![Book Cover of Psmith in the City](/image/book/psmith-in-the-city.webp)
Psmith in the City
'Psmith in the City' Summary
Playing cricket for a team run by Psmith's father, Mike meets John Bickersdyke for the first time when he walks behind the bowler's arm, causing Mike to get out on ninety-eight. Shortly afterward, Mike's father regretfully informs him that, having lost a large amount of money, he will have to sell the house, and won't be able to send Mike to Cambridge as he had hoped. Mike hears that Psmith is in the same position, as he is sent off to London.
Mike, feeling very lonely, homesick and sorry for himself, rents a horrid room in Dulwich, and next day presents himself for work at the New Asiatic Bank. He is put to work under Mr Rossiter in the Postage Department, replacing a youth named Bannister, and is befriended by Mr Waller, a kindly employee of the bank, who takes him to lunch; on his return, he is joined by Psmith, also a new employee, in the same department as Mike.
They go for a stroll, and Psmith reveals that he has been placed there on a whim of his father's, having annoyed Bickersdyke while he was staying for the weekend. Mike is worried that their employer has it in for them both and that they are powerless, but Psmith announces he plans to toy with Bickersdyke outside of work, being, like their employer, a member of the Senior Conservative Club. He also insists that Mike move in with him in his flat in Clement's Inn. That night Mike feels much happier for having an ally.
Trying to find a means of pacifying their manager Mr Rossiter, they find out from Bannister that he is a devotee of association football and a fan of Manchester United. For a few weeks Psmith uses this knowledge to ingratiate himself with Rossiter, before moving on to Bickersdyke. He haunts the man at their club, his position in the workplace unassailable thanks to his friendship with Rossiter, and disrupts a political meeting, part of Bickersdyke's campaign to become a member of parliament, turning it into a near-riot. Bickersdyke is angry at Psmith, but powerless.
Psmith continues to cultivate Mr Rossiter, and Mike gets used to his work. After a while, a new man starts, and Mike is moved on to the Cash Department, under Mr Waller. One day, hearing Psmith call Mike "Comrade", Waller reveals that he is an ardent socialist, and Psmith agrees to come and hear him speak, dragging Mike along. When a spectator goes to throw a stone at Waller, Mike intervenes, and a fight starts, which soon involves Psmith and a mob; the friends flee. Returning that evening for tea, Mike has an awful time, but Psmith acquires Waller's book of the proceedings of the "Tulse Hill Parliament", including some particularly fiery words from Mr Bickersdyke.
One day, worried by his son being ill, Waller fails to spot a forged cheque. To save the man's job, Mike takes the blame, and is fired and roasted by Bickersdyke. After work, Psmith trails Bickersdyke to a Turkish bath and threatens to leak Bickersdyke's anti-royalty speeches from the Tulse Hill book. Bickersdyke, furious, agrees to keep Mike on at the bank. Soon after, he is narrowly elected to Parliament, rendering the threat of the book useless, and Mike is moved to a new department, Fixed Deposits, a much less pleasant spot, with Psmith replacing him under Mr Waller.
As spring and sunshine arrive, Mike begins to long for the outdoors and his beloved cricket. One day, he is called by his brother Joe, who is playing for their county at Lord's. They are a man short, and need Mike to play; he agrees, asking Psmith to tell his new boss he has to "pop off"; the boss tells Mr Bickersdyke, who, as usual, is furious. Mike, convinced his job is over, resolves to play his heart out.
Psmith leaves work early, to take his father to the match. Mr Smith is shocked that the bank does not approve of people leaving to play cricket; Psmith persuades him that rather than working at the bank, he should study for the Bar. They arrive at the game just as Mike, playing well, reaches his century. After the match, Psmith tells Mike of his plans to study Law at Cambridge, and also that his father, needing an agent for his estate, is willing to take Mike on, having first paid for him to go to the 'varsity too, to study the business.
Mr Bickersdyke, relaxing in his club, overjoyed at the thought of finally being able to sack Psmith and Mike, is further enraged when Psmith sympathetically announces their retirement from business.
Book Details
Author
![P. G. Wodehouse image](/thumbs/image/author/p-g-wodehouse.webp)
P. G. Wodehouse
England
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. Wodehouse was a prolific writer throughout his life, publishing more than ninety bo...
More on P. G. WodehouseDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
- Select Speed
Related books
![The Belton Estate Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/the-belton-estate.webp)
The Belton Estate by Anthony Trollope
The Belton Estate is a novel by Anthony Trollope, written in 1865. The novel concerns itself with a young woman who has accepted one of two suitors, t...
![Father Sergius Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/father-sergius.webp)
Father Sergius by Leo Tolstoy
The story begins with the childhood and exceptional and accomplished youth of Prince Stepan Kasatsky. The young man is destined for great things. He d...
![Shirley Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/shirley.webp)
Shirley by Charlotte Brontë
Shirley, A Tale is a social novel by the English novelist Charlotte Brontë, first published in 1849. It was Brontë's second published novel after Jane...
![The Prime Minister Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/the-prime-minister.webp)
The Prime Minister by Anthony Trollope
The Prime Minister is the fifth in Trollope's series of six Palliser novels. With Phineas' difficulties resolved, Trollope introduces new characters....
![The Dream of the Red Chamber Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/the-dream-of-the-red-chamber.webp)
The Dream of the Red Chamber by Xueqin Cao
The Dream of the Red Chamber (also known as The Story of the Stone) is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of China, and considered the greatest of...
![Elsie at Nantucket Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/elsie-at-nantucket.webp)
Elsie at Nantucket by Martha Finley
Elsie Dinsmore is off on a new adventure, this time to the charming island of Nantucket! In Elsie at Nantucket, the tenth book in the Elsie Dinsmore...
![The Young Pretenders Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/the-young-pretenders.webp)
The Young Pretenders by Edith Henrietta Fowler
In a time of political turmoil, two young men set out to claim the throne. The Young Pretenders is a historical novel by Edith Henrietta Fowler that...
![The Gambler Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/the-gambler.webp)
The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Gambler is a short novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky about a young tutor in the employment of a formerly wealthy Russian general. The novella reflects Do...
![The Village in the Jungle Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/the-village-in-the-jungle.webp)
The Village in the Jungle by Leonard Woolf
The Village in the Jungle is a novel by Leonard Woolf, published in 1913, based on his experiences as a colonial civil servant in British-controlled C...
![Mollentrave on Women Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/mollentrave-on-women.webp)
Mollentrave on Women by Alfred Sutro
It explores the complex relationships between men and women. The book was first published in 1914, and remains a thought-provoking and relevant work t...
Reviews for Psmith in the City
No reviews posted or approved, yet...