Performing Flea

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Performing Flea is a non-fiction book, consisting of a series of letters written by P.G. Wodehouse to a younger writer. It was originally published in the United Kingdom on October 9, 1953 by Herbert Jenkins, London. The title is a quotation from the playwright Sean O'Casey, who described Wodehouse as "English literature's performing flea".

The letters are introduced and annotated by William Townend, a friend of Wodehouse since their youth, who had provided Wodehouse with the inspiration for his character Ukridge. The United States version of the book, entitled Author! Author!, when published on June 20, 1962 by Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York, was substantially reworked, with much of Townend's contribution removed and replaced with commentary by Wodehouse himself.