AN AUTHOR'S' REPLY

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 145, 16 December 1933, Page 22

AN AUTHOR'S' REPLY

A characteristic letter from Mr. P, G. "Wodehouse to the "Spectator'!:—"

I have always had an unquestioning faith in the infallibility of the "Spectator," so I suppose your critic, "W.P., must be right when he says that my 'books, translated into any . other language, would be unreadable. It is true that they have been translated into French, German, Italian, Spanish, Norwegian, Danish, and Finnish, and sold in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Norway, Denmark, and Finland in rather large quantities, but ho doubt the inhabitants of those countries uso theni for shaving paper. As regards my not being able to compete with American "writers of comedy here, too 5 life i 3 probably correct, in spit© of the fact that for a good many years New York editors have been paying me 50,000 dollars for the American serial rights of my novels and 6000 dollars for a short story. Where, he does cut me to the quick is -when he rebukes me •for being clean. It had never occurred to me that the "Spectator" would •rap me on the knuckles for that, tri fact, I am a little surprised at the "Spectator"—not angry, you understand, just a little Surprised and shocked. .