French Leave

by P.G. Wodehouse

Another re-release by the inimitable P.G. Wodehouse. Terry and Jo Trent fly from the chicken farm in Bensonburg to the flesh pots of France, where even the eagle eye of elder sister Kate cannot prevent muddle, mismatch, and mayhem .

Genres: Humor, Fiction, Comedy, Classics, British Literature, France, Novels

206 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1956

About the author

Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE, was a comic writer who enjoyed enormous popular success during a career of more than seventy years and continues to be widely read over 40 years after his death. Despite the political and social upheavals that occurred during his life, much of which was spent in France and the United States, Wodehouse's main canvas remained that of prewar English upper-class society, reflecting his birth, education, and youthful writing career.

An acknowledged master of English prose, Wodehouse has been admired both by contemporaries such as Hilaire Belloc, Evelyn Waugh and Rudyard Kipling and by more recent writers such as Douglas Adams, Salman Rushdie and Terry Pratchett. Sean O'Casey famously called him "English literature's performing flea", a description that Wodehouse used as the title of a collection of his letters to a friend, Bill Townend.

Best known today for the Jeeves and Blandings Castle novels and short stories, Wodehouse was also a talented playwright and lyricist who was part author and writer of fifteen plays and of 250 lyrics for some thirty musical comedies. He worked with Cole Porter on the musical Anything Goes (1934) and frequently collaborated with Jerome Kern and Guy Bolton. He wrote the lyrics for the hit song Bill in Kern's Show Boat (1927), wrote the lyrics for the Gershwin/Romberg musical Rosalie (1928), and collaborated with Rudolf Friml on a musical version of The Three Musketeers (1928).

Reviews

[Phrodrick slowed his growing backlog · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of all the Wodehouse I have read and re-read French Leave was the first I could, and sometimes wanted to put down. It is one of the most mature and sophisticated of Plums novels, but it is too derivative. That there is nothing novel in any part of the plot is forgivable in a Wodehouse novel. Almost none of his Jeeves books vary from each other. But here everything feels used.

Wodehouse admitted to his friend Guy Bulton that this book was derived from a storyline already used in three movies, the original , Three Blind Mice by Mr. Bulton. (from Wikipedia) Wikipedia will also note that many of the character names had been lifted from other sources and most will recognize the use of the name Quackenbush as being from earlier Max Brother's fame. None of the earlier sources are Wodehouse products.

The story line reads like the Anita Loos stories, How to Marry A Millionaire, and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. In fact I found myself humming, Two Girls from Little rock through the first 1/3 of this short story. Three ladies, having grown up in some sophistication (they speak French) but surviving as chicken farmers come into a small sum of money. The younger sisters execute a long held plan to blow their share of the money on a trip to France, where they will take turns pretending to be well off, the third sister will act as maid and before the money runs out they will have rich husbands. The older sister being more pragmatic and less pretty will chaperone the younger. In short a movie that had been or would be made at least 5 times plus the 1960's TV show. Wodehouse lifted these ideas, again no crime in this but he did so little with them.

Wodehouse's fame as one of the funniest authors of his generation stands on his skill with dialogue. No one does goofy English school boy irony and fatuousness better. In French Leave the conversation between father Marquis de Maufringneuse et Valerie-Moberanneand, and son, Comte d'Escrigno AKA Jeffy ; sparkles with some of best dialogue in the books. Elsewhere it ranges from mildly clever to vaguely inappropriate in the mouths of American speakers. "Hoy!" for "Hey" does not belong in the mouth of a post WWII American.

On the technical side there are issues with characters who come and go and never seem to have a purpose. The older sister is almost a wasted character. There are obvious plot twists and so forth. However this is intended as light humorous reading. It is a short novella and is an example of PG as an older writer working a more complex situation comedy than is his usual fare. A reader new to Wodehouse may enjoy this as a reasonable introduction to a great comedic writer and a loyal fan may appreciate the odd mixture of complexity and silliness. I do not dislike French Leave, I cannot be enthusiastic.

A brief note on this edition: This book, a hardback is part of a reissue by Overlook Press. Each book is a compact hardback with a reasonable price. Some of these titles are available in Kindle editions. I will be seeking more of these books, favoring the lower priced Kindle, but savoring these nicely bound hardbacks.

[Gracie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the novel I have been looking for! It has everything a reader could possible want: wit, charm, old fashioned common sense that ought to make a comeback. The characters were comic and perfect and the prose was excellent. here is just an example from page 190:

"It is a ruse of which my old friend Prince Blamont-Chevry once availed himself with excellent results. one of his creditors - they have always been very numerous - had succeeded in trapping him in his apartment and was threatening, unless he received his money, to send him to prison. Blamont-Chevry, of course, had no money."
"It's often that way."
"But he shrank from the thought of going to prison."
"We all have our likes and dislikes"

All around a great novel which lifts the spirits and takes one on a pleasing ride.

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Standard Wodehouse, and lots of fun.

[Chandar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vintage Wodehouse! Nothing better for a lazy weekend!

[Ian Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teresa ‘Terry’ Trent, American chicken farmer, on receiving a small windfall travels on holiday to the French resort of Roville to see how the other half live. The Marquis de Maufringneuse knows how the other half live, having once belonged to it, and now he is acting as an adventurer seeking rich American Women to introduce to his novelist son Jeff, the Comte d'Escrignon. On meeting Terry he assumes she to be rich enough to keep her father in law in the manner he used to be accustomed and so he is instrumental in their blossoming romance until he realises Terry has no money when he tries to break them up.

Confusion with the Marquis de Maufringneuse’s ex-wife, two mineral water millionaires, a bent policeman, a drunken publisher and some stolen money all ensure that true love doesn’t run a smooth course however we needn’t worry too much, in Wodehouse’s world only those whom truly deserve it get an unhappy ending.

A Wodehouse novel written without his usual formula, containing no references to members of the Drones or any of Wodehouse’s stock characters; I should be praising it for its originality and as a jewel in the Wodehouse crown but if I’m honest what it is lacking is an English ass as the hero and a Country house setting, sorry.

[Gerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another amusing tale by the master of comic writing, perhaps not as good as his Jeeves canon but still divertingly funny.

The Marquis de Maufringneuse is sacked from his civil service post in Paris and makes his way to St Rocque where he encounters a variety of characters.

Kate, Josephine and Terry Trent are three American sisters, who inheriting some money, decide to take a trip to the south of France and there they encounter the Marquis, his son Jefferson, Jafe for short, plus the Marquis' ex-wife, who now goes under the name of Mrs Pegler.

There is also Freddie Carpenter, rich and available, and a dodgy French police officer by the name of Monsieur Boissonade. Publisher Russell Clutterbuck, who relishes publishing Jafe's works, is also present so the scene is set for a right old mix-up with the usual double engagement being offered and much fun with the police officer.

All-in-all a romping good read that in the end leaves everyone, including the reader, exhausted.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

P. G. Wodehouse’s writing is charming, witty, and woven by a master wordsmith. I originally began this book to add to my vocabulary as I study for the GRE exam, but I was absolutely shocked with how much I enjoyed it. It was engaging, the perfect length for a book, and somehow very cozy even though this was my first time reading it.

[S. Suresh · Rating 4 out of 5]

French Leave is one of those rare novels that doesn’t feature any English location, nor an English character, if one could discount the fleeting appearance of a Sir Percy Bunt.

Set almost entirely in France, bookended with a beginning & ending in New York, this is a classic Wodehouse comedy. It is the story of a French aristocrat “Old Nick,” a pauper for all practical purposes, his aspiring ½ American writer son Jeff, the three Trent sisters from Bensonburg, NY, Nick’s 2nd divorced wife, and the rich Americans, Freddie Carpenter, Chester Todd & his sister Mavis. Marquis de Maufringneuse et Valerie-Moberanne, aka Nick’s tries to shepherd his son into marrying rich while Jeff has other plans. Love blossoms in the exclusive French town of St. Rocque and flourishes in Roville, between Jeff and Terry Trent as well as Freddie and Mavis. Situational misunderstandings ensue, money gets stolen, French Commissaires get involved, but as always, in every Wodehousian novel, everything works out in the end.

[Balazs Almasi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wodehouse szinte mindegyik könyve Angliában vagy az USA-ban játszódik, de ezúttal kivételesen a francia tengerpartot választotta helyszínnek. Ez a kötet, nem éri el sajnos az író által írt könyvek átlagosan magas színvonalát, elég vontatott az első része, és folyamatosan úgy éreztem olvasás közben, hogy a francia helyszín azért lett csak választva, hogy Wodehouse ellőhesse az összes sztereotíp gondolatot, és leírhassa miért is utálják annyira a britek a franciákat... A legtöbb poén is erre van kihegyezve, és néhányuk tényleg üt meg vicces, de azért hosszú távon fárasztó.
A könyv második felére felpörög a cselekmény, átcsap klasszikus Wodehouse-ba, félreértések, megkötött és felbontott eljegyzések, viccesebbnél viccesebb szituációk, és persze happy end.
Összességében jó volt olvasni, de nem szabad annyit várni tőle, mint az író Jeeves sorozatától.

[CJ Bowen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great fun. That a book this good isn't in the author's top ten or twenty just goes to show the prowess of P.G.

P.G. makes good efforts at branching out: set in France, full of American and French characters, a number of females occupying center stage, an "aunt" figure cleverly disguised as an older sister, etc. But still stuffed with classic Wodehouse elements such as an unusually high engagement count, mixed and miscommunicated messages, pomposity and conniving receiving their comeuppance, delicious menus, happy endings, and a Mickey Finn.

[Narayanan · Rating 5 out of 5]

No need to write a review of most PGW books. Typical British humour, marvellously written!

[Dorothy Hodder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why has it been so long since I read Wodehouse? I like his British settings better than this light romp with American women hunting husbands in France, but Wodehouse can brighten any bad-news year, and his command of grammar and syntax is a treat no matter what his subject is. I'll be reading a lot more during the DT years.

[Andrew Fish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine you were a person of sufficient leisure to adopt a habit of visiting Victoria station at the same time every day and every day taking a return journey on a train chosen at random. Imagine further that you achieved this without paying attention either to the destination board or - in so far as is possible - the platform number. Ignore also such fripperies as those little scrolly displays inside modern trains employed in case you should either have, due to delays, forgotten where you are going, or indeed boarded the train at random. The tannoy announcements can be disregarded as these are generally unintelligible anyway.

If your imagination can stretch this far, you can no doubt see that your first few dozen journeys would be genuine mystery tours, utterly devoid of any notion of where you might be heading. It could be Brighton or Eastbourne or even (if you're really unlucky) East Grinstead. Each day would bring a new destination to savour or a new hell to endure.

But there are, of course, only limited destinations. Sooner or later you would find yourself picking up little clues, from the surreal railway-dominated landscape around Elephant and Castle to the endless platforms of Clapham Junction. You would come to recognise the scenery as you reached the Ouse Valley Viaduct or the peculiar moth-eaten appearance of a regular commuter on the route to Burgess Hill. Inevitably you would eventually reach the point where, within half an hour of departure from London, you knew exactly where it was you were going to end up. It's not optional behaviour - this pattern-matching is a fundamental part of what it is to be human.

Which is why the description would also seem a familiar pattern to long-time readers of farce. Because in farce more than in any other genre of writing, once you have read enough of them you become adept at working out where the lines of script trailing into the distance are leading. Farce delights in laying the seeds of its development early: unlike in a murder-mystery where the identity of Perkins' long-lost brother is held back to provide a plot-twist in chapter ten, in farce the traits and histories which inform the characters' actions are laid bare within the first few pages. The metaphorical points at Clapham Junction are passed by the end of chapter three at latest. It's part of the charm.

In this, French Leave is a typical example of the genre. From the moment we encounter the two women conspiring to use a limited inheritance to play at millionaires and maids in France and the down-at-heel aristocrat pushing his son to seek a wealthy heiress we can see which way the lines are trailing. We stay in the train, therefore, not because we wish to confirm the mystery, but because we know the scenery is going to be worth the ride. And so it is: Wodehouse plays his characters well, with the web of relationships creating a plot which twists and turns like a roller coaster. The players are endearing, once you've got past the usual problem of trying to remember which is which in the early stages of the novel, and the French setting provides its own layer of laughs with the language barriers and the prejudices it brings.

The only criticism I would make is that the use of a Mickey Finn on a policeman is a bit of a harsh get-out for Wodehouse. He's not averse to using such devices, but usually they are only deployed against the nastier sort: the worst that ever happened to an English policeman was being attacked by Stiffy's dog and that was Oates, who was clearly set up as a villainous oaf. That said, French Leave remains an enjoyable example of Wodehouse's later work and well worth picking up if you're after a bit of light reading for your next train journey.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the best PG Wodehouse books from his later (post WWII) period. It is unusual among his books in the sense that all his characters are French or American, and that nearly all of the action takes place in French coast resorts.

When Terry and Jo come into a small legacy, they decide to blow it all on a vacation in France and a smashing wardrobe. They decide to take turns pretending to be a lady of wealth and her maid. Their older, bossier sister Kate decides to come along to keep an eye on this doubtful enterprise.

In the meantime, a French Marquis who has made a career of sponging off rich wives, friends and acquaintances, has been fired from his job as a government clerk. But his son Jeff, a French-American writer, is in town and can advance him enough money for a jaunt to the Riviera.

And of course these two worlds must collide! And so they do. When Terry and the Marquis help out an American millionaire who finds himself trouserless after an encounter with some inebriated revelers, the stage is set for a comedy of mistaken identities, misunderstood intentions, and belated deliveries of important letters. Needless to say, all is sorted out in the end and the couples are properly matched up.

A very enjoyable book with the usual Wodehouse characters : perky girls, charming ruffians, dyspeptic American millionaires and imperial matrons. An umbrella-cocktail type of book, undemanding fun!

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a long way from being classic Wodehouse, as the characters fail to engage, and the humour is so understated as to be virtually undetectable. The plot, such as it is, also leaves much to be desired - three sisters from Long Island decide to treat themselves to a trip to France after receiving an unexpected windfall. Once there, nothing very much happens to them, and one of the sisters actually returns home a few weeks into the holiday. The rest of the book deals with one of remaining sister's ultimately successful attempts to find a husband. There are the usual Wodehousian twists and hiccups but it is all ultimately very predictable and none of the characters manages to engage your sympathy sufficiently that you care about their fates. Normally, when I reach the end of a Wodehouse novel I'm left wanting more, but on this occasion getting to the final page was a relief.

[Jos Brussel · Rating 5 out of 5]

French Leave is one of Wodehouse's books set in France, a country he knew well as he lived there for a while before the war, and is another sparkling romantic comedy. It's one of his books that's out of print and unfortunately not available as an ebook but there are plenty of second-hand copies available. Mine smelled quite musty but that all added to the sheer pleasure of this bubbly tale filled with the most delightful characters, wonderful setting and exuberant plotting. The best remedy for a rainy day.

[Christine Woods · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first P. G. Wodehouse read and I found it to be quite amusing. The story is basically about the three American Trent sisters who inherit some money and decide to use it having a two month adventure in France pretending to be rich and if lucky, find a rich husband. The plot is filled with many humorous misunderstandings and you never know what will happen next. A very fast moving and fun read with a surprise ending for The Marquis de Maufringneuse.

[Krisette Spangler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wodehouse departs from his usual setting and takes his characters to France. The book was a lot of fun, and there are plenty of twists and turns for the Wodehouse enthusiast. I especially enjoyed the French exasperation with Americans. We are such an arrogant people at times.

[Mihir Jain · Rating 5 out of 5]

"It's no good talking, Nick. I'm not going to bed any girl to support me. I'm conscientious."

Old Nick winced. He knew, of course, that conscientious men existed, but it was not nice to have to hear about them.

[Zee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Typical story where one misunderstanding leads to another and hijinks and silliness ensue. Love wins though the ending has an unexpected twist I quite appreciated. Easy, fun read.

[Murray Dedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good, fun and easy read. I'll definitely be reading more Wodehouse in the future.

[William Leight · Rating 4 out of 5]

[3.5 stars really]

Perfectly fine lateish Wodehouse. The heroine is a girl named Terry who is exactly like all of Wodehouse's other heroines named Terry; the hero is a guy named Jeff, who differs from all of Wodehouse's other heroes named Jeff only by being half-French and a Comte. His father, known as Old Nick, fills the Gally/Uncle Fred niche, only being a French aristocrat, rather than a British one, he has rather fewer morals than they do. There's also a dragon of an aunt who is also a dragon of a stepmother and a dragon of an ex-wife -- perhaps this combination of roles is why she is somewhat more poisonous than Wodehouse aunts usually are -- a wealthy but dumb young man (he's American, rather than British, so he's a former college football player rather than a Drones Club member), and the publisher J. Russell Clutterbuck, who has appeared in a few other Wodehouse novels. The novelties here are the French characters: in addition to Old Nick, there's a French policeman and a French bureaucrat, and Wodehouse gets enough out of them to set "French Leave" apart from a run of similar books he wrote in the 1950s. Plus, the plot has no MacGuffin for once. Pleasant, enjoyable, and quite funny more than just occasionally, "French Leave" is absolutely recommended for Wodehouse fans, but if you don't know Wodehouse you should probably start elsewhere.

[Mick Scrimshaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a large collection of P.G. Woodhouse, but up until now had never read this book. Like the many of his stories, his characters include Americans (not surprising as he lived there for years, and presumably also understood the need to keep that very large market happy), as well as some aristocrats. Although what was different this time, is the aristocrats weren’t British but French. But other than that this was another enjoyable romp and a story written with an almost musical comedy style. His prose is magical, with every page having several sentences that could have only come from the comic genius and the awe-inspiring vocabulary he possessed. I would recommend any Woodhouse book but if you’re after one with slightly different characters then this one I would recommend even more, but of course you will still get a volume cramped full of humorous misunderstandings, young love affairs and a plot that will as always leave the reader with a warm glow at its end.

[Larry Shackley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a tepid romantic comedy from the 1950s, not known as PGW's strongest decade. It revolves around a trio of sisters who inherit just enough money to splurge on a French vacation, in which they take turns pretending to be a society lady or her maid. Various other boilerplate characters litter the scene - so many, in fact, that I began to lose track of who was whose daughter/son/uncle. Of course, there is mistaken identity, stolen money, and occasional bits of funny dialog. I'm working my way through the PGW canon for the 2nd time, and can safely say that this is a weak entry and should be avoided by all but the most devoted fans. Or perhaps people who like fluffy romantic comedies.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something different for me from Wodehouse; a novel that is neither a Jeeves nor a Blandings novel. French Leave is about a couple of young chicken farmers who come into some money and decide to blow it all on a trip to France in search of rich husbands. They are accompanied by their sternly disapproving older sister. While there, they run into a cad of a Marquis, his romantic son, a fizzy drinks millionaire, a corpulent publisher, and an aunt who is up there with the scariest of Wodehouse aunts.

The book has the usual clever plotting, sharp characterisation, and wry humour, delivered in Wodehouse's trademark style. Very good.

[Harald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wodehouse wrote to entertain, and this easy-to-read comedy does just fine — even without Jeeves and Wooster. The starting point is three American girls looking for holiday happiness in France as well as a fallen marquis and his almost equally penniless son. From this the author manages to spin an intricate, witty plot with a fittingly happy ending.

Most of the action takes place in the fictional Roville-sur-Mer, which with its Promenade des Anglais must be identical to the real seaside town of Cabourg, which also appears under the name Balbec in Marcel Proust Remembrance of Times Past.

[Surabhi Nijhawan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is the usual Wodehouse book - funny characters and situations. This one, unlike the others, is based in France and America and not the English countryside. Old Nick and Mr Clutterbuck shine as memorable characters, one trying to make money (without making an effort to do it) while the latter trying to enjoy his wife's absence while publishing the book - and all of it happening in the scenic Rovile in France. But it's not as funny as say Blandings - it' a slow read.

[Anne Beardsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hold the fort -- this Wodehouse novel has a plot!
In fact, it's almost entirely plot, with only a dash of his signature humor for seasoning. It feel very much like an earlier Wodehouse.

A happy read, of course. Did you even have to ask?

[Rose Rutkowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, I love Wodehouse. But, this is a great story and I couldn’t put it down. The glorious adventures of the Trent sisters adventuring as wealthy women in France to win wealthy husbands. And the inevitable heart-warming Wodehouse ending.

[Melody Laila · Rating 3 out of 5]

As lovely and as much a happy place as all Wodehouse books are. Things were all neatly sorted and wrapped in a bow by the end of the book, though perhaps not explicitly mentioned. Had its funny moments but not completely laugh out loud as Wodehouse tends to be.