A life with Wodehouse

The books of P.G. Wodehouse have brightened the lives of many people over the past century, myself included. In 2015, Faith Sullivan wrote a wonderful novel about it, Good Night, Mr. Wodehouse.

Another in her series of novels set in the small midwestern town of Harvester, the story's focus falls on Nell Stillman and covers most of her life. The novel begins with her self-written obituary, which outlines virtually the entire story, and ends with her death.

Nell is widowed as a young mother and never marries again, though "the love of a good man" she mentions to in her obituary turns out not to refer to her husband. She is offered a position as third-grade teacher, and she continues to teach for decades.

Although the novel covers a lifetime, the small-town characters remain mostly constant, allowing various plotlines to develop. Some of these involve a young woman hired to care for her son, Hilly, while she teaches; her son's life before and after his disabling injury in World War I; a series of poison-pen letters to her that continue for decades; and John, a usually absent politician who becomes the love of her life.

That is, if you don't count P.G. Wodehouse. She reads each night to settle her thoughts after a tiring day, but her favorite books are those written by Wodehouse. "Mr. Wodehouse is my savior," she says at one point. She imagines conversations with him. In time she actually corresponds with the author, and he writes back, sending her signed copies of his books.

Covering a life as it does, the novel contains just about everything a typical life contains, especially in that time and place. The joys, the heartaches, the disappointments, the sorrows, the pleasures — they are all there in this fine novel.