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Psmith in the City  By  cover art

Psmith in the City

By: P. G. Wodehouse
Narrated by: Jonathan Cecil
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Publisher's summary

Psmith and his friend Mike are sent by their fathers to work in the City. But work is the last thing on Psmith's mind; surely there are more interesting things to do with the day than spend it in a bank? Unfortunately the natives aren't conducive to his socialising within work hours, but all's fair in love and work as the monocled Old Etonian, with a little grudging help from Mike, begins to rope in allies in order to reform the bank manager and make him A Decent Member of Society. And if all else fails, there's always blackmail.
©2014 P.G. Wodehouse (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about Psmith in the City

Average customer ratings
Overall
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Master of the English Prose

Wodehouse met with controversy in his life, and was often undervalued as a literary figure because his writing didn't skirt the confectionery: it planted itself firmly in the middle of it. The more I read or listen to his work the more I'm utterly bowled over by his precision, clarity, invention - and by the utter genius of his comic timing. He might not be the deepest writer, but he is the most deeply superficial one ever to trot the boards of that stickiest of wickets: English prose. And Jonathan Cecil is something like the incarnation of the Buddha of the perfect Wodehousian voice.

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24 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Psmith may be funnier than Jeeves

I'd heard some critics claim that the Psmith character is actually much funnier than the Jeeves stories, but I had a hard time believing it until I listened to this story. Psmith, like Jeeves, has an uncanny knack of manipulating the behaviour of everyone around him in order to achieve his own ends while maintaining detachment and apparent innocence.

This book doesn't have quite as many laugh-out-loud moments as some of the Jeeves and Wooster stuff (the setting of the story is the New Asiatic Bank, and Wodehouse's hatred of his first job in a bank - at the same age that Psmith is in this story - is well documented, so I'm thinking perhaps this is less farcical) but the plotting is excellent. And let's face it: I love Bertie Wooster as much as the next person (and probably more) but there is a limit to how many stories one can read about his half-baked engagements before you long for a bit of variety. Psmith in the City makes a nice change.

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20 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A wonderful afternoon with Psmith

It has been a lifetime since I have met up with Psmith and thoroughly enjoyed his company again. Astonishingly exhilarating to listen to the flowing sentences and to chuckle at the delightful turns of phrase. (Try speaking to folks in the style of Psmith and feel better for it.)

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great fun

Narrator Cecil makes any book a richer experience and when combined with This author one has the best of all possible combinations.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fun

What did you love best about Psmith in the City?

How can you not like Psmith??? It is such a checkout from reality to spend time with him.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Among the very best

Beautifully read. Among the funniest of Wodehouse's vast treasure trove. Mischief from start to finish.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

One of my all time favorites, and a real classic.

What did you love best about Psmith in the City?

The suavity of Psmith and his devotion to those around him--also his socialism and rascally nature. Wodehouse always homers with the language.

Have you listened to any of Jonathan Cecil’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, I've heard many of his performances. He is always excellent.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

The Unflappable Poise of a Shropshire Psmith

He never takes serious people seriously. He maintains an unruffled calm in the face of others’ displeasure, pretending to misunderstand their manifest perturbation. He is a joy, a treat, and a model for a happy life.

I’ve never understood Frances Donaldson’s contention, in her Wodehouse biography, that the character Psmith was somehow an impediment to his creator's development as a writer. I’ve always wished there were as many Psmith books as there are volumes of Jeeves and Wooster, Blandings Castle and Mr. Mulliner.

Alas, there are not. But enjoy the ones we have. Especially this one, where you’ll find Jonathan Cecil at the peak of his powers.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Better than Jeeves and Wooster

I prefer the characters of Psmith and Mike to
Jeeves and Wooster. Wodehouse’s well-timed one-liner descriptions of people are priceless. If you enjoy cricket or other sports, this book will have extra appeal. I don’t follow sport and I still enjoyed the references to the game because, well, Wodehouse makes them fun and interesting.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Just the most wonderful silliness

I can’t get enough of PJ Woodhouse. At first I was attracted to Blandon Castle, then the Jeves series and now I am on to PSmith. My only issue is that I am still figuring how the various works are connected and which characters belong. As a child I loved James Thurber but I think perhaps Wodehouse’s universe of blunders are even more intriguing and down right funny. Sometimes I laugh out loud. At this point in my life such moments are rare. Enjoy this one and all the other wonderful Wodehouse audible although the reader here who is my favorite is not on all of them, he is worth keeping an eye out for. Also I listen at 85% to Wodehouse which seems to me perfect and relaxing.

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