Ronnie Fish

Who they are

Ronald “Ronnie” Fish is Lord Emsworth’s nephew, and in Summer Lightning his wish to marry Sue Brown sits amid a castle already busy with the Empress and Galahad’s proposed memoir. The book appeared in 1929; the American edition is titled Fish Preferred, a title that points directly toward Ronnie’s changing standing in the household. His personal problem is easy to understand, but his method of solving it can turn an agricultural concern into a family crisis. A reader should be allowed to discover the workings of his plan in the novel rather than in a character summary.

Ronnie has been involved in a failed nightclub venture and needs control of his own capital. His romance with Sue runs against other family expectations, and he is tempted to think a dramatic service to his uncle might change the terms of the discussion. The temptation makes him both sympathetic and alarming. Wodehouse draws several younger people with similar hopes into the castle at once; Ronnie’s story feels part of that ensemble, not an isolated romance inserted beside a pig plot.

Personality and relationships

Lady Julia Fish is his mother and Lord Emsworth’s sister. Clarence is his uncle and trustee, while Galahad can understand young lovers better than much of the family. Lady Constance’s view of a suitable marriage differs from Ronnie’s. Sue’s own identity and wishes matter; she should not be reduced to a prize promised if a plan succeeds. The collision of family interests means that information is as valuable as money. Different people at Blandings believe they are protecting the same household in incompatible ways.

Heavy Weather returns to the relationship and the manuscript problem, giving Ronnie a further place in the castle’s larger company. A specialist annotation distinguishes Lady Julia’s earlier mention in Money for Nothing from her active Blandings role; that earlier mention is not Ronnie’s debut. The two linked novels provide the principal direct trail here. When a later book recalls a Fish family incident, a reference should not be counted as another scene without checking the text.

Best books and memorable moments

Read Summer Lightning first. It introduces Ronnie’s predicament while displaying the mature Blandings ensemble; Something Fresh can serve as an earlier introduction to the castle, but contains no Ronnie episode. Heavy Weather is the natural sequel for his and Sue’s continuing circumstances. The US Fish Preferred and UK Summer Lightning are regional titles of the same work, though readers comparing editions should consult the book page for textual history. I enjoy how a young person’s scheme can be both ingenious and exactly the wrong kind of helpful.

Charles Collingwood is credited as Ronnie Fish in BBC Radio 4’s Blandings series 3; Graham Seed is credited in series 2. Matthew Wolf played him in a separate radio Summer Lightning production. Casts and productions must be kept distinct, and none supplies the printed debut date.

On screen

Graham Seed and Charles Collingwood played Ronnie Fish in different series of Blandings on Radio 4; Matthew Wolf played him in a separate Summer Lightning radio production. Cast and production record. Compare Wodehouse screen, stage and radio versions.