A reader: “Isn’t Mosley the one parodied by Wodehouse and decked or

blackmailed or whatever by Gussie Fink-Nottle?”

I don’t recall that, though I am not as well-versed in Wodehouseiana as I

should like to be. I wouldn’t be surprised, though. Wodehouse is widely

supposed to have been a naif in matters political: yet when the topic comes

up in his stories, he is usually very much to the point–subtle, funny, and

true. Recall Jeeves advising Bertie Wooster that Nietzsche is

“fundamentally unsound.”

Some years ago I read a biography of Sir Oswald. The only thing I remember

is that he was a terrific womaniser. His pickup technique at a party was to

fix his stare on a woman and just keep staring until she fell into his

arms–or, I suppose, told him to keep his friggin’ eyes to himself. Those

eyes had considerable power, though, and those long, intense, exophthalmic

stares netted him many a society beauty. After reading about this, I tried

it once or twice (being single at the time), with sensational lack of

success.