Spring Fever is a 1948 comic novel by P. G. Wodehouse. It doesn't star any of his famous characters, but it reuses tropes and character archetypes that he used before.
Stanwood Cobbold is in love with the movie star Eileen Stoker. Stanwood's father, a millionaire, doesn't approve and sends him to stay with his distant cousin Lord Shortlands. Stanwood decides to stay in London, so his friend Mike Cardinal goes to the castle pretending to be Stanwood. Mike is in love with Lord Shortlands' daughter Teresa. Meanwhile Lord Shortlands and his butler are both in love with the cook, but neither has enough money to marry her. Then Shortlands' son-in-law finds a valuable stamp...
Contains examples of:
- Affectionate Nickname: Lord Shortlands is always known as Shorty, while his daughter Teresa is known as Terry.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Augustus mentions his fiancée, who apparently jilted him at the wedding (she actually went to the wrong venue). Towards the end he meets her again: Mrs. Punter, the cook!
- Decoy Protagonist: The first chapter is all about G. Ellery Cobbold. He disappears afterwards as the narrative switches to his son and the goings-on in England, and never reappears beyond being mentioned by various people.
- Faith–Heel Turn: Augustus was a burglar until he got saved at a revival meeting.
- First Girl Wins: Genderflipped. Mrs. Punter has two men vying for her hand, but instead of choosing either she marries her first love, Augustus Robb.
- Gender-Blender Name: Lady Teresa is known as Terry to all and sundry.
- Grande Dame: Adela, in the fine Wodehouse tradition. A younger example than most, since she must be only in her thirties, but she intimidates her father almost as much as Lord Emsworth's sisters intimidate him.
- Impoverished Patrician: Lord Shortlands, who is kept even more impoverished than he really is by the fact his daughter controls his finances and gives him an allowance.
- Punny Name: Augustus Robb, the retired burglar. He grumbles that at least fifty-seven people have made the exact same joke about his name.
- Running Gag:
- Shorty looks like a butler. This reaches its priceless conclusion in the final chapter, where he gets a job as an actor playing butlers!
- The narrator frequently points out that Stanwood looks like a hippopotamus.
- Unable to Support a Wife: The reason Shorty can't marry Mrs. Punter at once: she wants £200 to start a pub, and he doesn't even have £20.