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In this, his first novel, P. G. Wodehouse offers a glimpse into the insular world of an English public school scandalized by a recent burglary of its prized sports trophies (“pots”) from its cricket pavilion. At first an overzealous master unjustly accuses one of the schoolboys, who happens to be in need of cash to pay a gambling debt owed to his brother. But, thanks to a Scotland Yard inspector brought in especially for the case, the boy is cleared and his promising career among the elite is left intact.
Along the way, Wodehouse gives snapshots of the everyday lives of various boys: from dealing with the idiosyncrasies of fellow students, to collecting birds’ eggs and sneaking a smoke in the nearby woods while avoiding capture by gamekeepers, to cranking out an underground magazine to raise needed funds. Through it all, the boys, along with their headmaster, handle things with wit and aplomb. Consistent with a worldview in which a man “should be before anything else a sportsman,” sporting contests figure prominently: a boy rises from the canvas to score an unexpected knockout, and another graciously accepts his last-second defeat at the finish line.
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Subjects
public schools, English schoolboys, Fiction, general, Fiction, humorous, Crime, fiction, Great britain, fiction, Schools -- Fiction, Humorous stories, Theft -- Fiction, England -- Social life and customs -- 20th century -- Fiction, Schools, fiction, Children's fictionPeople
Charteris, Jim Thompson, Tony Graham, P.G. WodehousePlaces
St. Austin'sTimes
1890-1910Showing 1 featured edition. View all 22 editions?
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An entertaining novel about English public school life, "The Pothunters" follows the exploits of a number of boys in the fictional public school, St. Austin's. Charteris, Tony Graham, Welch, Jim Thompson and Macarthur, aka "The Babe" are Sixth-formers (members of the top class or "form"). Jim Thompson is accused of stealing lost school trophies which were actually taken by a burglar.
A younger schoolboy, Barrett, accidentally finds the lost cups or "pots" in a hollow tree in a wood, but does not dare reveal their whereabouts.
The burglary case is complicated when Jim goes missing. The Headmaster thinks he may have run away after being accused, but later Jim is found in a ditch into which he fell while returning from a visit to the Babe's house.
Finally, in order to help Jim raise a pound which he needs to send to his brother, Charteris and his friends work overtime to publish a special edition of Charteris' paper, the "Glow Worm" which they then sell to the other schoolboys, and the money is raised quite easily.
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June 13, 2024 | Edited by Drini | merge authors |
September 16, 2023 | Edited by bitnapper | Merge works (MRID: 80350) |
September 16, 2023 | Edited by David Scotson | Edited without comment. |
February 8, 2022 | Created by ImportBot | Imported from standard_ebooks:p-g-wodehouse record |