WODEHOUSE, P.G. Annotated typescript draft of Bill the Conqueror.

Presented to Wodehouse's Collaborator

WODEHOUSE, P.G. Annotated typescript draft of Bill the Conqueror. [S.l.] 1924.

4to. Twentieth-century blue buckram, spine lettered in gilt, housed in a black morocco-backed clamshell box with blue cloth sides by the Chelsea Bindery, spine lettered directly in gilt; carbon typescript, printed in blue and black to rectos only (occasionally overrunning onto versos), ff. [1 (title)], ‘355’ (i.e. 365); buckram spine slightly toned, slight wear to extremities; short closed marginal tear to head of title, numerous tears without loss, small holes to upper left corners where originally fastened; otherwise bright and clean throughout; multiple pencilled revisions to pagination throughout, extensive manuscript revisions, corrections, and deletions by Wodehouse in pencil, 1924 presentation inscription from Wodehouse to Jerome Kern ‘to Jerry, from Plum’ and 1938 gift inscription from Kern to Gus Kahn to title (see below).

Wodehouse’s complete working typescript for Bill the Conqueror, with extensive authorial revisions, corrections, and deletions in pencil throughout; a remarkable double association copy, warmly inscribed by Wodehouse to his friend and collaborator, the composer Jerome Kern, in 1924, with a 1938 inscription from Kern to lyricist Gus Kahn.

When, in early 1906, Wodehouse was hired by celebrated playwright and actor-manager Seymour Hicks to be resident lyricist at the Aldwych Theatre, his first assignment was as lyricist for a production of Cosmo Hamilton’s The Beauty of Bath. His musical collaborator for the project was the young Jerome Kern (1885–1945), writer of, amongst others, ‘Ol’ Man River’, ‘Smoke Gets in Your Eyes’, and ‘The Way You Look Tonight’. ‘Here, I thought’, Wodehouse later wrote of their first meeting, ‘was a young man supremely confident of himself – the kind of person who inspires people to seek him out when a job must be done.’ The respect and admiration was returned, Kern enamoured with Wodehouse’s ability to ‘accurately remember any tune he’d heard and who, less demanding than many lyricists, preferred to fit the words to music already composed.’ (ibid).

The pair would collaborate on multiple occasions over the following two decades, including a fertile period working with British-American librettist Guy Bolton (1884–1979) on the series known as the ‘Princess’ musicals including Miss Springtime (1916), Have a Heart (New York, 1917), Oh, Boy! (New York, 1917), Leave It to Jane (New York, 1917), and Oh, Lady! Lady!! (New York, 1918). The last of these partially inspired the plot of Wodehouse’s 1927 The Small Bachelor.

The seventh and final Princess show, Sitting Pretty (1924), the pair’s final collaboration, coincided with the writing of Bill the Conqueror, the author’s presentation of this typescript to Kern – then at the height of his powers and popularity – marking the end of their fruitful partnership. In his lyrics for Sitting Pretty, Wodehouse incorporated several themes and even direct quotations from Bill the Conqueror.

Wodehouse’s presentation to Kern, in the right margin of the title-page, ‘To Jerry | from | Plum | P.G. Wodehouse 1924’, is followed by a later gift inscription from Kern to fellow Broadway legend, lyricist Gus Kahn: ‘And after fourteen years’ enjoyment Jerry gives it with his affectionate regards to that grand old Wodehouse fan Gus Kahn. June 1938’.

Kahn had written the lyrics for ‘Dream a Little Dream of Me’, ‘My Baby Just Cares for Me’, ‘Makin’ Whoopee’, and ‘It Had to Be You’. The same title-page also includes Wodehouse’s manuscript instructions. The ‘Note to typist’, top left, requests: ‘Two carbon copies, please will you bind them. Note: I have changed the names ‘Ernest’ and ‘Dominic’ to ‘George’ and ‘Roderick’. If I have omitted to make the alteration in any place, will you do it. PGW’. As indicated, the two names are changed in manuscript throughout the text. To the lower left is the instruction to ‘Bind Chapters 1–4 in one cover, apart from Chapters 5–11’.

It is unclear if Wodehouse himself had this complete, extensively revised, typescript bound for presentation to Kern, or whether Kern did so later for Kahn, but given the care with which the complete text has been presented, and the many amendments and insertions to foliation throughout, as well as the significance of the original recipient, the former seems more likely. Most of the manuscript amendments were incorporated into the published text of the novel, but the many crossed through, perfectly legible, passages, offer a unique insight into the composition of the novel.

In a 14 November 1923 letter to Leonora Wodehouse (née Rowley) his adopted daughter, the author excitedly revealed his new working methods, developed while writing Bill:

‘Did Mummie tell you I was working on the new novel in a new way, - viz. making a very elaborate scenario, so that when the time came to write the story it would be more like copying out and revising than actual composition. It is panning out splendidly, but is, of course, the dickens of a Sweat because I can’t persuade myself that I am really accomplishing any actual work besides just mapping the story out. I have reached about half-way now, and it has taken 30 pages, – each containing 600 words as they are typed close like this letter. That is to say, I have written 18,000 words of scenario, the equivalent of about three short stories! I must say I think, when it is all finished, I shall be surprised at the speed at which I shall be able to polish off the story.’

It was a method, preceding the stage of composition represented by this typescript, that Wodehouse continued to use until the end of his writing life. Bill the Conqueror (subtitled His Invasion of England in the Springtime) was published in the UK on 13 November 1924, the US edition following in 1925, having previously been serialised in The Saturday Evening Post from 24 May to 12 July 1924.

Dedicated to Wodehouse’s parents, it was one of the author’s own favourites among his works: ‘I sent the first 70,000 words of Bill the Conqueror off to the typist (la sténographie) yesterday, he wrote to Leonora (February 4 1924), ‘and believe me or believe me not, it’s good. I’m taking a day off today and tomorrow to plunge into the remaining 25,000, which ought to be pie. This is certainly one swell story, as good as the old man has ever done […] I’ve never worked so well on a novel before. I must have done over 50,000 words in a month.’ The novel ‘sold 10,000 copies on the day of publication. Hot stuff’ (letter to William Townend, 17 November 1924).

SKU: 2126346