8.8 /10 1 Votes8.8
5/5 Loyal Books | 3.8/5 Goodreads Originally published 1920 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Adaptations The Girl on the Boat (1961) Genres Humour, Fiction, Romance novel Similar Works by P G Wodehouse, Fiction books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Girl on the Boat is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse. It first appeared in 1921 as a serial in the Woman's Home Companion in the United States under the title Three Men and a Maid.
Contents
It was first published as a book in the United States on April 26, 1922, by George H. Doran, New York, and as The Girl on the Boat in the United Kingdom by Herbert Jenkins, London, on June 15, 1922.
Plot
The maid of the title is red-haired, dog-loving Wilhelmina "Billie" Bennett, and the three men are:
The four of them find themselves together on an ocean liner sailing for England. Also on board is a capable young woman, Jane Hubbard, who is in love with Eustace. Wodehousian funny stuff ensues, with happy endings for all except Bream Mortimer.
Film adaptation
A film adaptation was made in 1961, starring Norman Wisdom as Sam Marlowe, Richard Briers as Eustace Hignett, Philip Locke as Bream Mortimer, and Millicent Martin as Billie Bennett. It was directed by Henry Kaplan. The screenplay was adapted from Wodehouse's novel by Reuben Ship.
Some scenes from the novel (e.g., Sam Marlowe's blackface performance at the ship's concert) were not included in the film. The romance between Eustace and Jane Hubbard (played by Sheila Hancock) was also altered; Eustace stands up to his domineering mother in the film but not in the book.