A Damsel in Distress is a book written by P. G. Wodehouse. It was first published in the United States on October 4, 1919, by George H. Doran in New York. It was also published in the United Kingdom on October 15, 1919, by Herbert Jenkins in London. Before its publication, the story was shared in parts in The Saturday Evening Post between May and June of 1919.
The story follows George Bevan, an American composer who loves golf. He falls in love with a mysterious young woman who finds shelter in his taxi one day. Later, he searches for her and finds her at a romantic country house. However, confusion about who she is causes many problems and misunderstandings.
Plot
Lady Maud Marsh, the daughter of the 7th Earl of Marshmoreton, is in love with Geoffrey Raymond, a man she met in Wales during the previous summer. Maud has not told her family the man’s name but has said he is a poor American. Her family, led by Lady Caroline Byng, the haughty sister of Lord Marshmoreton, does not approve of the relationship and will not let Maud leave Belpher Castle in Hampshire to see Geoffrey. Lady Caroline wants her stepson, Reginald "Reggie" Byng, to marry Maud, though Reggie is secretly in love with Lord Marshmoreton’s secretary, Alice Faraday. Lord Marshmoreton listens quietly to his sister and to Alice, who insists he write the history of his family, even though he prefers to care for his rose garden.
In London’s Piccadilly, George Bevan, an American composer of successful musical comedies, sees a girl in brown and wishes he had a reason to speak to her. He imagines that if they lived in the Middle Ages, he could act as a hero to help her. Feeling sad, George takes a taxi, and the girl in brown jumps into the cab and asks him to hide her. George helps her escape from a tall, unpleasant man who is angry when George knocks off his hat. The girl then disappears. George falls in love with her but does not know her name. Later, a newspaper article about the unpleasant man (who was jailed for hitting a policeman) reveals the girl’s identity as Lady Maud Marsh of Belpher Castle. George does not know that Maud had secretly traveled to London to see Geoffrey.
The unpleasant man was Maud’s brother, Percy Marsh, Lord Belpher. At the castle, Percy wrongly believes George is the man Maud loves, based on seeing her flee with him in a taxi, though Maud denies this. To meet Maud again, George rents a cottage near Belpher Castle. Meanwhile, George’s friend Billie Dore, a chorus girl, visits the castle and shares an interest in roses with Lord Marshmoreton.
George helps Maud again, though Percy and Lady Caroline try to stop them from meeting. Everyone at the castle believes George is the man Maud met in Wales, and George is happy to learn from Reggie and Lord Marshmoreton that Maud loves him. When George confesses his feelings to Maud, she explains she loves Geoffrey Raymond instead. George is upset but remains a kind friend. Reggie Byng runs away with Alice Faraday, and Lord Marshmoreton is relieved Alice is no longer his secretary. Billie tells the earl that George is wealthy and has a good reputation.
At the castle, the servants hold a contest to guess who Maud will marry. The clever page-boy Albert initially has a chance to win if Maud marries "Mr. X" (an outsider, the unknown American), but the butler Keggs (who guessed Reggie Byng) blackmails Albert into trading tickets. Keggs then supports George and convinces Lord Belpher to invite George to a dinner party at the castle, where George is well-liked.
Lady Caroline and Percy still dislike George, but Lord Marshmoreton, believing George is the man Maud loves, announces publicly that Maud and George are engaged. The earl also marries Billie. George suggests Maud run away with Geoffrey to avoid problems, but when Maud meets Geoffrey in London, she finds him unrecognizable—he is overweight, talks only about food, and is being sued for breaking a promise after flirting with another woman. Maud leaves Geoffrey and realizes she loves George. She tells George, and they agree to marry.
Publication history
The story was published in parts from May 10, 1919, to June 28, 1919, in The Saturday Evening Post, with drawings by Henry Raleigh. The American version of the book includes the dedication, "To Maud and Ivan Caryll." Ivan Caryll was a composer who worked with Wodehouse on the 1918 Broadway musical The Girl Behind the Gun. A part of the novel was included in the 1939 collection Week-End Wodehouse (UK edition).
Adaptations
The story became a silent film with the same name, A Damsel in Distress, in 1919.
In 1928, P. G. Wodehouse worked with Ian Hay to turn the book into a play. Hay, Wodehouse, and A. A. Milne put money into the production. Wodehouse said, "I don't think we shall lose our money, as Ian has done a very good job." The play opened at the New Theatre in London on August 13, 1928, and ran for 234 shows. Nicholas Hannen produced the play, and the cast included Basil Foster, Jane Baxter, and Reginald Gardiner.
Wodehouse helped adapt the novel into a musical in 1937. The film A Damsel in Distress is a 1937 Hollywood musical comedy with an English theme. It stars Fred Astaire, Joan Fontaine, George Burns, and Gracie Allen. The screenplay was written by P. G. Wodehouse, based loosely on his novel. The music and lyrics were created by George and Ira Gershwin, and the film was directed by George Stevens.
A stage musical with the same name, A Damsel in Distress, was performed from May 30 to June 27, 2015, at the Chichester Festival Theatre.
The 2019 Indian Bollywood film Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga was inspired by the book.