
The Man Upstairs and Other Stories
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Narrated by:
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Frederick Davidson
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By:
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P. G. Wodehouse
Included in this collection are 19 of Wodehouse's classic pre-World War II stories.
Public Domain (P)1997 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...




















Critic reviews
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The sing-songy quality of the narrator won’t be to everyone’s liking, but it seems to suit this high-flown, early Wodehouse style in particular, with its often complex sentence structures and indirect references.
Early Wodehouse
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“Nineteen early short stories, some fairly good, some fairly bad. Most of them were written in America for the American pulps… The Good Angel is the first story with a strong butler part (and some very ill-informed comings and goings of a shooting party at an English country house). Rollo and Wilson…are a foretaste of Bertie Wooster and Jeeves. Sally…is a foretaste of Stiffy Byng. In Alcala has strands of autobiography in it; its sentimentality is remarkably gooey…”
Faint praise indeed. And, after The Code of the Woosters or Uncle Fred in the Springtime, certainly nothing one would dare to venture a credit upon. But for the man who has savored three quarters of the Wodehouse canon, the foretastes aren’t all sour. Obviously, these stories shouldn’t be your introduction to Sir Pelham, but after you’ve scaled the heights of his achievement, it’s fun to see how he got there.
Figures of speech Wodehouse would use for the rest of his life do handsprings everywhere. Later plot devices make their trial gallop. Plum’s unerring ear for dialogue, and his gift for painting a character with a few deft strokes, are already in full flower. And every story—except "In Alcala" which, to be fair to Mr. Usborne, is well up in the Rosy M. Banks class—is dished out with Plum’s trademark gentle humor that never descends to the satirical. He may have shunned humanity, but Wodehouse certainly liked people.
Finally, Frederick Davidson, that prince of Wodehouse readers, turns in his usual marvelous, nuanced performance. Hats off to Audible for making this available to members—and saving me the agony of committing that credit.
Wodehouse Becoming Wodehouse
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What did you like best about The Man Upstairs and Other Stories ? What did you like least?
Love P.G. Wodehouse. Have read many of his stories.Who was your favorite character and why?
Never got that farHow could the performance have been better?
Let me preface this by saying that I have hearing loss and have difficulties with certain accents, particularly British. I cope quite well. I have never come across something that was completely unintelligible. After forty-five minutes and several stories, I gave up.Was The Man Upstairs and Other Stories worth the listening time?
n/aAny additional comments?
n/aCould not understand the reader
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Funny and engaging
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Last story was kid of sad But good overall
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Would you listen to The Man Upstairs and Other Stories again? Why?
Yes. Frederick Davidson is an amazing reader and for me was the original voice of Bertie, though I think that some listeners prefer Jonathan Cecil (who is also amazing, but different).Who was your favorite character and why?
Bertie and Clarence.What does Frederick Davidson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
He knows how to pause and hold for effect.If you could take any character from The Man Upstairs and Other Stories out to dinner, who would it be and why?
Bertie of course.Love the stories and the narrorator
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Beyond Bertie Wooster
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wow!
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Can’t stand the reader
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what a horrible narator
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