Three Men and a Maid

Book excerpt: Three Men and a Maid is a classic humorous story by P.G. Wodehouse.The maid of the title is red-haired, dog-loving Wilhelmina "Billie" Bennet, and the three men are Bream Mortimer, a long-time friend and admirer of Billie, Eustace Hignett, a lily-livered poet who is engaged to Billie at the opening of the tale, and Sam Marlowe, Eustace's dashing cousin, who falls for Billie at first sight.The four of them find themselves together on a White Star ocean liner called the Atlantic, sailing for England. Also on board is a capable young woman, Jane Hubbard, who is in love with Eustace. Wodehousian funny stuff ensues, with happy endings for all except Bream Mortimer.The White Star Line had a ship called the Atlantic, which operated from 1871 to 1873, when it struck a rock off Nova Scotia and sank with the loss of about 535 lives. As this disaster occurred 48 years before the publishing of the story, and 8 years before Wodehouse was born, it is unlikely that he knew about it.