Memorable evocation of a bygone era. Two down-and-out boy-and-girl youths try their hand at some detection during the intrigue-filled Post-WWI period in this delightful caper. Even when matters get more serious it seems more fun than actual danger. Sets the tone for many more boy-girl sleuth stories in books and films that followed. The 80s film version of the book is amateurish and avoidable.
Along with several others of his early novels, Wodehouse clearly intends that the characters in this semi-humorous book be taken seriously. He succeeds in making us care for his characters in this absorbing drama which has some of his familiar themes of hard working youth striving to make good, the idle rich, and romance.
The legal case that provides the background to Bleak House is less memorable than the unforgettable assortment of characters, delineated with masterful word pictures, that are liberally scattered through it. This book is definitely not an easy read. But at the conclusion the reader is left with a vivid ringside-view impression of 19th century England and English society, at different levels, that neither history books nor paintings or photographs could have provided.
With an apparently cliched backdrop of a jewel stolen from an idol, Indian religious fanatics and theft/death at an English country house, this is a magnificent and unputdownable novel. The plot twists, red herrings and rich characters embody a sophistication that rivals and even surpasses that in more contemporary mystery fiction.
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