Collection of P.G. Wodehouse Letters to Angus Thuermer
Collection — Box: GTM Shared Box 5 (Letter), Folder: 9
Identifier: GTM-20230523
The collection consists of four letters from P.G. Wodehouse to journalist Angus Thuermer chiefly pertaining to Wodehouse's time in the Nazi concentration camp Tost in Poland and his present-day life in the New York City suburb of Remsenburg. The letters date from 1961 to 1975. Also included are twelve pieces of correspondence between Thuermer and others regarding his A.P. article on Wodehouse's incarceration in Tost first published in the "New York Times" in 1940 (1975-2008). A photograph of Wodehouse, cut from a contact sheet, is also included in the collection.
Letter 1: Typed letter on single sheet of Wodehouse's Remsenburg letterhead dated November 21, 1961, sent with a small snapshot (6x6cm.) of Wodehouse at work in his study, pipe in his left hand, pen in his right. Approx. 350 words. "How well I remember that time you came to Tost. Nor have I forgotten the baked beans and tobacco. What a curious life that was. I suppose I am one of the few internees who thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved being able to work on my novel without agents and people calling me up to ask how I was getting on and if I could rush the test of it a bit there might be a chance of a movie sale." Wodehouse goes on to say that he still does his "Daily Dozen" exercises, is working on a new Jeeves novel (presumably "Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves"), and has two dogs and two cats.
Letter 2. 1 typed letter on Remsenburg letterhead dated April 27, 1969. Approx. 160 words. "Cats continue to stray into our grounds and are added to the strength. We now have two dog and seven cats, all strays except one of the dogs, the dachshund, who is an aristocrat and was flown over from England." Wodehouse also mentions the animal shelter he and his wife have founded, "So altogether we have done the local animals well."
Letter 3. 1 typed letter on Remsenburg letterhead dated July 2, 1971. Approx. 200 words. "It seems incredible, but I shall be ninety in October. I suppose I could hardly expect to be absolutely fit at that age, but I am still ticking over, and my brain, thank goodness, seems as good as ever." Wodehouse can still do his "Daily Dozen," and is up to four dogs and seven cats, "who are very pleasant to pass the time with."
Letter 4. 1 typed letter dated February 4, 1975, thanking Thuermer for his letter. "Much appreciated, as Jeeves would say." Wodehouse died ten days later, on February 14. Thuermer has added in manuscript ink the note "I wrote to congratulate him on his recent knighthood. He died very shortly after we got this letter. 18 Feb 75."
Source: Provided by Capitol Hill Books
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Angus Thuermer (1917-2010) was fresh out of college when he began reporting in Nazi Germany in 1940 before the United States entered the war. P.G. Wodehouse had disappeared from his villa in the French village of Le Touquet in the summer of 1940 but by December of that year Thuermer received a tip that "British civilian prisoner 796" was the beloved author himself, and the young journalist successfully gained permission to an exclusive interview at the Polish prison camp of Tost where Wodehouse was being held. The original article that ran in the "New York Times" on Boxing Day, 1940, was illustrated with a photograph of Wodehouse and Thuermer, the only journalist who would seek out the author during his imprisonment. The photograph itself caused enough movement among American Wodehouse fans that a petition was successfully made for his release.
The petition, while gaining Wodehouse an early transfer from Polish internment camp to German luxury hotel, also signaled to the Nazi propaganda machine the value of the English author as a mouthpiece. Following his release, Wodehouse agreed to record broadcasts sponsored by the German Foreign Office for American audiences. The furor of the British response was immediate, many speculating that Wodehouse had gained his early release by some kind of unsavory negotiations with the Nazis. The BBC denounced him as a traitor. His reputation during his lifetime never fully recovered and the broadcasts cost Wodehouse a knighthood until the very end of his very long life.
Source: Provided by Capitol Hill Books
0.1 Cubic Feet (1 folder)
English
Purchased from Capitol Hill Books, 2023.
The collection has been rehoused in an archival-quality box and folder.
Part of the Georgetown University Manuscripts Repository