Plum Stones


Plum Stones is a set of 12 volumes of uncollected short stories by P. G. Wodehouse. All 25 stories were previously published in magazines, but not published in book form in the UK. The volumes were published posthumously between 1993 and 1995 in the UK by Galahad Books. The first two volumes were published in 1993, the following six in 1994, and last four in 1995.
Each volume is a short booklet, with commentary on the stories by Tony Ring. The stories were printed in a limited edition with the permission
of the Trustees of the Wodehouse Estate. The first sixteen sets were issued as an omnibus edition, published in 1993.

Volumes

''Wodehouse, Detective Writer''

First volume, 64 pages.
"Mr McGee's Big Day" was six pages long in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. For comparison, another Wodehouse story, "Strychnine in the Soup", was fifteen pages long when published in Ellery Queen'' in 1952.

''Unrepublished Reggie Pepper''

Second volume, 76 pages. All three stories feature the early Wodehouse character Reggie Pepper.
Third volume, 64 pages.
  • "The Colour Line"
  • *US: McClure's, March/April 1920
  • *UK: Grand Magazine|Grand], April 1920
Under the title "The Golden Flaw", the story was published in McClure's with illustrations by Arthur William Brown.
  • "Back to the Garage"
  • *UK: Strand, July 1929
  • *US: Cosmopolitan, July 1929
"Franklin's Favorite Daughter" was illustrated by David Robinson in Cosmopolitan. In the Strand, "Back to the Garage" was illustrated by S. Abbey.

''Keggs, the Butler''

Fourth volume, 36 pages.
  • "Love Me, Love My Dog"
  • *US: Hampton's, July 1920
  • *UK: Strand, August 1910
"Watch Dog" was illustrated by Phillips Ward in Hampton's Magazine. "Love Me, Love My Dog" was illustrated by Harry Rountree in the Strand.

''First Impressions, Mature Reflections''

Fifth volume, 52 pages.
  • "A Job of Work"
  • *UK: Strand, January 1913
  • *US: Collier's, 6 September 1913
The story was illustrated by E. H. Shepard in the Strand, and by John Sloan in Collier's.
The story was illustrated by "R. L. S." in Dream World, a Chicago-based magazine.

''There But For the Grace of God Goes Baxter''

Sixth volume, 28 pages.
  • "Creatures of Impulse"
  • *UK: Strand, October 1914
  • *US: McClure's, October 1914

    ''Self-Derivatives'' Par Excellence

Seventh volume, 60 pages.
Eighth volume, 44 pages. The first story features Bobbie Wickham and the second Bingo Little.
  • "Dudley is Back to Normal"
  • *UK: Strand, July 1940
  • "The Great Fat Uncle Contest"
  • *US: Playboy, April 1965
  • *UK: London Evening Standard, 24 December 1965

    ''"In That Shape, Rotten"''

Ninth volume, 40 pages.
  • "Reggie and the Greasy Bird"
  • *US: The Saturday Evening Post, 28 November 1936
  • *UK: Strand, December 1936

    ''Ethics and Eugenics''

Tenth volume, 52 pages.
  • "A Prisoner of War"
  • *UK: Strand, March 1915
  • *US: Illustrated Sunday Magazine, 13 February 1916
"A Prisoner of War" was illustrated by Alfred Leete in the Strand.
  • "The Pro"
  • *UK: Pearson's, August 1906, and Novel Magazine in August 1907 as "The Pro."
The story was illustrated by W. Heath Robinson in Pearson's.

''Wrykyn Havoc''

Eleventh volume, 36 pages.
Twelfth volume, 44 pages.
  • "Reginald's Record Knock"
  • *UK: Pearson's, July 1909
  • *US: Collier's Weekly, 19 March 1910
  • "Tom, Dick and Harry"
  • *UK: Grand, June 1905