You may have read last year about the discovery of the text of the unpublished novelette A Prince for Hire in an American magazine. The P G Wodehouse Estate has granted Galahad Books, a subsidiary of Nigel Williams Rare Book, consent to publish a limited printing of just 1,000 copies in book form, and we are now taking orders.
Even if A Prince for Hire could not be said to be vintage Wodehouse, nevertheless it is the only demonstration that we have of his attempt to revitalise earlier novels.
Wodehouse served a lengthy apprenticeship before he developed his trademark style of incomparable farce, during which period he wrote two versions of The Prince and Betty. The English novel, published by Mills and Boon, was a straightforward romance; the American story incorporated much of the action from the 1909 serial Psmith, Journalist and both books were published in 1912.
In 1931, the American version was rewritten, virtually from scratch, as the novelette A Prince for Hire, and serialised in the monthly Illustrated Love Magazine. It was not published contemporaneously in book form.
A Prince for Hire was probably dashed off to fulfil a contract for a serial while Wodehouse was in Hollywood. Its status as an adaptation is evident, although it incorporates glimpses of his mature style, and stands as the only novel he substantially rewrote twenty years after its original appearance.
Accordingly, it is an essential book for all Wodehouse collectors.
Galahad Books are producing three versions of the book:
A leather-bound edition, uniform with its earlier publications Plum Stones and The Luck Stone. This will be restricted to 16 copies for sale. NB THIS EDITION HAS NOW SOLD OUT.
An edition in hard-covers with a dustwrapper featuring the cover of the magazine in which the first instalment appeared. This will be restricted to 200 copies. NB THIS EDITION HAS NOW SOLD OUT.
A paperback edition of 784 copies, with a front cover similar to the dustwrapper of the hard-cover edition, costing £18 ($34) plus postage, which will be £4 within the UK, £5 within Europe and £7 to the rest of the world.
Each has an explanatory Introduction written by Tony Ring.
To Order
Place an order in one of the following ways:
Mailing your name and address to:
Galahad Books
25 Cecil Court
London
WC2N 4EZ
United Kingdom
Telephoning your order to Galahad Books on +44 (0) 20 7836 7757
Faxing your order to Galahad Books on +44 (0) 20 7379 5918
Send us an email
or place your order on line using our secure server.
Please provide your name, address, shipping address (if different), telephone number or e-mail address in case of query, credit card number and expiry date, and the number of copies of each version of the book you require.
IF YOU DO NOT SPECIFY AN EDITION, WE WILL ASSUME YOU REQUIRE A PAPERBACK.
If you prefer to pay by cheque (in sterling or US Dollars), please let us know. Cheques should be made payable to Nigel Williams Rare Books. An invoice will be sent to you when the book is available, but unless you are a customer known to Nigel Williams Rare Books, settlement will be expected before the order is despatched.
The paperback version is still available, however the hardback and leather-bound versions have now sold out.
