Bobbie Wickham

Roberta "Bobbie" Wickham is a recurring fictional character in the Jeeves and Mr Mulliner stories of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being a troublesome redheaded girl, enamoured of practical jokes which often result in general pandemonium.

Overview

Bobbie Wickham is the daughter of Lady Wickham and the late Sir Cuthbert of Skeldings Hall, Herts. She is also the first cousin, once removed, of Mr. Mulliner, Lady Wickham being his cousin. She is described as being "constructed more on the lines of Clara Bow."

On more than one occasion Bertie Wooster becomes enamoured of her, and his valet Jeeves, realising that she might be a little too independent and wild for Bertie to tame her, has had to get him out of the daft scrape she has connived him into being a part of.

In "Jeeves and the Yule-tide Spirit" (1927), the most notable of these schemes was the affair with Tuppy Glossop's pierced hot water bottles in her parents' house.

In "Jeeves and the Kid Clementina" (1930), she also used her womanly charms to get Bertie to take her and her kid cousin, Clementina, to dinner, and also to get him to drive Clementina back to school, where he was caught by a policeman while sitting in a tree on the school property.

In "Jeeves in the Offing" (1960), she puts an announcement that she is engaged to Bertie in The Times with the aim of Softening up Mother by paving the way to her engagement to Reginald Herring, who she loves; as she'd be so thankful for the merciful escape .... that she'd be ready to accept anyone as a son-in-law, even someone like Reggie, who, though a wonder man, hasn't got his name in Debrett and isn't any too hot financially.

Stories

Bobbie Wickham is featured in:

• "Something Squishy" (1924) – Mr Mulliner short story, collected in Mr Mulliner Speaking (1929)
• "The Awful Gladness of the Mater" (1925) – Mr Mulliner short story, collected in Mr Mulliner Speaking (1929)
• "Mr Potter Takes a Rest Cure" (1926) – Bobbie short story, collected in Blandings Castle and Elsewhere (1935)
• "Jeeves and the Yule-tide Spirit" (1927) – Jeeves short story, collected in Very Good, Jeeves (1930)
• "The Passing of Ambrose" (1928) – Mr Mulliner short story, collected in Mr Mulliner Speaking (1929)
• "Episode of the Dog McIntosh" (1929) – Jeeves short story, collected in Very Good, Jeeves (1930)
• "Jeeves and the Kid Clementina" (1930) – Jeeves short story, collected in Very Good, Jeeves (1930)
• "Dudley Is Back to Normal" (1940) – Bobbie short story, collected in Plum Stones (1993–1995)
• Jeeves in the Offing (1960) – Jeeves novel

Actresses

Film and TV actresses

• Tracy Reed in the BBC One's black-and-white World of Wooster (1965–1967)
• Pauline Collins in the 1975–1978 BBC TV series Wodehouse Playhouse, season 2, episode 2 (1976)
• In the 1990-1993 ITV series Jeeves and Wooster:
  • Nina Botting, season 1, episode 2
  • Niamh Cusack, season 2, episode 6

Radio actresses

Audiobook actresses

References

Sources consulted

• Kuzmenko, Michel (The Russian Wodehouse Society) (2007-07-29 revision). "Wodehouse books". Bibliography. Retrieved 2007-09-28. Check date values in: |date= (help)
• Reggie (2007-03-16 revision). "Wodehouse Who's Who: Roberta and Lady Wickham". Blandings, a Companion to the Works of P. G. Wodehouse. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Check date values in: |date= (help)

Endnotes

External links

• Hutchinson, Kyle. "Wodehouse Characters: Roberta Wickham". The P. G. Wodehouse Story Index [database]. (last updated 2006-05-11)