P. G. Wodehouse in Lyme Regis Part 4

 

Along with the reminder of the town's scenic splendor afforded in the P.G. Wodehouse novel Love Among The Chickens, I remain curious by how Lyme Regis inspired two supremely talented British authors to write two very different novels. Nor are Jane Austen and P.G. Wodehouse alone in this. The Lyme Regis Museum website lists quite a few authors who traveled to the seaside town, and were likewise inspired.

 

 

While Britain boasts a plethora of colorful seaside towns, many of which have (or have had) piers, Lyme Regis has the Cobb. Has this man-made structure, which dates back in one form or another to the fourteen century, lent an aura to the town that compelled authors to set their stories and novels there? 

 

 

All of this makes me even more curious as to why P. G. Wodehouse excised Lyme Regis from his novel later on. Originally published in 1906, the author published a revised version in 1921. Among the changes he made was to rename the setting from Lyme Regis to the more generic Combe Regis. 

Combe, by the way, means a small valley through which water does not run.

 

P.G. Wodehouse's visit to Fairfield House in Lyme Regis originally inspired him to write Love Among The Chickens. Perhaps Sir Campbell Munro, the owner of the house, was displeased with his original efforts? Did the townspeople object to the way the author portrayed them? 

Thankfully, I read P. G. Wodehouse's original version. Having visited Lyme Regis, I could better appreciate how the move from his stuffy London flat to the seaside town would have inspired his protagonist, young Jeremy Garnet. And of course, it allowed me to share that journey with you.

 

 

While originally researching points of interest for our 2015 English adventure, I put Lyme Regis on our itinerary because other famous authors had spent their holidays there. In looking back upon my visit, I remember how, just like Jane Austen and P.G. Wodehouse, contemporary visitors are still drawn to explore the Cobb.

 

 

Of course, you can always find other things to do in Lyme Regis too. 

Dragon Dave

Related Links

Lyme Regis Literary & Artistic Connections

 

P.G. Wodehouse in Lyme Regis Part 3

 

A 19th Century photo from the Lyme Regis museum

P.G. Wodehouse's novel Love Among the Chickens reminded me of the scenic beauty of the British seaside town of Lyme Regis. While packed with humor, I found Jeremy and Phyllis' courtship every bit as compelling as the love story in Jane Austen's novel Persuasion. One of the themes it left me with was the importance of not attempting to reinvent the wheel when undertaking a new venture. 

The same spirit of adventure that drove Stanley Ukridge to run a chicken farm also led him to believe he could become an expert through research alone. After assessing how others ran a farm, his confidence in his abilities led him to believe he could do better than the average farmer. So he didn't try to replicate the success of others. He didn't pay attention to the particulars. He conceived a grand vision for revolutionizing chicken farming, and immediately tried to outdo everyone.

In so doing, Ukridge became a local celebrity. The farmers and townspeople, who returned the chickens that wandered into their farms or yards, listened to his plans to revolutionize chicken farming. He knew the best way to run a chicken farm, even though he'd never actually run one.

 

 

Ukridge's confidence and belief proved contagious. He talked businesses into providing goods and services, completely on credit, based on plans he claimed could not fail. This reminded me of the early 1990s speculation in trading cards and comics, the dot-com bubble in the late '90s, and the unrealistic beliefs that transformed the packaging of Mortgage-Backed Securities in the United States in 2007 and 2008 into a global financial crisis.

After awhile though, Ukridge learns the wisdom of keeping a low profile. For local shopkeepers and supplier representatives keep visiting the farm. Lacking Ukridge's unique understanding of business and farming, these people grow tiresome by presenting bills, and demands for immediate payment.

While confidence and belief can be fine things, Stanley Ukridge's confidence, and his insistence upon transforming his beliefs into reality, end up blinding him to the truth of many situations. He turns individuals such as Phyllis' father against him by thoughtlessly insulting the man, and assailing him with his political views. He injures businesses by convincing the owners to strain their limited resources by providing him with goods and services while not even paying them a penny. 

Or should I say a single pence?

 

Of course, in each case, there is the fallout. People like Jeremy and Phyllis suffer, when her father forbids her to associate with Jeremy again. Family members of the business owners suffered stress from wondering if Ukridge will ever start making payments on his loans. But then, an unwillingness to listen to others, or accept that their views and beliefs are as valid as one's own, will always lead to suffering.

As for my wife and I, we're currently suffering the fallout from the pandemic. Thankfully, we are safe and well, and able to engage in limited domestic travel. But too many people are unwilling to moderate their beliefs that they know how best to tackle an unseen virus. 

 

Their confidence that they are right, and their insistence upon not taking precautions suggested by true experts, will prevent us from traveling to beautiful and historic international destinations like Lyme Regis for the foreseeable future. And that, dear readers, also affects you, as I won't have any new British adventures to write about. Thankfully, I've still got all my travel photos to share, and I keep reading thought-provoking writers like P. G. Wodehouse.

One way or another, and despite all the well-meaning Stanley Ukridges of the world, we'll get through this together.

Dragon Dave

P. G. Wodehouse in Lyme Regis Part 2

 

In the P. G. Wodehouse novel Love Among The Chickens, writer Jeremy Garnet could invest himself in Stanley Ukridge's latest get-rich-quick scheme if he foresaw a reasonable chance of success. But it's clear that while Ukridge has no idea what he's doing, the man is also determined to reinvent the entire process of running a chicken farm.

So, Jeremy reverts to what he knows: writing novels. Also, Jeremy's thoughts dwell on Phyllis, a local he met on the train to Lyme Regis. After he met her and formed good relations with her family, Ukridge drove them apart by insulting her father. If only he could win his way back into the father's good graces, so he could court Phyllis!

In addition to walking along the hilltop, Jeremy also likes to swim. He ventures down to Lyme Regis, and changes into his bathing costume in little one-person tents the town has provided. Then he dives into the harbor and takes his exercise.

 

As a writer, Jeremy naturally thinks of Jane Austen's novel Persuasion, and the scenes set in Lyme Regis. Eventually, Jeremy hatches a plan to win over Phyllis' father. He talks the owner of the fishing boat Phyllis' father has hired into spilling the man into the water at a prearranged time. 

Unlike Louisa, who injured herself when leaping from the upper section of the Cobb to the lower part, Jeremy suffers no injury when diving into the harbor and swimming out to rescue his prospective father-in-law.

 

It's a plan reminiscent of "Jeeves' Arrival," the first episode in the 1990s Jeeves And Wooster TV series, which was adapted from several P.G. Wodehouse stories. As with Bertie Wooster, Jeremy's plan has unforeseen consequences. But I'll let you discover the way Jeremy's splash into the harbor creates ripples that swell into waves--and engulf his prospects for courting Phyllis--when you read Love Among The Chickens. 

Dragon Dave

P. G. Wodehouse in Lyme Regis Part 1

 

Lyme Regis circa 1860 (from the Lyme Regis Museum)

In his 1906 novel Love Among The Chickens, P.G. Wodehouse introduces us to young author Jeremy Garnet in London, England. Suffering from writer's block, Jeremy allows his friend Stanley Ukridge to talk him into partnering him in his latest business venture. Soon he's riding a train with Ukridge and his new wife, where he notices a beautiful young lady reading his latest novel. But before he can get to know her, they arrive at the seaside resort of Lyme Regis. 

The two men, along with Ukridge's new wife, move into a farm on a hill overlooking the sea, where Ukridge plans on operating a chicken farm. If Jeremy hadn't been bored and blocked, he never would have agreed to help out. After all, none of them know anything about raising chickens.  

 

Still, Ukridge believes they can make a go of it. Buoyed by boundless enthusiasm, he's convinced local merchants and suppliers to lend him goods and services on credit. Certainly his wife firmly believes that Ukridge can do anything.

Things quickly get out of control as they take possession of their first delivery of chickens. The chickens fight with each other or run away. At least while chasing one chicken, Jeremy meets up with the girl from the train. 

He makes a good impression on her father. He believes he's in love with her. But later, Ukridge thoughtlessly insults her father, and Jeremy isn't allowed to see her any more.

 

 

Perhaps Ukridge should have learned a little more about chickens before embarking on his business venture. Perhaps he should have bothered himself with little details, such as how many chickens he wanted per breed. And maybe, just maybe, he should have insisted that he get many more hens than roosters, instead of the other way around.

Believe it or not, roosters are adept at fighting, but not well suited to laying eggs. Still, Jeremy's gotten away from London. He can take walks along the hill and try to write. And he can think about the girl he loves, and what he can do to get back in her father's good graces.

I didn't notice many farms gracing the hilltops of Lyme Regis during our visit six years ago. But the town had its own allure and beauty. I can imagine Jeremy sitting on a bench, gazing out to see, dreaming of the girl he'd like to marry, and working on his next novel.

Dragon Dave