P.G. WODEHOUSE The Authorized Biography

Frances Donaldson packed her 1982 Wodehouse biography with overfrequent, overlong quotes from letters, reviews, articles, and, all too rarely, from the subject's novels, which soon seem rather marginalized. Her preface and introduction fill the first two of these fifteen hours, and nearly a third of the book concerns the controversy of Wodehouse's wartime radio broadcasts. Occasionally, Donaldson risks snobbery in adopting the dignified tone of an elitist: When citing the faults of Wodehouse's stepdaughter, for example, Donaldson reports that "she was inclined to be undiscriminating in her friendships." Frederick Davidson reads with precision, clarity, and a rather fitting arch and supercilious air. Such hauteur suits the style of this fussy, pedantic book, but it also points to the need for a newer, fresher biography of the subject. G.H. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 00]