The Fat of the Land (short story)

"The Fat of the Land"
Author P. G. Wodehouse
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Series Drones Club
Genre(s) Comedy
Publisher This Week
Media type Print (Magazine)
Publication date November 1958

"The Fat of the Land" is a short story by British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse. The story is part of the Drones Club canon. First published in the US in This Week in November 1958, the story was included in the 1959 collection A Few Quick Ones.[1]

The story features two recurring Drones Club characters, Freddie Widgeon and Oofy Prosser. Freddie Widgeon introduces the Drones Club Fat Uncles sweepstakes in the story, and Oofy Prosser tries to win the prize money.

Plot

Freddie Widgeon starts a Fat Uncles sweepstakes, in which the names of Drones Club members' uncles are drawn from a hat, and the person who draws the name of the fattest uncle wins the jackpot, which is well over one hundred pounds. On the first day of the Eton v Harrow match, the members will bring their uncles to their club, and the weights of the uncles will be determined by Mr. McGarry, the club bartender, who can tell the weight of anything by sight. It is agreed by the members that whoever draws Freddie's large uncle Lord Blicester (pronounced "blister") will win. The wealthiest member, Oofy Prosser, draws Lord Blicester's name, while Freddie Widgeon draws Oofy's Uncle Horace.

One wondered how any bathing suit built by human hands could contain so stupendous an amount of uncle without parting at the seams.

— Oofy sees his Uncle Horace's photograph[2]

Oofy reads a letter from his uncle, whom he has not seen since childhood, which includes a photograph of Horace Prosser in a bathing suit. Uncle Horace is very fat. Oofy offers to trade tickets with Freddie, pretending he is giving Freddie the winning ticket out of kindness. The Crumpet who is managing the contest records the change of tickets. Oofy has lunch with his uncle and is startled to learn that Uncle Horace is on a diet to please the woman he wants to marry, Mrs. Loretta Delancy. Oofy returns to the Drones Club and tricks Freddie Widgeon into swapping tickets again by showing Freddie the photograph.

While visiting Paris, Oofy sees Uncle Horace, as stout as ever. Uncle Horace has lost interest in Loretta and in dieting. Oofy goes back to the Drones Club in London to find Freddie Widgeon, but Freddie is not there. Confident of winning money off the ticket for Oofy's uncle, Freddie had bet on an unsuccessful horse and owes a bookie fifty pounds; the bookie told Freddie that unpleasant accidents happen to people who do not pay him back, so Freddie is hiding in East Dulwich disguised in a beard until he can get the money from the Fat Uncles contest.

On the day of the contest, Oofy finds Freddie and tells him they have to swap tickets again, claiming that Uncle Horace has lost weight. When Freddie hesitates, Oofy gives Freddie fifty pounds to make the trade. Uncle Horace arrives, and the Crumpet discovers that "Uncle" Horace is actually Oofy's distant cousin. Uncle Horace is disqualified. Oofy is less than pleased, especially since he now has to pay for his uncle's lunch.

Background

The story's title is derived from the idiomatic expression "the fat of the land", which means the best of what is available, "fat" meaning the best or richest part of something.

While Wodehouse's stories are generally set in a timeless world, this story makes a rare reference to explicit years; it is stated in this story that one of Oofy Prosser's uncles, Hildebrand, died of an apopletic stroke in 1947, and his other uncle, Stanley, died of cirrhosis of the liver in 1949.[3]

The Drones Club Fat Uncles sweepstakes introduced in this story is also central to the 1965 short story "Stylish Stouts".

Publication history

"The Fat of the Land" was first published in the US magazine This Week on 2 November 1958, with illustrations by James Williamson.[4]

This story was included as the fourth story in the first American edition of the collection A Few Quick Ones, and the first story featured in the English edition of that collection.[1] "The Fat of the Land" was also included in the 1982 short story collection, Tales from the Drones Club.[5]

See also

References

Notes
  1. 1 2 McIlvaine (1990), p. 94, A82b.
  2. ↑ Wodehouse (1993) [1959], chapter 1, p. 10.
  3. ↑ Garrison (1991), p. 156.
  4. ↑ McIlvaine (1990), p. 159, D65.13.
  5. ↑ McIlvaine (1990), p. 126, B25.
Bibliography
  • Garrison, Daniel H. (1991) [1989]. Who's Who in Wodehouse (Revised ed.). New York: Constable & Robinson. ISBN 1-55882-087-6.
  • McIlvaine, Eileen; Sherby, Louise S.; Heineman, James H. (1990). P. G. Wodehouse: A Comprehensive Bibliography and Checklist. New York: James H. Heineman Inc. ISBN 978-0-87008-125-5.
  • Wodehouse, P. G. (1993) [1959]. A Few Quick Ones (Reprinted ed.). London: The Guernsey Press Co. Ltd. ISBN 0099819503.
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