If I want to start reading P. G. Wodehouse

where should I start? There are so many of the novels and they all seem the same. I know some of you will want to tell me what the bets novel is, and I'd be grateful for that; but I'd also like to know where's the best place to begin.

• Start at the very beginning. It's a very good place to start.

• Isn't "My Man Jeeves" the first in that series?

• The Code Of The Woosters

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• It's been awhile since I read them, but I am pretty sure you can stack up the books and choose one at random. I don't recall there being much in these narratives dependent on a timeline.

• There are several "Best of Wodehouse" anthologies that offer stories from the various series and let you get to know the characters.

• These are nice, inexpensive editions -- if you're going for a bookshelf of Wodehouse titles.

  http://www.everymanslibrary.co.uk/wodehouse.aspx

• 'The Code of the Woosters' is my favorite, R3. But perhaps save it for later, OP? Start with one of the collection of short stories: 'The Inimitable Jeeves' or 'Carry On, Jeeves.' But really it's hard to go wrong with any of them. Wodehouse is one of the few writers who can make me laugh out loud.

• The first one I read was some random collection of short stories about golf. And I don't even like golf. i don't know what made me pick that book up, but I'm happy I did. I've since gone on to read pretty much everything he's written, with absolutely no regard to chronology. Just pick one at random. I, however, would suggest against getting one of those huge anthologies. I think he's best read in small doses, and trying to slog through a large volume will wear away at the charm of his writing.

• So much lovely gay subtext in these novels. Wodehouse was most likely gay, no?

• They really all are basically the same, but that's a good thing. My first was THE SMALL BACHELOR, which I still remember fondly, but once you get hooked, you're going to start getting them mixed up anyway. I've accidentally reread a few of them. Get thee to the Gutnberg project. There are a numbe of them available for free, including some short story collections. I much prefer the full-length novels, though. The plots have more space to get really hilariously ludicrous. Have fun!

• You can jump in anytime with Wodehouse. I always loved the Mr. Mulliner and Psmith stories.

• They're kind of grouped - there are the Jeeves books, the Blandings books, the Psmith books, the Ukridge books, the Mulliner stories, etc. When I first read them, I thought it was fun to read all of one group rather than mix them up (which would happen if you read them chronologically; he jumped around a lot subject-wise). I like the Blandings books the best, but Jeeves is probably a good place to start. Thank You, Jeeves is the first true Jeeves novel (a lot of short stories with Jeeves and Wooster preceded it); just start there.

• "Right Ho, Jeeves" made me laugh out loud. The funny thing is all of his books that I've read so far, (just started about 3 weeks ago) the men fall in love and ask the women to marry them in one day. And there is no getting out of it, because the women can get you for breach of promise. Was that really a thing?

• I was wondering about that too. I recently read Hitchens' book of essays & several of them were on Wodehouse, who I have not read (yet).

• Start with the Mr. Mulliner story "Honeysuckle Cottage" - it's the best!

• [quote]And there is no getting out of it, because the women can get you for breach of promise. Was that really a thing? Of course -- it was a common law tort codified in modern statutory law. Alienation of affections was also a tort, when a third party seduced someone else's spouse into breaking the marriage vows. Either or both of these no doubt linger on the books in various jurisdictions, though neither is often invoked.