First published 2012
In the verdant English countryside, Uncle Fred—a charming troublemaker with an appetite for elaborate schemes—descends upon Blandings Castle. His arrival triggers a cascade of comic misunderstandings involving mistaken identities, romantic plots, and aristocratic intrigue. When a valuable pig and several family reputations hang in the balance, Fred must deploy his legendary talent for improvisation and misdirection. With each attempt to help, he tangles the situation further, pushing his bewildered relatives closer to social disaster. Only Fred's unshakable confidence and lightning-quick wit can possibly untangle the web of complications he has gleefully woven. A madcap exploration of upper-class British buffoonery where good intentions pave the way to hilarious chaos.
Genres: fiction, 20th-century, contemporary, comedy
Vibes: comedic, lighthearted, whimsical
Tropes: comedic-misunderstandings, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Britain
Period: 20th-century
242 pages · Paperback · W. W. Norton & Company