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Jeeves #6
Right Ho, Jeeves
This is a reproduction of the original artefact. Generally these books are created from careful scans of the original. This allows us to preserve the book accurately and present it in the way the author intended. Since the original versions are generally quite old, there may occasionally be certain imperfections within these reproductions. We're happy to make these classics available again for future generations to enjoy!
224 pages, Paperback
First published October 5, 1934
About the author
P.G. Wodehouse
1,462 books6,737 followersSir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE, was a comic writer who enjoyed enormous popular success during a career of more than seventy years and continues to be widely read over 40 years after his death. Despite the political and social upheavals that occurred during his life, much of which was spent in France and the United States, Wodehouse's main canvas remained that of prewar English upper-class society, reflecting his birth, education, and youthful writing career.
An acknowledged master of English prose, Wodehouse has been admired both by contemporaries such as Hilaire Belloc, Evelyn Waugh and Rudyard Kipling and by more recent writers such as Douglas Adams, Salman Rushdie and Terry Pratchett. Sean O'Casey famously called him "English literature's performing flea", a description that Wodehouse used as the title of a collection of his letters to a friend, Bill Townend.
Best known today for the Jeeves and Blandings Castle novels and short stories, Wodehouse was also a talented playwright and lyricist who was part author and writer of fifteen plays and of 250 lyrics for some thirty musical comedies. He worked with Cole Porter on the musical Anything Goes (1934) and frequently collaborated with Jerome Kern and Guy Bolton. He wrote the lyrics for the hit song Bill in Kern's Show Boat (1927), wrote the lyrics for the Gershwin/Romberg musical Rosalie (1928), and collaborated with Rudolf Friml on a musical version of The Three Musketeers (1928).
An acknowledged master of English prose, Wodehouse has been admired both by contemporaries such as Hilaire Belloc, Evelyn Waugh and Rudyard Kipling and by more recent writers such as Douglas Adams, Salman Rushdie and Terry Pratchett. Sean O'Casey famously called him "English literature's performing flea", a description that Wodehouse used as the title of a collection of his letters to a friend, Bill Townend.
Best known today for the Jeeves and Blandings Castle novels and short stories, Wodehouse was also a talented playwright and lyricist who was part author and writer of fifteen plays and of 250 lyrics for some thirty musical comedies. He worked with Cole Porter on the musical Anything Goes (1934) and frequently collaborated with Jerome Kern and Guy Bolton. He wrote the lyrics for the hit song Bill in Kern's Show Boat (1927), wrote the lyrics for the Gershwin/Romberg musical Rosalie (1928), and collaborated with Rudolf Friml on a musical version of The Three Musketeers (1928).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,184 reviews
August 5, 2019
This is almost as funny as The Code of the Woosters, which is saying a lot, since Code is the funniest book ever written by anybody anywhere. The plot isn't important: as usual, misunderstandings and peevishness disrupt the general mood of an old English country house, lovers are parted and social bonds are threatened, but by the end--thanks to the inimitable Jeeves-- tranquility is restored, couples are reunited, and--most important of all--aunts are placated.
The justly famous climax where a tipsy Gussie Fink-Nottle delivers the prize speech at the Market Snodsbury Grammar School may be the most hilarious passage in all of Wodehouse, but since it occurs three-quarters of the way through the novel, I feared that the last seventy-five pages or so might be something of a letdown.
I needn't have worried. Jeeve's resolution of all the difficult strands of the situation is so quietly effective that I can give it no greater praise than by deeming it--in Jeevesian parlance--"most satisfactory."
June 22, 2016
Who needs expensive Freudian psychiatrists when you can have this:
The discovery of some toy duck in the soap dish, presumably the property of some former juvenile visitor, contributed not a little to this new and happier frame of mind. What with one thing and another, I hadn't played with toy ducks in my bath for years, and I found the novel experience most invigorating. For the benefit of those interested, I may mention that if you shove the thing under the surface with the sponge and then let it go, it shoots out of the water in a manner calculated to divert the most careworn. Ten minutes of this and I was enabled to return to the bedchamber much more the merry old Bertram.
Old Bertram is in dire need of moral bracing, since one of his recurring spats over wardrobe with his trusted man Jeeves has left him without valuable advice just when he needed it most. Valiant efforts to solve the problems of his friends and family gathered at Brinkley Court on his own are only serving to further push him deeper into the soup. Bertie blames it on bad luck and on the French:
If I hadn't gone to Cannes, I shouldn't have met the Bassett or bought that white mess jacket, and Angela wouldn't have met her shark, and Aunt Dahlia wouldn't have played baccarat.
If you want to find the connection between sharks, white mess jackets, baccarat, devil's costumes, newts and French cooking you have come to the right place at Brinkley Court. Be careful though of Bertie's 'clever' plans, and keep Gussie Fink-Nottle away from the strong spirits. As his Aunt Dahlia rather cruelly but truthfully puts it:
You may well say 'Golly!'. Anatole, God's gift to the gastric juices, gone like the dew off the petal of a rose, all through your idiocy.
After reading four or five Jeeves short stories collections in a row I was just in the right disposition for a more substantial fare, and the master didn't disappoint. Right Ho, Jeeves is one of Wodehouse's best novels, showcasing his talent to weave together several storylines and to ramp up the mischief and hijinks to stratospheric levels, where even the imperturbable gentleman's gentleman Jeeves would be hard put to come up with a solution. Some of the faces are familiar, as are some of the romantic missteps that crop up in almost every Wodehouse story, but there is something about how the different characters come together and interact that make me appreciate the long form better than the above mentioned short stories. This splittig of the troubles into four or five separate incidents makes it a little harder to pick a main plot line in the novel, but, judging by screen time and by the laughter-meter, I would pick August Fink-Nottle as the leader of the pack. This old school friend of Bertie, this 'newt-nuzzling blister' as he is more or less affectionately referred to, has fallen in love. And because he is pathologically shy and accident prone, he appeals to Jeeves as a go-between. As you might remember, Jeeves and Bertie had a tiff over a dinner jacket, so Bertie takes, reluctantly, the role of Cupid:
A splendid chap, of course, in many ways - courteous, amiable, and just the fellow to tell you what to do till the doctor came, if you had a sick newt on your hands - but quite obviously not of Mendelssohn's March timber. I have no doubt that you could have flung bricks by the hour in England's most densely populated districts without endangering the safety of a single girl capable of becoming Mrs. Augustus Fink-Nottle without an anaesthetic.
Yet such a girl resides presently at Brinkley Court: Madeline Bassett, another gold-plated comedy arrow in the author's quiver. A sensitive, poetic soul, whose exclamations about daisy chains and fluffy rabbits in the meadows are apt to give even the strongest man the shivers:
... the thought of being engaged to a girl who talked openly about fairies being born because stars blew their noses, or whatever it was, frankly appalled me. confesses Bertie, yet that's exactly where his efforts on behalf of Gussie lands him. It's enough to turn our bachelor friend to despair:
I've said it before, and I'll say it again - girls are rummy. Old Pop Kipling never said a truer word than when he made that crack about the f. of the s. being more d. than the m.
Gussie and the Bassett are not the only couple trying to mend up the ties of love. Bertie's cousin Angela is on the warpath with her fiancee, another Wodehouse recurring character and frenemy of Bertie, Tuppy Glossop. Add to the double dose of romance the volatile temper of the Brinkley Court's celebrated cook Anatole and the sour disposition of the lord of the manor, and you have the main ingredients of the soup Bertie is currently wallowing in.
Well, I'm dashed. I'm really dashed. I positively am dashed, Jeeves. finally confesses the master after all his best efforts misfire, and he goes back, as the reader already knew he would, to his trusted servant for rescue. But can even Jeeves transform a newt like Gussie into a dragon?
Only active measures, promptly applied, can provide this poor, pusillanimous poop with the proper pep.
Don't you just love this alliterative game? But what can he be talking about? I am still cracking with laughter as I remember the effect of alcohol on the timid man's disposition:
It just shows, what any member of Parliament will tell you, that if you want real oratory, the preliminary noggin is essential. Unless pie-eyed, you cannot hope to grip.
(I should try the recipe when writing my reviews. Maybe they will be as popular as Gussie's speechmaking under the influence)
On a personal level, I am most grateful to P G Wodehouse for making me fall in love with the English language all over again. I feel so lucky to be able to enjoy his prose in the original club vernacular, even as I dive to the dictionary for "sedulously" (diligent in application or attention; persevering; assiduous.) or "hornswoggle"(to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax.). Even his insults have style, inventivity, and his short portraits are unrivaled in the field of comedy:
- Uncle Tom who always looked a bit like a pterodactyl with a secret sorrow.
- Tuppy : If you can visualize a bulldog which has just been kicked in the ribs and had its dinner sneaked by the cat, you will have Hildebrand Glossop as he now stood before me.
- Aunt Dahlia: She looked like a tomato struggling for self-expression. also: ... the nearest thing to a charging rhinoceros.
Recurrent jokes that are continued from one story to another are another secret ingredient mixed by Wodehouse into his recipe for success. I have already mentioned the wardrobe malfunctions. Another example is the reference to the habit of Jeeves to move about silently:
My private belief, as I think I have mentioned before, is that Jeeves doesn't have to open doors. He's like one of those birds in India who bung their astral bodies about - the chaps, I mean, who having gone into thin air in Bombay, reassemble the parts and appear two minutes later in Calcutta. Only some such theory will account for the fact that he's not there one moment and is there the next. He just seems to float from Spot A to Spot B like some form of gas.
or,
I dismissed Jeeves with a nod, and he flickered for a moment and was gone. Many a spectre would have been less slippy.
I am sure the author will come with a fresh twist on the old jokes for his next novel, and this is one of the reasons I am glad that he was so productive and that I have so many more of his novels to enjoy in the future.
Recommended as the best remedy for a sour disposition. If you haven't yet read one of Wodehouse farces, this is a good introduction to his style.
October 12, 2024
Another adventure with Jeeves, the butler, and his employer the great, maybe... Bertram (Bertie) Wooster the so
- called master. But who is really in charge? And for that matter the smartest? It's very apparent from the beginning and the butler did it. However this isn't a murder mystery; only the pompous affected, and no one dies here , just their dignity sacrificed. When our not quite competent Bertie comes back to his London place, from Cannes, France after a vacation of two months (his whole life is a vacation to tell the truth). His intimidating Aunt Dahlia insists he come to her country house, Brinkley Court immediately the shall we say Mr. Wooster, lacking fortitude obeys .Strange since his aunt and her daughter Angela, had spent their vacation with him, oh well. Jeeves had stayed in England, also informs Bertie, that his silly old university friend, Augustus (Gussie) Fink-Nottle, (Wodehouse makes up the greatest names) wants to see him. Weird since Gussie hates London and spends his time studying newts, you've read correctly (salamanders) at his country estate. A man needs to keep busy they the all knowing public insinuates, people are funny others imply. Back to the book... you guessed it, a girl is involved, Madeline Bassett, a woman that Wooster met at Cannes. Yet when Fink-Nottle arrives, he doesn't need to see his good friend but Jeeves instead a wise choice.Word has gotten around the wise butler, can solve any romantic difficulties. So the uncomfortable Bertie invites Gussie, to go to his aunt's house, ( if a little brighter the friend would decline and run for the hills; but nobody in this entire novel is that intelligent, just one, this no understatement for sure)
luckily or is it, Madeline is a guest there. By the way, the reason Wooster's aunt asked him to come is she wants him to give some presents, in the local grammar school, to the small children no big deal. Except poor Bertie is terrified, why... the man also has to make a small speech, in front of the whole village, public discourse makes him shake rattle and roll. Disaster follows disaster, as Wooster without any help from Jeeves... naturally , foolish Bertie insists on this, when he tries himself to bring together two couples and get them to the altar. The shy Fink-Nottle and Madeline, his cousin Angela, and her estranged boyfriend, Tuppy Glossop. Both duos become engaged and not engaged, even Bertie somehow gets roped in! Jeeves, please help them!!! A fun book to tickle the funny bone ...for those who have one.
- called master. But who is really in charge? And for that matter the smartest? It's very apparent from the beginning and the butler did it. However this isn't a murder mystery; only the pompous affected, and no one dies here , just their dignity sacrificed. When our not quite competent Bertie comes back to his London place, from Cannes, France after a vacation of two months (his whole life is a vacation to tell the truth). His intimidating Aunt Dahlia insists he come to her country house, Brinkley Court immediately the shall we say Mr. Wooster, lacking fortitude obeys .Strange since his aunt and her daughter Angela, had spent their vacation with him, oh well. Jeeves had stayed in England, also informs Bertie, that his silly old university friend, Augustus (Gussie) Fink-Nottle, (Wodehouse makes up the greatest names) wants to see him. Weird since Gussie hates London and spends his time studying newts, you've read correctly (salamanders) at his country estate. A man needs to keep busy they the all knowing public insinuates, people are funny others imply. Back to the book... you guessed it, a girl is involved, Madeline Bassett, a woman that Wooster met at Cannes. Yet when Fink-Nottle arrives, he doesn't need to see his good friend but Jeeves instead a wise choice.Word has gotten around the wise butler, can solve any romantic difficulties. So the uncomfortable Bertie invites Gussie, to go to his aunt's house, ( if a little brighter the friend would decline and run for the hills; but nobody in this entire novel is that intelligent, just one, this no understatement for sure)
luckily or is it, Madeline is a guest there. By the way, the reason Wooster's aunt asked him to come is she wants him to give some presents, in the local grammar school, to the small children no big deal. Except poor Bertie is terrified, why... the man also has to make a small speech, in front of the whole village, public discourse makes him shake rattle and roll. Disaster follows disaster, as Wooster without any help from Jeeves... naturally , foolish Bertie insists on this, when he tries himself to bring together two couples and get them to the altar. The shy Fink-Nottle and Madeline, his cousin Angela, and her estranged boyfriend, Tuppy Glossop. Both duos become engaged and not engaged, even Bertie somehow gets roped in! Jeeves, please help them!!! A fun book to tickle the funny bone ...for those who have one.
April 12, 2023
This is one that I will definitley read again!
Bertie Wooster, thoroughly peeved that everyone thinks Jeeves is the brains of the house, decides to insert himself into the role of savior to friends and family alike. This means convincing a few pals who are having trouble with their lady loves to disregard Jeeves' fabulous advice, whilst encouraging his own ill-advised schemes.
As with so many Jeeves and Wooster stories, there is a near-miss with the altar, a bungled attempt (or two) to set things right for his friends, an aged relative that wants to strangle him before the book is over, and Jeeves swooping in to save the day while simultaneously getting rid of something of Bertie's that he finds offensive to his senses.
This time it's a white jacket that Bertie brought back from Cannes.
Gussie Fink-Nottle and his obsession with newts, the soppy Madeline Bassett with her sentimental ponderings, the ever-hungry Tuppy Glossop, and Bertie's cousin, Angelia, are the cast of characters that play musical chairs with their love lives and wreak havoc on Brinkley Court.
Meanwhile, Aunt Dahlia is having her own problems due to gambling away the money her husband gave her to keep her magazine, Milady's Boudoir, afloat. Making matters worse, Bertie's terrible advice to half the party (push away your meals to show you're distressed) backfires and causes his Aunt's much sought-after chef, Anatole, to turn in his resignation.
Uncle Tom may never eat again!
Of course, Jeeves will put things right.
With only one slightly humiliating miles-long bike ride in the dark for Bertie.
My advice?
Don't binge Jeeves books. Only because they are all so similar in plot. However, taken in small doses these are hilarious. They're a great palate cleanser, and always good for a belly laugh. Especially the audiobooks. The version I listen to was from Blackstone Publishing & read by Jonathan Cecil. I love the way Cecil narrates, and would highly recommend him to anyone.
Bertie Wooster, thoroughly peeved that everyone thinks Jeeves is the brains of the house, decides to insert himself into the role of savior to friends and family alike. This means convincing a few pals who are having trouble with their lady loves to disregard Jeeves' fabulous advice, whilst encouraging his own ill-advised schemes.
As with so many Jeeves and Wooster stories, there is a near-miss with the altar, a bungled attempt (or two) to set things right for his friends, an aged relative that wants to strangle him before the book is over, and Jeeves swooping in to save the day while simultaneously getting rid of something of Bertie's that he finds offensive to his senses.
This time it's a white jacket that Bertie brought back from Cannes.
Gussie Fink-Nottle and his obsession with newts, the soppy Madeline Bassett with her sentimental ponderings, the ever-hungry Tuppy Glossop, and Bertie's cousin, Angelia, are the cast of characters that play musical chairs with their love lives and wreak havoc on Brinkley Court.
Meanwhile, Aunt Dahlia is having her own problems due to gambling away the money her husband gave her to keep her magazine, Milady's Boudoir, afloat. Making matters worse, Bertie's terrible advice to half the party (push away your meals to show you're distressed) backfires and causes his Aunt's much sought-after chef, Anatole, to turn in his resignation.
Uncle Tom may never eat again!
Of course, Jeeves will put things right.
With only one slightly humiliating miles-long bike ride in the dark for Bertie.
My advice?
Don't binge Jeeves books. Only because they are all so similar in plot. However, taken in small doses these are hilarious. They're a great palate cleanser, and always good for a belly laugh. Especially the audiobooks. The version I listen to was from Blackstone Publishing & read by Jonathan Cecil. I love the way Cecil narrates, and would highly recommend him to anyone.
January 5, 2025
Despite some repetitiveness - Bertie Wooster and his countless friends and relatives got into similarly ridiculous situations - it still made me chukle.
January 26, 2022
4.5★
I laughed outloud so many times whilst reading this book, in which poor deluded Bertie thinks he can manage other people's affair better than that most impeccable of manservants, Jeeves. It isn't a spoiler to say that of course Bertie can't, & much hilarity ensues.
In particular you should look out for Aunt Dahlia giving instructions to Bertram what he should look out for when going for a walk & an impassioned speech from the French chef, Anatole.
I'm not knocking half a ★ off for one piece of casual racism. (I'm wondering if it has been censored from other copies as none of my friends at Retro Reads have mentioned it) but because just before the peerless Jeeves there was a portion where it dragged. The resolution though was highly satisfactory & left me craving more Wodehouse!
https://wordpress.com/view/carolshess...
I laughed outloud so many times whilst reading this book, in which poor deluded Bertie thinks he can manage other people's affair better than that most impeccable of manservants, Jeeves. It isn't a spoiler to say that of course Bertie can't, & much hilarity ensues.
In particular you should look out for Aunt Dahlia giving instructions to Bertram what he should look out for when going for a walk & an impassioned speech from the French chef, Anatole.
I'm not knocking half a ★ off for one piece of casual racism. (I'm wondering if it has been censored from other copies as none of my friends at Retro Reads have mentioned it) but because just before the peerless Jeeves there was a portion where it dragged. The resolution though was highly satisfactory & left me craving more Wodehouse!
https://wordpress.com/view/carolshess...
February 4, 2012
The 2012 re-read
Gussie Fink-Nottle is in love with Madeline Bassett but can't seem to talk to her. Madeline Bassett is in love with Gussie Fink-Nottle but thinks Bertie Wooster wants to marry her. Bertie's cousin Angela was engaged to Tuppy Glossop but they had a bust-up over whether or not Angela saw a shark. Can Jeeves put them all back together? He might have been able to, had he and Bertie not had a falling out over Bertie's white mess jacket...
First off, this review will hardly be unbiased. My love for P.G. Wodehouse is such that if the zombie apocalypse occured and Wodehouse came staggering toward me with a lust for brains, I would be completely unwilling to shoot him.
The second full-length Jeeves and Wooster novel is a big improvement over the first. The writing is crisper, the similes even more hilarious, and Jeeves and Wooster function like a well-oiled machine. Once again, the rift between Jeeves and Wooster was used as a plot device, more effectively than in Thank You, Jeeves.
As usual, quotable lines are in abundance. As usual, I did not write any of them down while I was reading.
"Lack of appetite? I'm as hollow as the Grand Canyon!"
"The exquisite code of politeness of the Woosters prevented me clipping her one on the ear-hole."
The strength of the Jeeves and Wooster books is that Bertie is a bit of a fathead, and he performs the role admirably in Right ho, Jeeves. Bertie thinking he could be as good as Jeeves at solving problems? Pshaw, I say! Once things are suitably muddled, Jeeves saves the day, as he always does. I do not consider the previous sentence a spoiler since it happens in every Jeeves book.
Funny moments abound, many of them centering on a drunken Gussie Fink-Nottle. Aunt Dahlia is in fine form. Tuppy, Angela, and Madeline Bassett were negligible but still had their moments.
Right Ho, Jeeves, the second Jeeves and Wooster novel, is a much better read than the first. Wodehouse is the master of the bumbling romantic comedy. Four easy stars.
Gussie Fink-Nottle is in love with Madeline Bassett but can't seem to talk to her. Madeline Bassett is in love with Gussie Fink-Nottle but thinks Bertie Wooster wants to marry her. Bertie's cousin Angela was engaged to Tuppy Glossop but they had a bust-up over whether or not Angela saw a shark. Can Jeeves put them all back together? He might have been able to, had he and Bertie not had a falling out over Bertie's white mess jacket...
First off, this review will hardly be unbiased. My love for P.G. Wodehouse is such that if the zombie apocalypse occured and Wodehouse came staggering toward me with a lust for brains, I would be completely unwilling to shoot him.
The second full-length Jeeves and Wooster novel is a big improvement over the first. The writing is crisper, the similes even more hilarious, and Jeeves and Wooster function like a well-oiled machine. Once again, the rift between Jeeves and Wooster was used as a plot device, more effectively than in Thank You, Jeeves.
As usual, quotable lines are in abundance. As usual, I did not write any of them down while I was reading.
"Lack of appetite? I'm as hollow as the Grand Canyon!"
"The exquisite code of politeness of the Woosters prevented me clipping her one on the ear-hole."
The strength of the Jeeves and Wooster books is that Bertie is a bit of a fathead, and he performs the role admirably in Right ho, Jeeves. Bertie thinking he could be as good as Jeeves at solving problems? Pshaw, I say! Once things are suitably muddled, Jeeves saves the day, as he always does. I do not consider the previous sentence a spoiler since it happens in every Jeeves book.
Funny moments abound, many of them centering on a drunken Gussie Fink-Nottle. Aunt Dahlia is in fine form. Tuppy, Angela, and Madeline Bassett were negligible but still had their moments.
Right Ho, Jeeves, the second Jeeves and Wooster novel, is a much better read than the first. Wodehouse is the master of the bumbling romantic comedy. Four easy stars.
September 30, 2024
“As I dare say you know, Jeeves reputation as a counselor has long been established among the cognoscenti, and the first of any in my little circle on discovering themselves in any sort of soup is always to roll around and put the thing up to him.”
“And what is Gussie’s trouble?” “Each time he endeavors to formulate a proposal of marriage, his courage fails him, sir.” “And yet if he wants this female to be his wife, he’s got to say so, what? I mean, it’s only civil to mention it.”
“This Gussie you see was one of those freaks you come across from time to time in life’s journey who can’t stand London. He lived year in and year out, covered in moss, in a remote village down in Lincolnshire, never coming up even for the Eton and Harrow match. And when I asked him once if he didn’t find the time to hang a bit heavy on his hands, he said no, because he has a pond in his garden and studies the habits of newts.”
“You know how it is with some girls. They seem to take the stuffing right out of you. I mean to say, there is something about their personality that paralyzes the vocal chords and reduces the brain to cauliflower. It was like that with this Bassett and me. It was not her beauty that thus numbed me. No, what caused this was her whole mental attitude. I don’t want to wrong anybody, so I won’t say she actually wrote poetry, but her conversation was of a nature to excite the liveliest suspicions.”
************
‘Right Ho, Jeeves’ is P. G. Wodehouse’s second novel about the adventures of upperclass featherhead Bertie Wooster and his unflappable manservant Jeeves. It was published in 1934, after ‘Thank You, Jeeves’ in 1933, which had Jeeves missing for most of the action. It’s the case here too, but isn’t much of a problem since the stories are narrated by Bertie and involve misperceptions of the people around him and inept meddling in their personal affairs. Earlier short stories had begun in 1916, in magazines and later in collections. The Great War and it’s aftermath is absent from Bertie’s world and posh life carries on as if nothing happened. He is not affected by external strife but more than compensates for it with self inflicted drama.
Bertie has been vacationing in Cannes with his irrepressible Aunt Dahlia and his favorite cousin Angela. Arriving home he learns Jeeves has been asked by his lackluster pal Gussie to provide assistance with a girl he is afraid to approach. Bertie has grown annoyed with friends and relatives appealing to Jeeves for help and disregarding his advice. The object of Gussie’s affections is Miss Bassett, a dreamy romantic Bertie had met at Cannes. Gussie is a socially awkward recluse who moved to the countryside and raises amphibians in his pond. When Jeeves advises Gussie to attend dress ball as the Devil, to put some spunk in the old boy, Bertie takes matters into his own hands and invites him to Dahlia’s country estate where Bassett is staying.
Bertie is relieved he has gotten himself off the hook for being toastmaster at a boys school awards ceremony, and tricked Gussie into the chore, when he learns his school pal Tuppy is on the rocks with Angela. He rushes to Dahlia’s to set things straight and recommends Tuppy go on a hunger strike since she thinks he’s too fat. This doesn’t work so he hatches another scheme, to bad mouth him with Angela and make her defend him, but she agrees he is a loser. Tuppy finds out and thinks he is trying to steal her away. Gussie has failed to woo Bassett, head over heels for Bertie, who thinks she’s a hound. Bertie has a flash of inspiration and decides to pour a pint of gin into Gussie’s orange juice to steel his nerves for the job.
Bertie is unaware Gussie already downed a pint of whiskey to brace himself for the awards ceremony. He’s a teetotaler and becomes totally shitfaced, proposes to Bassett and pisses off the whole town with a drunken soliloquy that puts an end to the engagement. Tuppie’s refusal to eat has offended the French cook who resigns leaving Dahlia in a fume. Bertie has told Tuppie that he is in love with Bassett in order to allay his suspicions, who now believes Gussie has stolen Angela from him. Enraged, Tuppie chases Gussie around Brinkley Court Manor with an intent to kill. Bertie receives a message that Bassett intends to marry him. There is only one person left to rely on, so Bertie resorts to Jeeves to straighten the entire idiotic mess out.
Much of ‘Right Ho, Jeeves’ takes place in Bertie’s head as he explains his mistakes and boasts of genius to the reader who can pick apart the hilarious flaws in his thinking. The rest of the novel is written like a movie or a stage comedy, dialogue and settings ready for production. Wodehouse had parallel careers in the theater and cinema, and you can hear actors speaking their lines in vaudeville halls and on celluloid reels. This versatility has kept the books fresh for nearly a century now. The film can be remade, the play can be recast, but the same fools created by Wodehouse live on in his words and in life. Unsurprisingly perhaps the only one missing is Jeeves. There are no real world peers to that trustworthy retainer of wisdom and constancy.
“And what is Gussie’s trouble?” “Each time he endeavors to formulate a proposal of marriage, his courage fails him, sir.” “And yet if he wants this female to be his wife, he’s got to say so, what? I mean, it’s only civil to mention it.”
“This Gussie you see was one of those freaks you come across from time to time in life’s journey who can’t stand London. He lived year in and year out, covered in moss, in a remote village down in Lincolnshire, never coming up even for the Eton and Harrow match. And when I asked him once if he didn’t find the time to hang a bit heavy on his hands, he said no, because he has a pond in his garden and studies the habits of newts.”
“You know how it is with some girls. They seem to take the stuffing right out of you. I mean to say, there is something about their personality that paralyzes the vocal chords and reduces the brain to cauliflower. It was like that with this Bassett and me. It was not her beauty that thus numbed me. No, what caused this was her whole mental attitude. I don’t want to wrong anybody, so I won’t say she actually wrote poetry, but her conversation was of a nature to excite the liveliest suspicions.”
************
‘Right Ho, Jeeves’ is P. G. Wodehouse’s second novel about the adventures of upperclass featherhead Bertie Wooster and his unflappable manservant Jeeves. It was published in 1934, after ‘Thank You, Jeeves’ in 1933, which had Jeeves missing for most of the action. It’s the case here too, but isn’t much of a problem since the stories are narrated by Bertie and involve misperceptions of the people around him and inept meddling in their personal affairs. Earlier short stories had begun in 1916, in magazines and later in collections. The Great War and it’s aftermath is absent from Bertie’s world and posh life carries on as if nothing happened. He is not affected by external strife but more than compensates for it with self inflicted drama.
Bertie has been vacationing in Cannes with his irrepressible Aunt Dahlia and his favorite cousin Angela. Arriving home he learns Jeeves has been asked by his lackluster pal Gussie to provide assistance with a girl he is afraid to approach. Bertie has grown annoyed with friends and relatives appealing to Jeeves for help and disregarding his advice. The object of Gussie’s affections is Miss Bassett, a dreamy romantic Bertie had met at Cannes. Gussie is a socially awkward recluse who moved to the countryside and raises amphibians in his pond. When Jeeves advises Gussie to attend dress ball as the Devil, to put some spunk in the old boy, Bertie takes matters into his own hands and invites him to Dahlia’s country estate where Bassett is staying.
Bertie is relieved he has gotten himself off the hook for being toastmaster at a boys school awards ceremony, and tricked Gussie into the chore, when he learns his school pal Tuppy is on the rocks with Angela. He rushes to Dahlia’s to set things straight and recommends Tuppy go on a hunger strike since she thinks he’s too fat. This doesn’t work so he hatches another scheme, to bad mouth him with Angela and make her defend him, but she agrees he is a loser. Tuppy finds out and thinks he is trying to steal her away. Gussie has failed to woo Bassett, head over heels for Bertie, who thinks she’s a hound. Bertie has a flash of inspiration and decides to pour a pint of gin into Gussie’s orange juice to steel his nerves for the job.
Bertie is unaware Gussie already downed a pint of whiskey to brace himself for the awards ceremony. He’s a teetotaler and becomes totally shitfaced, proposes to Bassett and pisses off the whole town with a drunken soliloquy that puts an end to the engagement. Tuppie’s refusal to eat has offended the French cook who resigns leaving Dahlia in a fume. Bertie has told Tuppie that he is in love with Bassett in order to allay his suspicions, who now believes Gussie has stolen Angela from him. Enraged, Tuppie chases Gussie around Brinkley Court Manor with an intent to kill. Bertie receives a message that Bassett intends to marry him. There is only one person left to rely on, so Bertie resorts to Jeeves to straighten the entire idiotic mess out.
Much of ‘Right Ho, Jeeves’ takes place in Bertie’s head as he explains his mistakes and boasts of genius to the reader who can pick apart the hilarious flaws in his thinking. The rest of the novel is written like a movie or a stage comedy, dialogue and settings ready for production. Wodehouse had parallel careers in the theater and cinema, and you can hear actors speaking their lines in vaudeville halls and on celluloid reels. This versatility has kept the books fresh for nearly a century now. The film can be remade, the play can be recast, but the same fools created by Wodehouse live on in his words and in life. Unsurprisingly perhaps the only one missing is Jeeves. There are no real world peers to that trustworthy retainer of wisdom and constancy.
July 8, 2015
Bertie Wooster takes the reins from his gentleman's gentleman Jeeves, who had everything well enough in hand, and soon everything's gone pear-shaped, if that's the expression I'm looking for.
Bertie's well-intentioned schemings upset his aunt and uncle's brilliant French chef, who gives notice, which upsets everyone's gastric juices! Meanwhile his meddling upon a friend's behalf almost divorces Bertie himself from his beloved bachelorhood, egads!
When one comes to the realization that they are a first class idiot, it's time to throw in the towel and call the National Guard...or even better, Jeeves.
Well now, how can you go wrong with a comedy that has "Right Ho" taking up two-thirds of its title? You can not, my old bean, you can not. Add in a generous helping of Gussie Fink-Nottles, Madeline Bassetts and Tuppy Glossops and you have yourself a school prize winner! Drunken awards speeches and other kooky hijinks abound!
Bertie's well-intentioned schemings upset his aunt and uncle's brilliant French chef, who gives notice, which upsets everyone's gastric juices! Meanwhile his meddling upon a friend's behalf almost divorces Bertie himself from his beloved bachelorhood, egads!
When one comes to the realization that they are a first class idiot, it's time to throw in the towel and call the National Guard...or even better, Jeeves.
Well now, how can you go wrong with a comedy that has "Right Ho" taking up two-thirds of its title? You can not, my old bean, you can not. Add in a generous helping of Gussie Fink-Nottles, Madeline Bassetts and Tuppy Glossops and you have yourself a school prize winner! Drunken awards speeches and other kooky hijinks abound!
December 23, 2016
Every line was perfection. I kept laughing out loud and looking for someone to read bits too, but alas, there was no one who appreciates this the way I do at hand. The real tragedy, though, is realizing that I will never have friends with awesome names like Tuppy Glossop, Pongo Twistleton, and Gussie Fink-Nottle!
March 27, 2016
In 2012, I was elected the Vice President of our college alumni association here in the UAE. I was to take charge at our annual get-together: at the same event, I presented an ottamthullal, a satirical dance-drama which was a runaway hit. What with all the celebratory euphoria, I imbibed a little too much of the happy juice in the parking lot outside the venue (drinks were not allowed in the hall) and before I knew it, I was pickled to the gills.
You can see me with a beatific smile as I took the stage later in the day.
See the serenity of the countenance:
And here I am, shaking hands with the President. I don't remember what I was saying to him. In fact, I don't remember much of the afternoon.
-------------------------------------
Here's Bertie Wooster, talking about Gussie Fink-Nottle, about to distribute the prizes at Market Snodsbury School.
Many people would have guessed the same thing about me that day!
-------------------------------------
Fortunately, I was not called on to give a speech - like Gussie was. If it had happened, I'm sure the script would have gone something like the passage reproduced below.
This is the funniest part from the funniest book I have ever read.
You can see me with a beatific smile as I took the stage later in the day.
See the serenity of the countenance:
And here I am, shaking hands with the President. I don't remember what I was saying to him. In fact, I don't remember much of the afternoon.
-------------------------------------
Here's Bertie Wooster, talking about Gussie Fink-Nottle, about to distribute the prizes at Market Snodsbury School.
When I was able to see clearly once more, I perceived that Gussie was now seated. He had his hands on his knees, with his elbows out at right angles, like a nigger minstrel of the old school about to ask Mr. Bones why a chicken crosses the road, and he was staring before him with a smile so fixed and pebble-beached that I should have thought that anybody could have guessed that there sat one in whom the old familiar juice was plashing up against the back of the front teeth.
Many people would have guessed the same thing about me that day!
-------------------------------------
Fortunately, I was not called on to give a speech - like Gussie was. If it had happened, I'm sure the script would have gone something like the passage reproduced below.
...Gussie, having stretched his arms and yawned a bit, switched on that pebble-beached smile again and tacked down to the edge of the platform.
"Speech," he said affably.
He then stood with his thumbs in the armholes of his waistcoat, waiting for the applause to die down.
It was some time before this happened, for he had got a very fine hand indeed. I suppose it wasn't often that the boys of Market Snodsbury Grammar School came across a man public-spirited enough to call their head master a silly ass, and they showed their appreciation in no uncertain manner. Gussie may have been one over the eight, but as far as the majority of those present were concerned he was sitting on top of the world.
"Boys," said Gussie, "I mean ladies and gentlemen and boys, I do not detain you long, but I suppose on this occasion to feel compelled to say a few auspicious words; Ladies--and boys and gentlemen--we have all listened with interest to the remarks of our friend here who forgot to shave this morning--I don't know his name, but then he didn't know mine--Fitz-Wattle, I mean, absolutely absurd--which squares things up a bit--and we are all sorry that the Reverend What-ever-he-was-called should be dying of adenoids, but after all, here today, gone tomorrow, and all flesh is as grass, and what not, but that wasn't what I wanted to say. What I wanted to say was this--and I say it confidently--without fear of contradiction--I say, in short, I am happy to be here on this auspicious occasion and I take much pleasure in kindly awarding the prizes, consisting of the handsome books you see laid out on that table. As Shakespeare says, there are sermons in books, stones in the running brooks, or, rather, the other way about, and there you have it in a nutshell."
It went well, and I wasn't surprised. I couldn't quite follow some of it, but anybody could see that it was real ripe stuff, and I was amazed that even the course of treatment he had been taking could have rendered so normally tongue-tied a dumb brick as Gussie capable of it.
It just shows, what any member of Parliament will tell you, that if you want real oratory, the preliminary noggin is essential. Unless pie-eyed, you cannot hope to grip.
"Gentlemen," said Gussie, "I mean ladies and gentlemen and, of course, boys, what a beautiful world this is. A beautiful world, full of happiness on every side. Let me tell you a little story. Two Irishmen, Pat and Mike, were walking along Broadway, and one said to the other, 'Begorrah, the race is not always to the swift,' and the other replied, 'Faith and begob, education is a drawing out, not a putting in.'"
I must say it seemed to me the rottenest story I had ever heard, and I was surprised that Jeeves should have considered it worth while shoving into a speech. However, when I taxed him with this later, he said that Gussie had altered the plot a good deal, and I dare say that accounts for it.
At any rate, that was the conte as Gussie told it, and when I say that it got a very fair laugh, you will understand what a popular favourite he had become with the multitude. There might be a bearded bloke or so on the platform and a small section in the second row who were wishing the speaker would conclude his remarks and resume his seat, but the audience as a whole was for him solidly.
There was applause, and a voice cried: "Hear, hear!"
"Yes," said Gussie, "it is a beautiful world. The sky is blue, the birds are singing, there is optimism everywhere. And why not, boys and ladies and gentlemen? I'm happy, you're happy, we're all happy, even the meanest Irishman that walks along Broadway. Though, as I say, there were two of them--Pat and Mike, one drawing out, the other putting in. I should like you boys, taking the time from me, to give three cheers for this beautiful world. All together now."
Presently the dust settled down and the plaster stopped falling from the ceiling, and he went on...
This is the funniest part from the funniest book I have ever read.
October 6, 2024
This is one that I will definitley read again!
Bertie Wooster, thoroughly peeved that everyone thinks Jeeves is the brains of the house, decides to insert himself into the role of savior to friends and family alike. This means convincing a few pals who are having trouble with their lady loves to disregard Jeeves' fabulous advice, whilst encouraging his own ill-advised schemes.
As with so many Jeeves and Wooster stories, there is a near-miss with the altar, a bungled attempt (or two) to set things right for his friends, an aged relative that wants to strangle him before the book is over, and Jeeves swooping in to save the day while simultaneously getting rid of something of Bertie's that he finds offensive to his senses.
This time it's a white jacket that Bertie brought back from Cannes.
Gussie Fink-Nottle and his obsession with newts, the soppy Madeline Bassett with her sentimental ponderings, the ever-hungry Tuppy Glossop, and Bertie's cousin, Angelia, are the cast of characters that play musical chairs with their love lives and wreak havoc on Brinkley Court.
Meanwhile, Aunt Dahlia is having her own problems due to gambling away the money her husband gave her to keep her magazine, Milady's Boudoir, afloat. Making matters worse, Bertie's terrible advice to half the party (push away your meals to show you're distressed) backfires and causes his Aunt's much sought-after chef, Anatole, to turn in his resignation.
Uncle Tom may never eat again!
Of course, Jeeves will put things right.
With only one slightly humiliating miles-long bike ride in the dark for Bertie.
My advice?
Don't binge Jeeves books. Only because they are all so similar in plot. However, taken in small doses these are hilarious. They're a great palate cleanser, and always good for a belly laugh. Especially the audiobooks. The version I listen to was from Blackstone Publishing & read by Jonathan Cecil. I love the way Cecil narrates, and would highly recommend him to anyone.
Bertie Wooster, thoroughly peeved that everyone thinks Jeeves is the brains of the house, decides to insert himself into the role of savior to friends and family alike. This means convincing a few pals who are having trouble with their lady loves to disregard Jeeves' fabulous advice, whilst encouraging his own ill-advised schemes.
As with so many Jeeves and Wooster stories, there is a near-miss with the altar, a bungled attempt (or two) to set things right for his friends, an aged relative that wants to strangle him before the book is over, and Jeeves swooping in to save the day while simultaneously getting rid of something of Bertie's that he finds offensive to his senses.
This time it's a white jacket that Bertie brought back from Cannes.
Gussie Fink-Nottle and his obsession with newts, the soppy Madeline Bassett with her sentimental ponderings, the ever-hungry Tuppy Glossop, and Bertie's cousin, Angelia, are the cast of characters that play musical chairs with their love lives and wreak havoc on Brinkley Court.
Meanwhile, Aunt Dahlia is having her own problems due to gambling away the money her husband gave her to keep her magazine, Milady's Boudoir, afloat. Making matters worse, Bertie's terrible advice to half the party (push away your meals to show you're distressed) backfires and causes his Aunt's much sought-after chef, Anatole, to turn in his resignation.
Uncle Tom may never eat again!
Of course, Jeeves will put things right.
With only one slightly humiliating miles-long bike ride in the dark for Bertie.
My advice?
Don't binge Jeeves books. Only because they are all so similar in plot. However, taken in small doses these are hilarious. They're a great palate cleanser, and always good for a belly laugh. Especially the audiobooks. The version I listen to was from Blackstone Publishing & read by Jonathan Cecil. I love the way Cecil narrates, and would highly recommend him to anyone.
March 27, 2023
Hilarious misadventures
Only Bertie could manage to get himself accidentally engaged to a girl whom, to use more modern parlance, he regards as a flake of the first order. He won't accuse her of actually writing poetry but she asked him if he ever thought that the stars are God's daisy chain. Only Jeeves could get him out of it and untangle the related tangled engagements.
Only Bertie could manage to get himself accidentally engaged to a girl whom, to use more modern parlance, he regards as a flake of the first order. He won't accuse her of actually writing poetry but she asked him if he ever thought that the stars are God's daisy chain. Only Jeeves could get him out of it and untangle the related tangled engagements.
January 30, 2009
**WOOSTERS' GUIDE**
(as opposed to boring old Webster's guide)
*Woosters are men of tact, and have a nice sense of host obligations.
*Even when displaying the iron hand, Woosters like to keep the thing fairly matey.
*When woosters put their hand to the plough, they do not readily sheath the sword.
*Woosters are fair minded, and make allowances for men parading through London all night in scarlet tights. (my favorite)
*Woosters like to have their story ready.
*A Woosters' word is his bond.
*Woosters are quicker witted than the ordinary man and can read between the lines.
*Woosters are ingenious, Jeeves, exceedingly ingenious.
*Woosters are always at their shrewdest, and most level-headed in moments of peril.
*Woosters are as quick as lightning.
*It is unworthy of the prestige of a Wooster to squash in among the proletariat in a standing-room-only section.
*Woosters have an uncanny knack for going straight to the heart of things.
*A Wooster is seldom baffled, for more than the nonce.
And last, but certainly not least,
*Woosters can bite the bullet.
(as opposed to boring old Webster's guide)
*Woosters are men of tact, and have a nice sense of host obligations.
*Even when displaying the iron hand, Woosters like to keep the thing fairly matey.
*When woosters put their hand to the plough, they do not readily sheath the sword.
*Woosters are fair minded, and make allowances for men parading through London all night in scarlet tights. (my favorite)
*Woosters like to have their story ready.
*A Woosters' word is his bond.
*Woosters are quicker witted than the ordinary man and can read between the lines.
*Woosters are ingenious, Jeeves, exceedingly ingenious.
*Woosters are always at their shrewdest, and most level-headed in moments of peril.
*Woosters are as quick as lightning.
*It is unworthy of the prestige of a Wooster to squash in among the proletariat in a standing-room-only section.
*Woosters have an uncanny knack for going straight to the heart of things.
*A Wooster is seldom baffled, for more than the nonce.
And last, but certainly not least,
*Woosters can bite the bullet.
July 3, 2016
Bertie Wooster, in spite of being a silly ass, has a way with words. His first person narrative is a joy to read, it does help that he has P.G. Wodehouse to write on his behalf. He is right of course, the first paragraph of anything is often the hardest one to write. I am, in fact, in the soup at this very moment.
(12 hours later)
“I must admit that I found myself, at moment of going to press, a little destitute of constructive ideas.”
Well, I’m dashed, I went to bed with only one paragraph done, I woke up to find still only one paragraph done! Where are those little elves chappies who are supposed to get things done for you when you are getting your eight hours shuteye? You know, making shoes, writing reviews and whatnot. What rot these stories are. I’d say I have a good mind to complain, except that I don’t actually have a good mind.
Right Ho, Jeeves starts off comfortably enough with Bertie having tea in bed and chatting with super
Much hilarity ensues, featuring Bertie getting himself engaged to a Manic Pixie Dream Girl, Brinkley Court’s French chef, Anatole shaking “a few fists” at Gussie clinging to a roof for dear life, fire alarms going off and many other lunatic incidents.
Right Ho, Jeeves is a little unusual in that it is an actual novel rather than a collection of short stories like the other Jeeves books I have read. The subplots tie in together surprisingly well so the book does not feel overly episodic. Throughout the book, the well-meaning Bertie comes up with several wild schemes to alleviate his friends’ problems.
Wodehouse’s books are all “feel good” books that you pick up when you feel a little down; they will soon start to restore your brain tissues. They are also ideal if you need a change of pace from more serious fiction. I’ll be dashed if I can think of anything else to say. What I’ll do is, I’ll bung in some quotes instead to beef up the review.
Tinkerty-tonk!
The Jeeves & Wooster television series is extremely diverting, sir. If you have not had the pleasure, might I venture to suggest that you endeavour to acquire the DVD forthwith? Thank you, sir.
_______________________
Notes:
• Audiobook credit: Read with appropriate jolliness by smashing cove, Mark Nelson (American chap and accent, but spiffing fellow), whose enjoyment of the book is quite infectious. Bonus points for Anatole’s accented dialogue! Download from Librivox.
• I am glad nobody has to steal anything and try to put it back this time, one of Wodehouse’s favorite plot devices.
Quotes:
"Eloquent? No, it's not eloquent. Elusive? No, it's not elusive. It's on the tip of my tongue. Begins with an 'e' and means being a jolly sight too clever."
"Elaborate, sir?"
“Jeeves doesn't have to open doors. He's like one of those birds in India who bung their astral bodies about—the chaps, I mean, who having gone into thin air in Bombay, reassemble the parts and appear two minutes later in Calcutta. Only some such theory will account for the fact that he's not there one moment and is there the next. He just seems to float from Spot A to Spot B like some form of gas.”
“I consider that of all the dashed silly, drivelling ideas I ever heard in my puff this is the most blithering and futile.”
“I read it backwards. I read it forwards. As a matter of fact, I have a sort of recollection of even smelling it. But it still baffled me.”
“He was one of those timid, obsequious, teacup-passing, thin-bread-and-butter-offering yes-men ”
“I wish there was something else you could call him except 'Uncle Tom'," said Aunt Dahlia a little testily. "Every time you do it, I expect to see him turn black and start playing the banjo.”
“He barked raspingly, as if he were having trouble with the tonsils of the soul.”
Gah! Too many great quotes to put in, just read the whole book why don’t you?
Bung-oh!
October 25, 2020
Wodehouse is a masterful writer. You don't always notice it, as he writes Bertie Wooster as a bit of an idiot, but even B. Wooster has a way with the words! Obviously, playing with English vocabulary was great fun for the man.
I rarely laugh out loud when reading, but I confess that Gussie and his newt lore got me giggling on a couple of occasions. Of course, as usual, Bertie manages to mess up every situation that he gets involved in. During the course of this book, that would include two engagements, an academic prize presentation, the survival of a women's magazine, plus the retention of the fabulous French chef, Anatole.
If one had a small complaint, it would be that the general plot is somewhat repetitious—Jeeves solves all the problems, Bertie takes the blame/is the butt of the joke, but all is well because some fate worse than death, i.e. engagement, has been averted.
Cross posted at my blog:
https://wanda-thenextfifty.blogspot.c...
I rarely laugh out loud when reading, but I confess that Gussie and his newt lore got me giggling on a couple of occasions. Of course, as usual, Bertie manages to mess up every situation that he gets involved in. During the course of this book, that would include two engagements, an academic prize presentation, the survival of a women's magazine, plus the retention of the fabulous French chef, Anatole.
If one had a small complaint, it would be that the general plot is somewhat repetitious—Jeeves solves all the problems, Bertie takes the blame/is the butt of the joke, but all is well because some fate worse than death, i.e. engagement, has been averted.
Cross posted at my blog:
https://wanda-thenextfifty.blogspot.c...
August 25, 2013
This was a delight! Truth be told, Wodehouse saved me during a long and boring meeting yesterday. I was stuck in the auditorium for hours, but luckily I had "Right Ho, Jeeves," downloaded on iBooks. Soon I was smiling and trying not to giggle too loudly.
In Right Ho, Bertie Wooster manages to bungle things severely with two different couples who are staying at his aunt's house, and even accidentally gets engaged to a silly girl who talks of fairies and stars: "I don't want to wrong anybody, so I won't go so far as to say that she actually wrote poetry, but her conversation, to my mind, was of a nature calculated to excite the liveliest suspicions. Well, I mean to say, when a girl suddenly asks you out of a blue sky if you don't sometimes feel that the stars are God's daisy-chain, you begin to think a bit."
Bertie tries to sort things out between the couples, but his scheme of the lovelorn refusing their dinner ends up insulting his aunt's chef, who threatens to quit. Meanwhile, Bertie unintentionally gets his old friend roaring drunk just before he was to give a speech at a school assembly, which caused a scene of much hilarity, and then the drunkard gets engaged to someone else's betrothed.
What a mess! Things are so bad that Aunt Dahlia tells Bertie he is like Attila the Hun. "I was trying to think who you reminded me of. Somebody who went about strewing ruin and desolation and breaking up homes which, until he came along, had been happy and peaceful ... To look at you, one would think you were just an ordinary sort of amiable idiot -- certifiable, perhaps, but quite harmless. Yet in reality, you are a worse scourge than the Black Death."
Luckily, Jeeves is around to save the day. He concocts a ruse to get Bertie away from the house for several hours and is able to mend all fences. Right ho!
I enjoyed this book so much I'm going to go through the entire Jeeves canon. I think I'll download them before my next meeting, just in case.
In Right Ho, Bertie Wooster manages to bungle things severely with two different couples who are staying at his aunt's house, and even accidentally gets engaged to a silly girl who talks of fairies and stars: "I don't want to wrong anybody, so I won't go so far as to say that she actually wrote poetry, but her conversation, to my mind, was of a nature calculated to excite the liveliest suspicions. Well, I mean to say, when a girl suddenly asks you out of a blue sky if you don't sometimes feel that the stars are God's daisy-chain, you begin to think a bit."
Bertie tries to sort things out between the couples, but his scheme of the lovelorn refusing their dinner ends up insulting his aunt's chef, who threatens to quit. Meanwhile, Bertie unintentionally gets his old friend roaring drunk just before he was to give a speech at a school assembly, which caused a scene of much hilarity, and then the drunkard gets engaged to someone else's betrothed.
What a mess! Things are so bad that Aunt Dahlia tells Bertie he is like Attila the Hun. "I was trying to think who you reminded me of. Somebody who went about strewing ruin and desolation and breaking up homes which, until he came along, had been happy and peaceful ... To look at you, one would think you were just an ordinary sort of amiable idiot -- certifiable, perhaps, but quite harmless. Yet in reality, you are a worse scourge than the Black Death."
Luckily, Jeeves is around to save the day. He concocts a ruse to get Bertie away from the house for several hours and is able to mend all fences. Right ho!
I enjoyed this book so much I'm going to go through the entire Jeeves canon. I think I'll download them before my next meeting, just in case.
January 23, 2024
"Now up to this point, as you will doubtless agree, what you might call a perfect harmony had prevailed. Friendly gossip between employer and employed, and everything as sweet as a nut. But at this juncture, I regret to say, there was an unpleasant switch. The atmosphere suddenly changed, the storm clouds began to gather, and before we knew where we were, the jarring note had come bounding on the scene. I have known this to happen before in the Wooster home. The first intimation I had that things were about to hot up was a pained and disapproving cough from the neighbourhood of the carpet."
And thus another classic tale ensues! This is one of my favorites. It shows that Wodehouse has hit his stride with the Wooster menagerie.
"No argument, Jeeves. No discussion. Whatever fantastic objection you may have taken to it, I wear this jacket."
"Very good, sir."
He went on with his unpacking. I said no more on the subject. I had won the victory, and we Woosters do not triumph over a beaten foe."
Jeeves has his standards for providing Bertie Wooster sartorial assistance. Bertie sometimes pushes back because of the crowd he runs with. It is always a sort of friction that Bertie comes to regret. Here, there is a contemporaneous crisis with an old chum of Bertie’s, Gussie Fink-Nottle, who has gone to Jeeves directly for advice and not consulted Bertie or asked his permission.
Gussie’s ineptitude at anything romantic (and here there’s a girl he want to marry) combined with Bertie and Jeeves being on “the outs,” makes for many farcical scenes.
Perhaps, It would have gone smoother if Bertie had recalled what he wrote earlier: “I'm a bit short on brain myself; the old bean would appear to have been constructed more for ornament than for use, don't you know; but give me five minutes to talk the thing over with Jeeves, and I'm game to advise any one about anything.” But that would not have been as entertaining!
5
And thus another classic tale ensues! This is one of my favorites. It shows that Wodehouse has hit his stride with the Wooster menagerie.
"No argument, Jeeves. No discussion. Whatever fantastic objection you may have taken to it, I wear this jacket."
"Very good, sir."
He went on with his unpacking. I said no more on the subject. I had won the victory, and we Woosters do not triumph over a beaten foe."
Jeeves has his standards for providing Bertie Wooster sartorial assistance. Bertie sometimes pushes back because of the crowd he runs with. It is always a sort of friction that Bertie comes to regret. Here, there is a contemporaneous crisis with an old chum of Bertie’s, Gussie Fink-Nottle, who has gone to Jeeves directly for advice and not consulted Bertie or asked his permission.
Gussie’s ineptitude at anything romantic (and here there’s a girl he want to marry) combined with Bertie and Jeeves being on “the outs,” makes for many farcical scenes.
Perhaps, It would have gone smoother if Bertie had recalled what he wrote earlier: “I'm a bit short on brain myself; the old bean would appear to have been constructed more for ornament than for use, don't you know; but give me five minutes to talk the thing over with Jeeves, and I'm game to advise any one about anything.” But that would not have been as entertaining!
5
June 25, 2021
P.G. Wodehouse, ein neuer Stern an meinem persönlichem Himmel der humoristischen Literatur. Was habe ich gelacht. Dabei geht es gar nicht mal so sehr um die Geschichte, aber das ist bekanntlich für derartige Bücher eh unerheblich. Wer vermag schon den Anhalter durch die Galaxis nachzuerzählen. Humoristische Bücher leben von der Formulierungskunst, von treffenden Bemerkungen an richtigen Stellen, von Situationskomik und witzigen Wortspielchen. Und davon gibt es in diesem Roman reichlich.
Die Geschichte könnte als mittelmäßig unterhaltsame Burleske in Schwarz-Weiß auch im Sonntag Vormittagsprogramm eines Dritten Senders laufen. Zentrales Duo ist Bertram Wooster, ein selbstverliebter Adliger, der als Ich-Erzähler jede Situation sprachlich mit Spitzen zu kommentieren vermag, und sein Butler Jeeves. Die klassische Konstellation trotteliger Herr und cleverer Untergebener. Es gibt Verwicklungen um gelöste Verlobungen, Kündigungen von französischen Starköchen, eine verunglückte Preisverleihung, dominante Tanten und schreckhafte Onkel. Alles nicht so wichtig, um es hier aufzuführen.
Brillant ist vor allem die Eleganz und die Leichtigkeit mit der Thomas Schlachter übersetzt. Ich fühlte mich an die Serie „Die Zwei“ mit Tony Curtis und Roger Moore erinnert, die im Original floppte, aber Dank der frechen Synchronisation in Deutschland ein Renner war. Schlachters Wortwitze sind wirklich schreiend komisch. Keine Ahnung, ob das im Original ähnlich gut ist, aber wohl schon, denn P.G. Wodehouse gilt gemäß dem Nachwort des großen Fans Denis Scheck als zeitweise der erfolgreichste Schriftsteller der Welt. Wie gut das es noch 90 weitere Romane von dem Engländer gibt, der hochbetagt und zum Ritter geschlagen in den 70er Jahren verstarb. Es wird noch einiges zum Lachen geben. Genau mein Humor.
Die Geschichte könnte als mittelmäßig unterhaltsame Burleske in Schwarz-Weiß auch im Sonntag Vormittagsprogramm eines Dritten Senders laufen. Zentrales Duo ist Bertram Wooster, ein selbstverliebter Adliger, der als Ich-Erzähler jede Situation sprachlich mit Spitzen zu kommentieren vermag, und sein Butler Jeeves. Die klassische Konstellation trotteliger Herr und cleverer Untergebener. Es gibt Verwicklungen um gelöste Verlobungen, Kündigungen von französischen Starköchen, eine verunglückte Preisverleihung, dominante Tanten und schreckhafte Onkel. Alles nicht so wichtig, um es hier aufzuführen.
Brillant ist vor allem die Eleganz und die Leichtigkeit mit der Thomas Schlachter übersetzt. Ich fühlte mich an die Serie „Die Zwei“ mit Tony Curtis und Roger Moore erinnert, die im Original floppte, aber Dank der frechen Synchronisation in Deutschland ein Renner war. Schlachters Wortwitze sind wirklich schreiend komisch. Keine Ahnung, ob das im Original ähnlich gut ist, aber wohl schon, denn P.G. Wodehouse gilt gemäß dem Nachwort des großen Fans Denis Scheck als zeitweise der erfolgreichste Schriftsteller der Welt. Wie gut das es noch 90 weitere Romane von dem Engländer gibt, der hochbetagt und zum Ritter geschlagen in den 70er Jahren verstarb. Es wird noch einiges zum Lachen geben. Genau mein Humor.
June 9, 2024
What to say about this joy of a novel? It is Wodehouse as a comic genius. The plot is not contrived in the manner of a bedroom farce, it is more like a Shakespearian comedy of mistaken identities - but with laughs. I love Wodehouse's way with character names which seem to sum up the silly end of 1920s high life: Gussie Fink-Nottle, Tuppy Glossop, Madeleine Bassett - known as the Bassett, Pongo Twistleton. There is the use of recurring themes: Bertie's white mess jacket, Gussie's newts, the Bassett being nibbled by a shark which Tuppy insists was only a playful flatfish, Aunt Dahlia calling Bertie Attila. And to top it all we have a totally sozzled Gussie presenting the prizes at the local grammar school and insisting the boy who won the religious studies award was a cheat and future criminal.
These are just four of my favourite lines.
Bertie describing Gussie to Jeeves:
"The chap I know wears horn-rimmed spectacles and has a face like a fish. How does that check up with your data?"
"The gentleman who came to the flat wore horn-rimmed spectacles, sir."
"And looked like something on a slab?"
"Possibly there was a certain suggestion of the piscine, sir."
* * *
Bertie reporting Aunt Dahlia's opinion of Tuppy:
"Beyond referring to you in one passage as 'this blasted Glossop', she was, I thought, singularly temperate in her language for a woman who at one time hunted regularly with the Quorn."
* * *
Bertie on Uncle Tom's fear of socialism and taxation:
"I could readily believe it. This Tom has a peculiarity I've noticed in other very oofy men. Nick him for the paltriest sum, and he lets out a squawk you can hear at Land's End. He has the stuff in gobs, but he hates giving up."
* * *
And finally Bertie on toy ducks in the bath - pure genius:
"The discovery of a toy duck in the soap dish, presumably the property of some former juvenile visitor, contributed not a little to this new and happier frame of mind. What with one thing and another, I hadn't played with toy ducks in my bath for years, and I found the novel experience most invigorating. For the benefit of the interested, I may mention that if you shove the thing under the surface with the sponge and then let it go, it shoots out of the water in a manner calculated to divert the most careworn. Ten minutes of this and I was enabled to return to the bedchamber much more the old merry Bertram."
These are just four of my favourite lines.
Bertie describing Gussie to Jeeves:
"The chap I know wears horn-rimmed spectacles and has a face like a fish. How does that check up with your data?"
"The gentleman who came to the flat wore horn-rimmed spectacles, sir."
"And looked like something on a slab?"
"Possibly there was a certain suggestion of the piscine, sir."
* * *
Bertie reporting Aunt Dahlia's opinion of Tuppy:
"Beyond referring to you in one passage as 'this blasted Glossop', she was, I thought, singularly temperate in her language for a woman who at one time hunted regularly with the Quorn."
* * *
Bertie on Uncle Tom's fear of socialism and taxation:
"I could readily believe it. This Tom has a peculiarity I've noticed in other very oofy men. Nick him for the paltriest sum, and he lets out a squawk you can hear at Land's End. He has the stuff in gobs, but he hates giving up."
* * *
And finally Bertie on toy ducks in the bath - pure genius:
"The discovery of a toy duck in the soap dish, presumably the property of some former juvenile visitor, contributed not a little to this new and happier frame of mind. What with one thing and another, I hadn't played with toy ducks in my bath for years, and I found the novel experience most invigorating. For the benefit of the interested, I may mention that if you shove the thing under the surface with the sponge and then let it go, it shoots out of the water in a manner calculated to divert the most careworn. Ten minutes of this and I was enabled to return to the bedchamber much more the old merry Bertram."
July 16, 2007
Those starting to read P. G. Wodehouse should start with this novel, which is sometimes called BRINKLEY MANOR. It is the immediate predecessor to Wodehouse's most perfect novel, THE CODE OF THE WOOSTERS.
He wrote this in his mid-fifties. It was something like his fortieth novel. He literally wrote about seventy novels, all of them extremely light, the vast majority of them humorous. (His very early novels were about cricket-players at prep-school.) RIGHT-HO, JEEVES features P. G. Wodehouse's most famous characters, Bertie Wooster and his butler, Jeeves.
The Jeeves novels are like Sunday comic strips come to life; early Sunday comic strips of the sort printed around 1915, where people at dinner parties knock over elaborately placed dinner tables. There is a great deal of slapstick in Wodehouse's novels.
The great thing with the Jeeves novels is that they are narrated in the first-person by the very opinionated main character, Bertie. He's an eternally vacationing young aristocrat. His main fear is having to visit one of his intimidating and/or crazy aunts at one of their various mansions. Girls he has no interest in constantly assume he's trying to propose to them and almost all the Jeeves novels involve Bertie's efforts to wriggle out of engagements he himself never instigated. He also has a valiant side. He tries to fix up friends who do love particular girls with the girls of their choice.
The plots sound much more like Evelyn Waugh than they actually are. The plots are simply devices for Bertie Wooster to tell us what he thinks of the people who seem always to impinge on his repose. Wodehouse's strong suit is his absolutely classical use of language as juxtaposed with his sharp sense of jazz-age slang. The slang he uses, of course, never partakes of anything sexual. Wodehouse is the least libidinous humorist in the English language.
Above all, you don't get a sense that a bully ever wins in Wodehouse. Everything comes right at the end. That's the definition of comedy.
He wrote this in his mid-fifties. It was something like his fortieth novel. He literally wrote about seventy novels, all of them extremely light, the vast majority of them humorous. (His very early novels were about cricket-players at prep-school.) RIGHT-HO, JEEVES features P. G. Wodehouse's most famous characters, Bertie Wooster and his butler, Jeeves.
The Jeeves novels are like Sunday comic strips come to life; early Sunday comic strips of the sort printed around 1915, where people at dinner parties knock over elaborately placed dinner tables. There is a great deal of slapstick in Wodehouse's novels.
The great thing with the Jeeves novels is that they are narrated in the first-person by the very opinionated main character, Bertie. He's an eternally vacationing young aristocrat. His main fear is having to visit one of his intimidating and/or crazy aunts at one of their various mansions. Girls he has no interest in constantly assume he's trying to propose to them and almost all the Jeeves novels involve Bertie's efforts to wriggle out of engagements he himself never instigated. He also has a valiant side. He tries to fix up friends who do love particular girls with the girls of their choice.
The plots sound much more like Evelyn Waugh than they actually are. The plots are simply devices for Bertie Wooster to tell us what he thinks of the people who seem always to impinge on his repose. Wodehouse's strong suit is his absolutely classical use of language as juxtaposed with his sharp sense of jazz-age slang. The slang he uses, of course, never partakes of anything sexual. Wodehouse is the least libidinous humorist in the English language.
Above all, you don't get a sense that a bully ever wins in Wodehouse. Everything comes right at the end. That's the definition of comedy.
September 4, 2019
I have read the "Jeeves stories" over and over having discovered them the first time years ago when i was home due to a broken foot I'd gotten on the job and had to be down a bit. While I almost always feel obligated to warn perspective readers that you might run across some words or phrases in a very few of these stories that are today found offensive (as you will if you read Mark Twain) please remember that they weren't meant that way. The stories are a product of their time and if you can get passed that (and it's not something you'll see except in a couple of stories) you'll find some very creative and funny writing.
April 25, 2023
2023 I kept laughing aloud and people asked me why. (Audiobook read by Jason Cecil)
March 12, 2020
Never enough newts!
I've come to realize that there are few books that utilize newts, let alone as adroitly as this one.
Won't ruin it by divulging all the newt goodies. Needless to say, Bertie is a bit chaffed at Jeeves high-handedness and suffering a wee bit of hubris--all that French Riviera sun will do that--and decides that Jeeves has lost his edge and Bertie can do it better.
(\_/)
(O.o)
Wooster's not usually this thick, but again, I blame the sun. And Wooster's got his hackles up because Jeeves has vetoed another piece of his male frippery. Peacocks and their feathers, sigh. All the same, this bungle of matchmaking is roaringly amusing in the most delightfully absurd manner. Usually I align with the old cantankerous male in stories, but I found myself most fond of Aunt Agatha.
Newts and Jeeves for the win!
I've come to realize that there are few books that utilize newts, let alone as adroitly as this one.
"In a striking costume like Mephistopheles, I might quite easily pull off something pretty impressive. Colour does make a difference. Look at newts. During the courting season the male newt is brilliantly coloured. It helps him a lot."
"You have not been through the experience of starting to ask the girl you love to marry you and then suddenly finding yourself talking about the plumlike external gills of the newly-born newt. It's not a thing you can do twice."
Won't ruin it by divulging all the newt goodies. Needless to say, Bertie is a bit chaffed at Jeeves high-handedness and suffering a wee bit of hubris--all that French Riviera sun will do that--and decides that Jeeves has lost his edge and Bertie can do it better.
(\_/)
(O.o)
Wooster's not usually this thick, but again, I blame the sun. And Wooster's got his hackles up because Jeeves has vetoed another piece of his male frippery. Peacocks and their feathers, sigh. All the same, this bungle of matchmaking is roaringly amusing in the most delightfully absurd manner. Usually I align with the old cantankerous male in stories, but I found myself most fond of Aunt Agatha.
"Yes, carry on. I am past caring now. I shall even find a faint interest in seeing into what darker and profounder abysses of hell you can plunge this home."
Newts and Jeeves for the win!
February 21, 2024
Great stuff.
As some clever cove (probably Shakespeare) once said, "Mr Wodehouse's idyllic world can never stale. He will continue to release future generations from captivity that may be more irksome than our own. He has made a world for us to live in and delight in" I couldn't have put it better myself.
*The quote is actually Evelyn Waugh*
As some clever cove (probably Shakespeare) once said, "Mr Wodehouse's idyllic world can never stale. He will continue to release future generations from captivity that may be more irksome than our own. He has made a world for us to live in and delight in" I couldn't have put it better myself.
*The quote is actually Evelyn Waugh*
January 19, 2019
“Jeeves, I'm engaged."
"I hope you will be very happy, sir."
"Don't be an ass. I'm engaged to Miss Bassett.”
2018 was missing something, and now I know what. Nothing can make me laugh quite like Wodehouse's Jeeves series.
Read with a LibriVox audiobook.
"I hope you will be very happy, sir."
"Don't be an ass. I'm engaged to Miss Bassett.”
2018 was missing something, and now I know what. Nothing can make me laugh quite like Wodehouse's Jeeves series.
Read with a LibriVox audiobook.
May 28, 2022
Another perfect audiobook. I kept laughing uncontrollably in public at this one.
June 8, 2024
(I trust my personal shorthand will pose no problems.)
= Quotes
5-((first paragraph)) 'JEEVES,' I sd, 'may I spk frankl?
'Certnl, sir.'
'What I h t say may wound y.'
'N at all, sir.'
'Well, then - '
No - wait. Hold te line a minute. I've gone off te rails.
9 - 'Well, I'm dashd. I'm really dashd. I positively am dashd, Jeeves.'
& I was too.
13 - She w a pretty enough girl in a droopsy, blonde, saucer-eyed way, b n te sort o breath-tkr th tks te breath.
22 - 'Look at newts. Durg te courtg season te male newt i brillntl colord. It helps him a lot.'
'B y aren't a male newt.'
'I wish I w. D y know how a male newt proposes, Bertie? H just stands in front o te female newt
vibratg h tail & bendg h body in a semicircle. I cd do that on m head. No, y wldn't find me grousg
if I w a male newt.'
'B if y w a male newt, Madeline Bassett wldn't look at y. N w te eye o love, I mean.'
'She wd, if she w a female newt.'
'B she isn't a female newt.'
'No, b suppose she w.'
'Well, if she w, y wldn't b in love w her.'
'Yes, I wd, if I w a male newt.'
A slight throbg abt te temples told me th this discussn had reached saturatn pnt.
29 - & a moment later thr w a sound lk a mighty rushg wind, & te relatv had crossed te threshold at fifty m.p.h. undr her own steam.
81 - Uncle Tom, who alw looked a bit lk a pterodactyl w a secret sorrow,
88 - I cd n b remember how oftn, when in her company at Cannes, I had gazed dumbl at her, wishg th some kindl motorist in a racg car wd ease te sitn b comg along & ramg her amidships. As I h already md abundantl clear this girl w n one o my most cngenial buddies. (...) [ A dialogue between this Madeline Bassett, whom he relentlessly refers to as "the Bassett", & te narrator ensues.]
'Lovely evening,' I sd.
'Yes, lovely, isn't it?'
'Lovely. Reminds me o Cannes.'
'How lovely te evenings w there.'
' Lovely,' I sd.
'Lovely,' sd te Bassett.
'Lovely,' I agreed.
That cmpleted te weather & news bulletin f te French Riviera.
90 - There w a fag-end o sunset still functng.
91 - 'Oh - look,' she sd. She w a cnfirmed oh-looker.
115 - I wldn't h said off-hand th I had a subconscs mind, b I suppose I must without knowg it.
173 - I sd, "Don't talk rot, old Tom Travers." " I am n accustmd to talk rot," he sd. "Then, f a beginner," I sd, "y do it dashed well."
178 - G.G. Simmons w an unpleasant, perky-lookg stripling, mostl front teeth & spectacles.
188 - 'Precisely, sir. My cousin George - '
'Nvr mind abt y Cousin George, Jeeves.'
'Very good, sir.'
'Kp him f te long winter evenings, what?'
'Just as y wish, sir.'
194 - There's a word beginning w R - 're' or sth - 'recal' sth - No, it's gone. B what I am drivg at i that i what this Angela w showg herself.
195 - Odd how y never realz th evr girl i at heart a vics specimen until sth goes wrong w h love affair.
201 - [Anatole, the French cook, is in a peeve.] 'Hot dog!' Y ask me what i it? Listn. Make some attn a littl. (...) If y think I like it, y jolly well mistk ys. I am so mad as a wet hen, & why not? I am sb, isn't it? (...) He remain plantd there, n givg any damns. (...) H mk faces agnst me & agn he mk faces agnst me, (...) & I demand what i his desire, b he do n explain. Oh no, that arrives never. (...) Tell te boob t go aw. He i mad as some March hatters.'
203 - It isn't oftn th Aunt Dahlia (...) lets her angry passions rise, b when she does strong men climb trees & pull them up after them.
212 - ((Another conversation with "the Bassett"))
'Y got my note?'
'Yes, I got y note.'
'I gave it t Jeeves t give it t y.'
'Yes, h gave it t me. That's how I got it.'
There w anoth silence.
224 - '...,' boomed that well-known & under certn cnditns well-loved voice,
239 - [With "the Bassett"]
'Ha!'
'What?'
'Noth.'
'I thought y sd sth.'
'No, noth.'
& I cntinued t do so. For at this junctr, as had so oftn happnd when this girl & I w closeted, te cnversatn once more went blue on us.
= I listened to this on Youtube, which has an excellent rendition by a mr. Jonathan Cecil. The way he does the inebriated speech (169-179; Youtube 4:38:30/) or sentences like "Only active measures, promptly applied, can provide this poor, pusillanimous poop with the proper pep." (128) had me guffawing.
= Four stars - why not five? Delicious though Mr. Wodehouse's humor undoubtedly is, it isn't subtle or deep. It never rises above the farcical - Commedia dell'arte. And his plots -(this is only the fourth Wodehouse I've read)- are thin to the extent of being insignificant - no clever red herrings, double entendres or twists in the tail. A string of loosely connected delightful little tidbits.
= Quotes
5-((first paragraph)) 'JEEVES,' I sd, 'may I spk frankl?
'Certnl, sir.'
'What I h t say may wound y.'
'N at all, sir.'
'Well, then - '
No - wait. Hold te line a minute. I've gone off te rails.
9 - 'Well, I'm dashd. I'm really dashd. I positively am dashd, Jeeves.'
& I was too.
13 - She w a pretty enough girl in a droopsy, blonde, saucer-eyed way, b n te sort o breath-tkr th tks te breath.
22 - 'Look at newts. Durg te courtg season te male newt i brillntl colord. It helps him a lot.'
'B y aren't a male newt.'
'I wish I w. D y know how a male newt proposes, Bertie? H just stands in front o te female newt
vibratg h tail & bendg h body in a semicircle. I cd do that on m head. No, y wldn't find me grousg
if I w a male newt.'
'B if y w a male newt, Madeline Bassett wldn't look at y. N w te eye o love, I mean.'
'She wd, if she w a female newt.'
'B she isn't a female newt.'
'No, b suppose she w.'
'Well, if she w, y wldn't b in love w her.'
'Yes, I wd, if I w a male newt.'
A slight throbg abt te temples told me th this discussn had reached saturatn pnt.
29 - & a moment later thr w a sound lk a mighty rushg wind, & te relatv had crossed te threshold at fifty m.p.h. undr her own steam.
81 - Uncle Tom, who alw looked a bit lk a pterodactyl w a secret sorrow,
88 - I cd n b remember how oftn, when in her company at Cannes, I had gazed dumbl at her, wishg th some kindl motorist in a racg car wd ease te sitn b comg along & ramg her amidships. As I h already md abundantl clear this girl w n one o my most cngenial buddies. (...) [ A dialogue between this Madeline Bassett, whom he relentlessly refers to as "the Bassett", & te narrator ensues.]
'Lovely evening,' I sd.
'Yes, lovely, isn't it?'
'Lovely. Reminds me o Cannes.'
'How lovely te evenings w there.'
' Lovely,' I sd.
'Lovely,' sd te Bassett.
'Lovely,' I agreed.
That cmpleted te weather & news bulletin f te French Riviera.
90 - There w a fag-end o sunset still functng.
91 - 'Oh - look,' she sd. She w a cnfirmed oh-looker.
115 - I wldn't h said off-hand th I had a subconscs mind, b I suppose I must without knowg it.
173 - I sd, "Don't talk rot, old Tom Travers." " I am n accustmd to talk rot," he sd. "Then, f a beginner," I sd, "y do it dashed well."
178 - G.G. Simmons w an unpleasant, perky-lookg stripling, mostl front teeth & spectacles.
188 - 'Precisely, sir. My cousin George - '
'Nvr mind abt y Cousin George, Jeeves.'
'Very good, sir.'
'Kp him f te long winter evenings, what?'
'Just as y wish, sir.'
194 - There's a word beginning w R - 're' or sth - 'recal' sth - No, it's gone. B what I am drivg at i that i what this Angela w showg herself.
195 - Odd how y never realz th evr girl i at heart a vics specimen until sth goes wrong w h love affair.
201 - [Anatole, the French cook, is in a peeve.] 'Hot dog!' Y ask me what i it? Listn. Make some attn a littl. (...) If y think I like it, y jolly well mistk ys. I am so mad as a wet hen, & why not? I am sb, isn't it? (...) He remain plantd there, n givg any damns. (...) H mk faces agnst me & agn he mk faces agnst me, (...) & I demand what i his desire, b he do n explain. Oh no, that arrives never. (...) Tell te boob t go aw. He i mad as some March hatters.'
203 - It isn't oftn th Aunt Dahlia (...) lets her angry passions rise, b when she does strong men climb trees & pull them up after them.
212 - ((Another conversation with "the Bassett"))
'Y got my note?'
'Yes, I got y note.'
'I gave it t Jeeves t give it t y.'
'Yes, h gave it t me. That's how I got it.'
There w anoth silence.
224 - '...,' boomed that well-known & under certn cnditns well-loved voice,
239 - [With "the Bassett"]
'Ha!'
'What?'
'Noth.'
'I thought y sd sth.'
'No, noth.'
& I cntinued t do so. For at this junctr, as had so oftn happnd when this girl & I w closeted, te cnversatn once more went blue on us.
= I listened to this on Youtube, which has an excellent rendition by a mr. Jonathan Cecil. The way he does the inebriated speech (169-179; Youtube 4:38:30/) or sentences like "Only active measures, promptly applied, can provide this poor, pusillanimous poop with the proper pep." (128) had me guffawing.
= Four stars - why not five? Delicious though Mr. Wodehouse's humor undoubtedly is, it isn't subtle or deep. It never rises above the farcical - Commedia dell'arte. And his plots -(this is only the fourth Wodehouse I've read)- are thin to the extent of being insignificant - no clever red herrings, double entendres or twists in the tail. A string of loosely connected delightful little tidbits.
December 9, 2014
So off we go to Brinkley Court for more high japes and adventures. Along the way hearts will be sundered, friendships forged in childhood will be momentarily broken and mentally negligible young men will make complete fools out of themselves. If you’re already aware of the books but can’t quite determine which one this is (after all, they do share very similar plots), then this is the episode with Gussie Fink-Nottle dressed as the devil and Bertie making an eighteen mile round trip on an old bicycle to rescue a key which was in Jeeves’s pocket all along.
The interesting thing with these stories is how Wodehouse gets around the Superman problem. Of course the main flaw with any Superman story is that he is so much more powerful than anyone else; so invulnerable to attack, that every villain on the planet has to get access to kryptonite to make a dent on him. (Now, one would think that was a rare substance, but no, it seems to be as freely available to the criminal classes as lock-picks.) Wodehouse faces a same issue. Given how smart and assured Jeeves is, given that the man never makes a mistake – how does one eke out a novel worth of material with a central protagonist who can just step in and save the day in an instant? Well the answer is of course young Bertie Wooster. By creating tension between the young master and his valet, by letting Bertie get the idea that Jeeves has somehow lost it, we are treated to over two hundred pages of hilarious thrills and spills as Wooster’s advice causes calamity and disaster at every turn. (It would be like a missing Conan Doyle novel, where Watson tells Holmes he’s gone off his chump and starts to investigate the murders himself). Of course Jeeves will inevitably step in and save everything at the end, but even when all is resolved it’s clearly just at pause until the next set of incredible and hilarious confusions begins.
Comic writing at its absolute best. The Master strikes again.
The interesting thing with these stories is how Wodehouse gets around the Superman problem. Of course the main flaw with any Superman story is that he is so much more powerful than anyone else; so invulnerable to attack, that every villain on the planet has to get access to kryptonite to make a dent on him. (Now, one would think that was a rare substance, but no, it seems to be as freely available to the criminal classes as lock-picks.) Wodehouse faces a same issue. Given how smart and assured Jeeves is, given that the man never makes a mistake – how does one eke out a novel worth of material with a central protagonist who can just step in and save the day in an instant? Well the answer is of course young Bertie Wooster. By creating tension between the young master and his valet, by letting Bertie get the idea that Jeeves has somehow lost it, we are treated to over two hundred pages of hilarious thrills and spills as Wooster’s advice causes calamity and disaster at every turn. (It would be like a missing Conan Doyle novel, where Watson tells Holmes he’s gone off his chump and starts to investigate the murders himself). Of course Jeeves will inevitably step in and save everything at the end, but even when all is resolved it’s clearly just at pause until the next set of incredible and hilarious confusions begins.
Comic writing at its absolute best. The Master strikes again.
March 19, 2017
Five stars aren't enough for a book that contains Gussie Fink-Nottle's speech at the Market Snodsbury Grammar School. Any writer who ventures into comedy should read some Wodehouse.
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