The Episode of the Landlady's Daughter
"The Episode of the Landlady's Daughter" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse and C. H. Bovill, which first appeared in the United Kingdom in the April 1914 issue of the Strand, and in the United States in the May 1916 Pictorial Review. It was published in book form in the collection A Man of Means in 1991, and is sometimes referred to by the simplified title "The Landlady's Daughter".
It features Roland Bleke, a young man for whom financial success is always a mixed blessing.
Plot summary
We first meet Roland Bleke as a clerk in a seed merchants in the provincial town of Bury St. Edwards, where he is pleading with his employer for a pay cut. We learn that Bleke has become engaged to Muriel, daughter of the house in which he lodges, mostly out of an inability to think of anything to say to the girl. Knowing that should his pay reach too high a level the wedding will become inevitable, leaving him in the position of having to support Muriel and her family, including her two unemployed brothers, Bleke arranges to keep his pay low.
Having informed the family of his unfortunate pay cut, Bleke finds he has won £40,000 in a sweepstake. He plans to flee, but the family find out about his stroke of luck from a newspaper, and every time he tries to run away he finds himself closely guarded.
They all attend an air show, where a French pilot is offering rides in his airplane for £5. His rival for Muriel's love urges Bleke to take a ride and prove his courage; Bleke is at first dubious, but is soon persuaded. He bids his farewells, climbs into the airplane, which takes off. The family is left gawping as the planes disappears over the horizon.
Bleke's adventures continue into "The Episode of the Financial Napoleon".