The Luck of the Stiffhams

"The Luck of the Stiffhams"
Author P. G. Wodehouse
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Series Drones Club
Genre(s) Comedy
Publisher Cosmopolitan
Media type Print (Magazine)
Publication date November 1933

"The Luck of the Stiffhams" is a short story by English humorist P. G. Wodehouse. The story is part of the Drones Club canon. It was published in the US in Cosmopolitan in November 1933, and in The Strand Magazine in the UK in March 1934.[1] The story was included in the 1936 collection Young Men in Spats.[2]

In the story, Adolphus "Stiffy" Stiffham, a secretary employed by the Earl of Wivelscome, wants to marry the Earl's daughter, Geraldine. Geraldine reciprocates his feelings, but they are hindered by the haughty Earl, who disapproves of the match and fires Stiffy.

Plot

At the Drones Club, Pongo Twistleton buys drinks for everyone after winning a bet against Oofy Prosser. Oofy had bet that Adolphus "Stiffy" Stiffham would never marry Geraldine Spettisbury. Stiffy was employed as secretary by Geraldine's father, the Earl of Wivelscombe, and Lord Wivelscombe did not want his daughter to marry a secretary. Wivelscombe, upon finding the couple in his garden in a close embrace, kicked Stiffy and fired him. A Crumpet tells two Eggs that Stiffy went to American to make his fortune there, and recounts the rest of the story.

You conduct this pastime, apparently, with dice, though what you aim to do with them remained a mystery to Stiffy from start to finish. However, when one of the blokes was preparing to heave the dice and another bloke offered to bet anybody ten that he wouldn't make it, he felt the old Stiffham sporting blood stir in his veins.

— Stiffy agrees to bet "ten" in a game of craps[3]

In New York, Stiffy agrees to bet "ten" in a game of craps, thinking he is betting ten dollars though the other man really meant ten thousand. Stiffy's luck prevails, and he ultimately wins the equivalent of thirty thousand pounds. He deposits the money in a bank. After celebrating with friends, he wakes up disoriented, and goes to his bank. The bank has closed its doors. Without the money, Stiffy has no hope of marrying Geraldine. Feeling he has nothing to lose, he sends an insulting letter to Wivelscombe. Stiffy then learns from the manager of his hotel that the bank is closed only because it is Sunday. Stiffy did not realize this, since he slept through Saturday. Stiffy returns to England intending to take his letter from Wivelscombe's table before Wivelscombe can read it.

Outside Wivelscombe's house, Stiffy throws gravel at Geraldine's window to get her attention, but misses and hits the Earl's window instead. Wivelscombe spots Stiffy. Wivelscombe, who is in an overwrought state (he has a hangover), believes he has seen the ghost of Stiffy. Wivelscombe tells this to Geraldine. Annoyed, she replies that if anything did happen to Stiffy, it is Wivelscombe's fault. Later, Stiffy grabs his letter from Wivelscombe's table, and hides under the table when he hears footsteps. Gascoigne and Wivelscombe enter. Gascoigne reproaches Wivelscombe for having drunk champagne, and does not believe him when Wivelscombe, seeing Stiffy, says that there is a ghost under the table. When Gascoigne looks under the table, Stiffy surreptitiously bribes him. Gascoigne reports that there is nothing there.

Stiffy meets with Geraldine in her room, and hides in the cupboard when Wivelscombe enters. Wivelscombe says he saw the ghost go into the cupboard, but Geraldine denies seeing anyone there. She convinces her father that the vision is not a ghost but a warning that something will happen to Stiffy if he is not allowed to return and marry her. To get rid of the ghost, Wivelscombe approves the marriage. The couple is now married. The Crumpet notes that Pongo Twistleton's faith in the Luck of the Sitffhams has been rewarded at Oofy Prosser's expense.

Style

Parallel constructions are sometimes used in Wodehouse's stories, resulting in comic incongruous contradictions. An example of this occurs in "The Luck of the Stiffhams" (when Wivelscombe tells Geraldine he has seen a ghost):

"You look as if you had seen a ghost."
"I have seen a ghost."
"The White Lady of Wivelscombe?"
"No, the Pink Secretary of Wivelscombe."[4]

Wodehouse uses vivid imagery that draws on cultural and literary references in an exaggerated manner to create humour, as in the following sentence in "The Luck of the Stiffhams" (which describes Lord Wivelscombe while he is experiencing a hangover): "He was in an overwrought state when a fly treading a little too heavily on the carpet is enough to make a man think he's one of the extras in All Quiet On The Western Front".[5]

Publication history

"The Luck of the Stiffhams" was illustrated by Mario Cooper in Cosmopolitan.[6] It was illustrated by Gilbert Wilkinson in the Strand.[7]

Tales from the Drones Club, a short story collection published in 1982, included the story.[8]

Adaptations

The story was adapted into an episode of Wodehouse Playhouse. In the episode, which was originally broadcast on 21 November 1978, John Alderton played Stiffy Stiffham, Leslie Sands played the Earl of Wivelscome, Liza Goddard played Geraldine, Paul McDowell played the hotel manager, and John Rudling played the butler.[9]

See also

References

Notes
  1. ↑ Midkiff, Neil (7 December 2017). "The Wodehouse short stories". Archived from the original on 17 February 2007. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  2. ↑ McIlvaine (1990), pp. 70–71, section A55.
  3. ↑ Wodehouse (2009) [1936], chapter 6, p. 130.
  4. ↑ Hall (1974), p. 86.
  5. ↑ Hall (1974), p. 108.
  6. ↑ McIlvaine (1990), p. 148, section D17.55.
  7. ↑ McIlvaine (1990), p. 186, section D133.193.
  8. ↑ McIlvaine (1990), p. 126, section B25a.
  9. ↑ Taves, Brian (2006). P. G. Wodehouse and Hollywood: Screenwriting, Satires and Adaptations. McFarland & Company. p. 186. ISBN 978-0786422883.
Bibliography
  • Hall, Robert A., Jr. (1974). The Comic Style of P. G. Wodehouse. Hamden: Archon Books. ISBN 0-208-01409-8.
  • 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. (2009) [1936]. Young Men in Spats (Reprinted ed.). London: Arrow Books. ISBN 9780099514039.
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