Wodehouse and of London. He began self-publishing under the imprint of Popgood & Groolley in 2006. His wife is continuing the imprint, and all enquiries regarding these books can be directed to [email protected]. Murphy’s books (all in paperback) include:
One Man's London: Twenty Years On (2012): This is the revised edition of One Man's London, the idiosyncratic London guide book that won a
cult following within weeks of its publication in 1989. Over the years, Norman Murphy continued his investigations, and this expanded and illustrated edition reveals many new secrets in London's streets, including the 'illegal' lamp-posts along the Embankment; the pugilistic cherubs of Selfridge's; why an admiral's memorial has a Guinness bottle inside it;and the identity of the heads, each complete with collar and tie, that look down at Trafalgar Square. Arranged, as before, as a series of walks, this new edition concludes with a new, seventeenth walk along Oxford Street, and concludes with a close inspection of the most famous feature of Broadcasting House, suggesting strongly that the BBC thought they were commissioning one thing while the sculptor made it clear, in letters still visible, that he was giving them something else. ISBN 978-0-9554209-4-8; 422 pages, plus 24 pages of illustrations; List price £25
Three Wodehouse Walks (2009): As the former Chairman and current Remembrancer of The P G Wodehouse Society (UK), Murphy conducted Wodehouse Walks around London for more than a quarter of a century. Over time, he developed three Walks: one through Bertie Wooster's West End, one through the London of Gally Threepwood and Stanley Featherstonehaugh Ukridge, and one through 'Valley Fields' (the Dulwich of Wodehouse's time). All three are available in book form, with easy-to-follow directions for getting around London's multitudinous Wodehousean sites, as well as photographs. Three Wodehouse Walks provides fascinating stories not only about Wodehouse and the people and places he knew but also anecdotes about London. The handy size ensures it can be easily slipped into a pocket or handbag. ISBN 978-0-9554209-3-1; 90 pages, plus 19 illustrations; List price £10
Phrases and Notes: P. G. Wodehouse's Notebooks, 1902-1905 (2014): A transcription and annotation of Wodehouse's three notebooks in which he scribbed down ideas, snatches of conversations, character descriptions, and more as he launched himself into what would be a long and distinguished writing career. No ISBN. List price £12. A Wodehouse Handbook: The World and Words of P.G. Wodehouse (two volumes, 2006): Were there once cricketing curates and bullying baronets, as P.G. Wodehouse said in his books? Did people really speak like Bertie Wooster? What was a gazeka? What is the recipe for a Green Swizzle? Where did Buck-U-Uppo come from? All these queries and more are answered in 'A Wodehouse Handbook'. Based on more than twenty years of dredging through biographies, obituaries, and newspaper reports, Murphy's discoveries encompass English and American social history, from the Victorian era to the space race. He demonstrates conclusively that the world Wodehouse described was real enough. What Wodehouse did was to show the funny side of it. Note: The P&G version of this book is now out of print. It is available in a revised edition published by Sybertooth and available through Amazon and other online retailers. For information on how to order any of these books, write to [email protected]
AND THERE'S MORE: In 2015, The History Press published The P.G. Wodehouse Miscellany by N.T.P. This book is available through Amazon and other online retailers.
