The Little Nugget

Ogden Ford, a thoroughly spoiled American boy nicknamed the Little Nugget, is worth a fortune to anyone who can seize him, and half the adventurers on two continents are trying. Peter Burns takes a post as a master at Sanstead House, a quiet English preparatory school, on the pretext of teaching but really to help carry off the boy for his fiancee’s scheme. Awkwardly, his old love Audrey turns up on the same errand, and rival gangs of professional crooks are closing in. Wodehouse blends farce, romance, and genuine suspense, gently mocking the kidnapping thriller while writing a rather good one himself. Available free as a PDF and EPUB edition.