London: Herbert Jenkins Limited, 1935. First edition, first printing of one of Wodehouse’s most purely farcical Hollywood–Atlantic ocean capers, published during his peak Jenkins period. Bound in the publisher’s bright red cloth with bold black stamping, featuring the familiar Jenkins griffin device at the foot of the spine.
This copy shows the expected gentle shelf wear but retains strong colour on the boards and clean, legible lettering. The hinges are firm, and the text block is clean throughout with only mild toning to the endpapers, typical of the period’s stock. The title page verso carries the proper “First printing 1935” statement, confirming true first-issue status.
The Luck of the Bodkins is Wodehouse in full transatlantic mode: film stars, playboys, agents, mix-ups, shipboard mischief, and enough crossed wires to power the entire RMS Atlantic. Jenkins editions from the 1930s have become steadily scarcer in collectible condition, and first printings rarely surface in such tidy, unrestored boards.
A solid, appealing example of an increasingly elusive Wodehouse first edition.
