'The letters, gossipy in the kindliest, most amused/bemused manner, bear true witness to the wide-ranging influences on Wodehouse's' best-known novels and best-loved characters.' THE TIMES *** The definitive edition of P.G. Wodehouse's collected letters, edited with commentary by Oxford academic Sophie Ratcliffe. One of the funniest and most admired writers of the twentieth century, P. G. Wodehouse always shied away from the idea of a biography. A quiet, retiring man, he expressed himself through the written word.

His letters - collected and expertly edited here - provide an illuminating biographical accompaniment to legendary comic creations such as Jeeves, Bertie Wooster, Psmith and the Empress of Blandings. Drawing on previously unpublished sources, these letters give an unrivalled insight into Wodehouse, covering his schooldays at Dulwich College, the family's financial reverses which saw his hopes of university dashed, life in New York working in musical comedy with Jerome Kern and George and Ira Gershwin, the years of fame as a novelist, and the unhappy episode in 1940 where he was interned by the Germans and later erroneously accused of broadcasting pro-Nazi propaganda. Charming, witty and profound, this 50th anniversary edition of A LIFE IN LETTERS is the perfect addition to any Wodehouse-lover's bookcase.