From AudioFile
Much of the humor of Wodehouse's novel depends on the incongruity of placing monocle and lavender glove-wearing Psmith in the mundane world of a bank. Though Davidson does a good job in creating a properly persnickety voice for Psmith, Davidson may retain too much of this same fussiness in the narration, which requires a straightforward rendering to preserve the contrast of Psmith out of his element. Otherwise, Davidson distinguishes the characters quite well, especially Bickersdyke, the all-business bank manager. (A trivia note for Wodehouse fans: though the later novel, LEAVE IT TO PSMITH, mentions that the "p" is silent, a glance at the text of this earlier book shows that Wodehouse seems to have initially had a different idea about the pronunciation: The protagonist and the narrator refer to him as "Psmith"; most other characters call him "Smith." Davidson's reading correctly follows the text to a "p.") G.H. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Book Description
Psmith in the City finds the inimitable Psmith working at a bank and determined not to let honest toil depress him.

Download Description
Physically,' said Psmith, 'no. Spiritually much. Do you realize, Comrade Jackson, the thing that has happened? I am riding in a tram. I, Psmith, have paid a penny for a ticket on a tram. If this should get about the clubs! I tell you, Comrade Jackson, no such crisis has ever occurred before in the course of my career.'

About the Author
P. G. Wodehouse (1881-1975) was born in Surrey, educated in London, and spent much of his life in Southampton, Long Island, becoming an American citizen in 1955. In a literary career spanning more than seventy years, he published more than ninety books, twenty film scripts, and collaborated on more than thirty plays and musical comedies.

FROM OUR EDITORS

Psmith and his friend Mike Jackson have been pressed into jobs in the city. Psmith intends to keep his knowledge of work limited to hearsay, and uses his wit and sangfroid to smooth over the world of business for Mike and himself. Wodehouse at his best!

ANNOTATION

Wodehouse's heroes, Psmith and Mike, are sent by their fathers to work for a bank in London, but the bank's ponderous ritual is no match for Psmith's flippant irresponsibility. Psmith expects the financiers to join in with his light-hearted attitute toward life--at least until Mike and he stop working for them.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

One of the greatest English comic writers of our time, P.G. Wodehouse represents an antic high point in the world of farce and social satire. His characters and settings have entered our language and our mythology. Best known for the creation of two fictional worlds based on Blandings Castle and the Wooster-Jeeves duo, Wodehouse is appreciated the world over for his exceedingly clever and comically savvy send-ups of the idle rich in twentieth-century England. Overlook is proud to have embarked on a program of handsomely packaged full-cloth editions, arguably the finest editions of the master ever published.

FROM THE CRITICS

AudioFile - Don Wismer

Jonathan Cecil doesn't sound as young Psmith might, but rather like the aging, humorous and sly narrator who seems to lie behind every P.G. Wodehouse novel, no matter at what stage of the master's career it was written. This one was early, and the humor is more refrained than in, for example, the later Jeeves and Bertie masterpieces. Psmith ambles through employment at a bank (as Wodehouse himself did as a young man), helping his friend Mike out of one difficulty after another. Cecil is one of Wodehouse's better readers, handling both women and men with British aplomb. D.R.W. ￯﾿ﾽ AudioFile, Portland, Maine

AudioFile - Glenn Hopp