Rosie M. Banks

Rosie M. Banks is a recurring fictional character in the Jeeves and Drones Club stories of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being a romance novelist and the wife of Bingo Little. Suggested real-life models for this character include prolific early twentieth-century female romance novelists such as Ethel M. Dell and Ruby M. Ayres.^[1]

Overview

Rosie M. Banks is a fictional romance novelist, the author of works such as: All for Love; A Red, Red Summer Rose; Madcap Myrtle; Only a Factory Girl; The Courtship of Lord Strathmorlick; Mervyn Keene, Clubman; 'Twas Once in May; By Honour Bound; and A Kiss at Twilight. She is highly popular among women readers for her subject matter, but not so well regarded by other characters: Bertie Wooster proclaimed her work to be "the most pronounced and widely-read tripe on the market", and her husband Bingo has said that when she "gets in front of a dictating-machine she becomes perfectly maudlin". Bingo nervously changes the subject every time his wife's books are brought up in conversation.

She submitted an article for Milady's Boudoir (the women's paper of Dahlia Travers, Bertie Wooster's Aunt Dahlia), entitled "How I Keep the Love of My Husband-Baby", which, fortunately for her husband, hasn't been published.

She employed chef extraordinaire Anatole until Aunt Dahlia stole him from her with the help of Jeeves (in "Clustering Round Young Bingo"), and is thus unlikely to write further for Mrs Travers.

Pseudonyms

Although the name of Ms. Banks is attributed to a fictional novelist, there have been uses of this name to sell romance novels in the past. The most notable, 'Navy Nurse',^[2] published in 1960, is attributed to novelist Rosie M. Banks. The author applied to Wodehouse for the right to use the name; Wodehouse, much amused, gave his permission.

True to the genre, the jacket of the book summarises the novel thus:

A romantic, suspense-filled novel about a girl who chose a glamorous and exciting career. Alice Smith, pretty Navy nurse, had an attack of love at first sight. And she didn’t want to be cured.

The man was tall, good-looking and French. Thrilled by his kisses, Alice longed for the day she would be Mrs. Jacques Stern.

But Jacques never talked of marriage. And he was mysterious about his private life, especially the source of his wealth.

Meanwhile, the Office of Naval Intelligence had rated Jacques “top priority.” And handsome Morgan O’Neill, ONI agent, was making a particularly thorough check. Morgan loved Alice deeply. He’d stop at nothing to save her from the dangers that threatened her happiness — and her life.

In 2002, a group of Wodehouse fans from the Usenet newsgroup alt.fan.wodehouse also voted in large numbers to place the fictional Miss Banks' novel Only a Factory Girl in the list of the top 100 list of books at Random House. This remained intact for over a week until the administrators caught on and replaced Miss Banks with J. R. R. Tolkien.^[3][4]

Stories

Rosie M. Banks is featured in one semi-novel:

• The Inimitable Jeeves (1923)

and in several short stories:

• in Carry on, Jeeves (1925)
  • "Clustering Round Young Bingo" (1925) – Drones
• in Very Good, Jeeves (1930)
  • "Jeeves and the Old School Chum" (1930) – Jeeves
• in Eggs, Beans and Crumpets (1940)
  • "All's Well With Bingo" (1937) – Drones
  • "Bingo and the Peke Crisis" (1937) – Drones
  • "The Editor Regrets" (1939) – Drones
  • "Sonny Boy" (1939) – Drones
• in A Few Quick Ones (1959)
  • "The Word in Season" (1940) – Drones
  • "Leave It to Algy" (1954) – Drones
• in Nothing Serious (1950)
  • "The Shadow Passes" (1950) – Drones
• in Plum Pie (1966)
  • "Bingo Bans the Bomb" (1965) – Drones
  • "Stylish Stouts" (1965) – Drones

Rosie M. Banks is mentioned in:

• The Mating Season (1949) – Jeeves novel, with the longest example of Rosie's work, a synopsis of Mervyn Keene, Clubman.

Actresses

Film and TV actresses

• Deborah Stanford in the BBC One's black-and-white World of Wooster (1965–1967)^[5]
• Anastasia Hille in the 1990–1993 ITV series Jeeves and Wooster, season 4 episode 3^[6]
• Jane Cussons in Wodehouse Playhouse (S3.5 "The Editor Regrets", 1976–1978)

Radio actresses

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Audiobook actresses

See also

• List of P. G. Wodehouse characters in the Jeeves stories

References

Sources consulted

• Kuzmenko, Michel (The Russian Wodehouse Society) (22 March 2007). "Wodehouse books". Bibliography. Retrieved 13 August 2007. 
• Reggie (16 March 2007). Wodehouse Who's Who: Rosie M. Banks, Mrs Bingo Little. Blandings, a Companion to the Works of P. G. Wodehouse. 

Endnotes

External links

• Hutchinson, Kyle. "Wodehouse Characters: Rosie M. Banks, Mrs. Bingo Little". The P. G. Wodehouse Story Index [database].  (last updated 2006-05-11)