933) was a Great Britain, British graphic artist. Born at Achurch, Thorpe Achurch, Northamptonshire, he studied at Kingsholme School and Weston College, The School of Science and Art (now Weston College) i ...
in the ''Strand''. *"The Pro" (contains plot elements reused in "The Goal-Keeper and the Plutocrat" in ''The Man Upstairs'') **UK: ''Pearson's'', August 1906 (source for this book), and ''Novel Magazine'' in August 1907 as "The Pro." The story was illustrated by W. Heath Robinson in ''Pearson's''.McIlvaine (1990), p. 175, D118.14.


''Wrykyn Havoc''

Eleventh volume, 36 pages. *" Jackson's Extra" (also in ''Tales of Wrykyn and Elsewhere'') ** UK: ''
Royal Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or Royalty (disambiguation), royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Ill ...
'', June 1904 *"
The Deserter The Deserter or Deserter(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''The Deserter'' (1912 film), a silent film by Thomas H. Ince * ''The Deserter'' (1933 film), a film by Vsevolod Pudovkin * ''The Deserter'' (1970 film), a film by Burt Kennedy * ...
" (also in ''Tales of Wrykyn and Elsewhere'') ** UK: ''Royal'', August 1905


''First Drafts''

Twelfth volume, 44 pages. *"Reginald's Record Knock" (cricket story) **UK: ''Pearson's'', July 1909 **US: ''Collier's Weekly'', 19 March 1910 (as " Archibald's Benefit", a similar golf story collected in ''The Man Upstairs'') *"Tom, Dick and Harry" (cricket story, also in ''The Uncollected Wodehouse'') **UK: ''Grand'', June 1905 (as "Tom, Dick—and Harry")


References

;Notes ;Sources *


External links

* ** ** ** ** {{P. G. Wodehouse Short story collections by P. G. Wodehouse 1993 short story collections