A Gentleman of Leisure
First edition (U.S.)
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| Author | P. G. Wodehouse |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | W.J. Watt and Co. |
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Publication date
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11 May 1910 |
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A Gentleman of Leisure is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse. The basic plot first appeared in a novella, The Gem Collector, in the December 1909 issue of Ainslee's Magazine.
It was substantially revised and expanded for publication as a book under the title The Intrusion of Jimmy, by W.J. Watt and Co., New York, on 11 May 1910. It was serialised under that title in the British weekly magazine Tit-Bits between 11 June and 10 September before being published as A Gentleman of Leisure by Alston Rivers Ltd, London, on 15 November 1910. There are minor textual differences between the American and British editions of the book.
A Gentleman of Leisure was adapted for the stage in 1911 and has twice been filmed, in 1915 and 1923.
The action begins with bachelor Jimmy Pitt in New York; having fallen in love on a transatlantic liner, he befriends a small-time burglar and breaks into a police captain's house as a result of a bet. The cast of characters head to England, and from there on it is a typically Wodehousean romantic story, set at the stately Dreever Castle, overflowing with imposters, detectives, crooks, scheming lovers and conniving aunts.
Sir James Willoughby Pitt, baronet, a former jewel thief who was expelled from Eton and has since inherited wealth, is in London and bored with life. Seeing a stranger in need in a restaurant, he comes to his aid, and so befriends Spennie Blunt. He later encounters Spike Mullins, a former American criminal associate, who has fled to England and fallen on hard times. Pitt takes him in.
Spennie invites Jimmy to his home, Corven Abbey in Shropshire (Dreever Castle in the later version), and he decides to take Spike with him as his valet.
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