Not George Washington

This early novel, written in collaboration with a friend, is a fascinating curiosity which suggests that Wodehouse might have become a very different, experimental sort of writer, had he continued to write in the same vein. Using multiple narrators, playing with literary stereotypes and identities, it tells the story of an ambitious young writer, James Orlebar Cloyster, who combines mild and affable anners with very few principles. All the main characters are just as unscrupulous, ready to cheat and lie in pursuit of their ends, hence the title of the book. Not George Washington also invites readers to reflect on the nature of talent, fame, failure and success, villainy and honour - themes which continued to recur in the author's work for another sixty years.