Home
/
Fiction
/
Something Fresh
Something Fresh
Jan 11, 2026 4:40 PM

Author:P.G. Wodehouse

Something Fresh

'P.G. Wodehouse should be prescribed to treat depression. Cheaper, more effective than Valium and far, far more addictive' Olivia Williams

'P.G. Wodehouse remains the greatest chronicler of a certain kind of Englishness, that no one else has ever captured quite so sharply or with quite so much wit and affection' Julian Fellowes

_____________________________________

'Without at least one impostor on the premises, Blandings Castle is never itself'

Welcome to the world of the delightfully dotty Lord Emsworth, his bone-headed younger son and his long-suffering secretary.

Having returned home with a valuable Egyptian amulet, Lord Emsworth finds his home contains not one but two imposters intent on taking it off his hands. But with no real sense of how the amulet came to be in his pocket in the first place, things get a lot more complicated very quickly...

Reviews

A comic masterpiece

—— BBC

Something Fresh has all the trademarks of a Wodehouse classic

—— The Times

P.G. Wodehouse should be prescribed to treat depression. Cheaper, more effective than Valium and far, far more addictive

—— Olivia Williams

P.G. Wodehouse remains the greatest chronicler of a certain kind of Englishness, that no one else has ever captured quite so sharply or with quite so much wit and affection

—— Julian Fellowes

I've longed to visit the beautifully tended gardens of Blandings Castle with P. G. Wodehouse.

—— The Guardian , Books to read to cheer us up

Ravishing... This combination of the universal and the intimate enables the novel to approach weighty subjects - death and dying, belief and despair - with both the thrust of a suspense narrative and the depth of a philosophical inquiry.

—— New Yorker

Fascinating, provocative... [The Morning Star] recalls the best of My Struggle: that swooping interplay between the general and the specific.

—— Claire Lowdon , Times Literary Supplement

A masterpiece, heavenly and diabolical in equal measure.

—— Emily Watkins , i

A compelling mystery.

—— Mail on Sunday

The narrators' stories converge and build towards an unexpected, brilliantly handled and devastating conclusion.

—— Spectator

[Knausgaard] reveals himself to be a surprise master of the uncanny... a thoughtful, highly readable novel, packed with ideas and exciting flourishes.

—— Los Angeles Times

Wodehouse is a comic master.

—— David Walliams

For as long as I'm immersed in a P. G. Wodehouse book, it's possible to keep the real world at bay and live in a far, far nicer, funnier one where happy endings are the order of the day.

—— Marian Keyes

I'm a huge fan. Wodehouse writes proper jokes.

—— Jennifer Saunders

To dive into a Wodehouse novel is to swim in some of the most elegantly turned phrases in the English language.

—— Ben Schott

This part-literary, part-thriller novel showcases a host of glittering characters...Full of dry wit and charm...if you loved Peaky Blinders, you'll love this.

—— WOMAN & HOME

Exuberant, immersive storytelling featuring intrigue and betrayal is matched with wit and tenderness

—— MAIL ON SUNDAY

With charistmatic characters, witty dialogue, and a compelling plot, she captures the reckless atmosphere of a city still coming to terms with the horrors of the First World War. It's an absorbing read and a novel to savour.

—— DAILY EXPRESS, 'Fiction Highlights of 2022'

Full of grit and atmosphere.

—— PRIMA

Atkinson captures both the glamour and the seediness of this heady period with consummate skill in a book teeming with memorable characters. Gorgeously vivid, often strange and always very funny, it should cement her reputation as one of our finest novelists.

—— Jake Kerridge , SUNDAY EXPRESS

If Dickens had lived to write about The Jazz Age, he would have produced a novel much like Kate Atkinson's "Shrines of Gaiety"... masterful.

—— WASHINGTON POST

There is the perfect balance throughout of sweetness and heartbreak. And, as always, there is the unmistakable zest of Ms. Atkinson's dry wit.

—— Anna Mundow , WALL STREET JOURNAL

Combines the colour of a historical drama with the pace of a thriller and the detail of a police procedural... masterful.

—— i NEWS

The novel grabs the reader from the outset. It paints a picture of the capital's glittering nightlife and its seedier underside so vivid, that it is almost possible to smell the stale cigarette smoke and taste the alcohol... the story of Nellie and her family, and the characters they associate with, builds to a satisfying ending as the strands of their lives are deftly woven together.

—— INDEPENDENT

Magnificent. A rich and vivid portrayal of sly, brilliant characters in the nightlife of 20s London. I fell in love with them all, even the villains ... I loved every minute.

—— Laura Shepherd-Robinson

Froths with all-night parties, corrupt policemen, sickly cocktails, swanky cars, gossip columnists, gambling dens and beautiful clothes... Ms Atkinson once again proves herself to be a consummate entertainer.

—— ECONOMIST (US)

Go out and buy this book today.

—— THE TABLET

Book of the Month

—— SAGA MAGAZINE

Atkinson's latest fictional treat is packed with intrigue... one can never underestimate the pleasurable power of [her] ability to stud her narrative with humor

—— BOSTON GLOBE

An absorbing tale

—— SUNDAY EXPRESS

The latest novel from an author who never lets you down

—— READER'S DIGEST

What could be more reassuring in troubling times than a new William Boyd novel? Trio is immensely readable, its descriptions full of light and colour, its humour spot on, its mood a perfect mix of frolicsome and melancholy

—— Sunday Telegraph on Trio

Reading William Boyd's Trio is like shrugging on a worn leather jacket on the first brisk morning of autumn: cosy but cool . . . He has enormous fun with the worlds - and egos - of page and screen

—— The Times on Trio

Breakneck pace seems to be a function of Boyd's exceptional imaginative facility, which sees him just as irresistibly drawn to new ideas as his hero is . . . there's something irresistible about that energy . . . if a whole-life novel is intended to represent the span of a unique existence, then The Romantic gets it right

—— FT

The Romantic is a whole-life novel, a form in which Boyd excels . . . a terrific read

—— Country & Town House

On The Overstory: The best book I've read in ten years. A remarkable piece of literature

—— Emma Thompson

On The Overstory: An extraordinary novel . . . an astonishing performance . . . he is incredibly good at turning science into poetry

—— Guardian

The success of the story - and a success it is - comes not from the ingenious scientific speculations, nor the shrewd literary connections (on the "emotional telepathy" of a work of art, or Daniel Keyes's Flowers for Algernon), but the human story between father and son, as Theo finds out 'how my brain learns to resemble what it loves

—— The Critic

Richard Powers's Booker Prize-shortlisted novel is both brutal and heartwarming, intimate and profound. A masterfully curated story of love, grief and loneliness, quietly building to an inevitable and devastating close

—— Press Association

He composes some of the most beautiful sentences I've ever read. I'm in awe of his talent

—— Oprah Winfrey

In Bewilderment, the Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist has crafted a story of great beauty and power

—— Business Post
Comments
Welcome to zzdbook comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.zzdbook.com All Rights Reserved