Life with Jeeves

by P.G. Wodehouse

Book Overview

It is old Bertie Wooster's habit to land in the soup from time to time. To get into a spot of bother. Circumstances, aided and abetted by Aunt Agatha, Aunt Dahlia, Bingo Little, Tuppy, Sippy and others, seem to conspire against him, and a frightful muddle ensues. Enter Jeeves, the source of all solace. Jeeves of the infinite sagacity. Jeeves, that noiseless provider of deliverance from the hangover, a bird of the ripest intellect, calm and wise enough...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140059024
• ISBN13: 9780140059021
• Release Date: September 1983
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Length: 556 Pages
• Weight: 0.88 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.0" x 7.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Good Novel, Great Short Stories

This volume is rather an odd collection, consisting of the first twenty-nine Bertie and Jeeves stories (at least the first twenty-nine to be collected) plus the novel Right Ho, Jeeves. Wodehouse hit his stride in the 1920s (at approximately the age of forty!), and Right Ho, Jeeves, the latest work published here, dates from 1934, so these are works from the beginning of his greatest period, which, for my money, runs to the mid-1950s (Wodehouse lived until Valentine's Day 1975).Wodehouse was that rare author who was a master of both the novel and the short story. These stories are wonderful. I'm particularly fond of Jeeves and the Old School Chum and Sir Roderick Comes to Lunch; others may well have different favorites, and who am I to differ? Every story is a jewel in its own way.Right Ho, Jeeves isn't, in my opinion, in a class with The Mating Season, Summer Lightning, or Heavy Weather as one of the greatest of Wodehouse's novels, but that's a bit like saying that Symphony No. 25 in Gm isn't Mozart's greatest symphony. Symphony No. 25 is still a wonderful symphony, and Right Ho, Jeeves, is a great, funny novel.Wodehouse has brought me more happiness than any other author; there are, I'm sure, thousands more who would join me in that opinion. If you've never read any Wodehouse, you could do far worse than to start with this book, and you're in for a rare treat.

A Joyous Romp Through the English Language

P.G. Wodehouse is truly a master of the English language. He has a unique ability to have you rolling on the floor with laughter w/ descriptions of even mundane daily activites. His genius lies in his choice of words and ability to make the words flow together. I have never encountered another author that can make me laugh out loud w/ every single page I read. I have read 10 of his novels, 2 books of short stories, and the newly published omnibus, "What Ho!". BTW - this omnibus volume is a great first Wodehouse purchase if you're a bit overwhelmed by the number of his publications; it combines all the best of Wodehouse.

The Classic Jeeves Short Stories

It's enough that this collection has three masterpiece stories: "The Great Sermon Handicap," its pendant "The Purity of the Turf," and "Jeeves and the Impending Doom." Savor them, and, in between, enjoy the loves of Bingo Little and Tuppy Glossop ("Jeeves and the Song of Songs" is perhaps the best) and the irrepressible Roberta "Bobbie" Wickham ("Jeeves and the Yule-tide Spirit"). And the aunts, of course. Wodehouse knew aunts.Wodehouse himself characterized his stories as "a sort of musical comedy without music." But they were a musical comedy of a time--"The Cocoanuts," perhaps, but not "Brigadoon." As the stories and novels slid out of the Twenties and toward the Fifties, the innocence slipped a bit away. But the stories in this collection are vintage: "Jeeves and the Impending Doom" was published first in 1927, and the collection "Very Good, Jeeves" came out about 1930.Another way to look at the Jeeves stories is as whodunits or, rather, howhedunits: How will Jeeves save the day THIS time? But if that were why we read them, we'd read them once, and maybe again years later, when memory has faded. No, when it comes to reprise, better to open the volume at random and pick up where the language beckons. Because Wodehouse is a wit and a stylist of the first order. Bertie's characterization of Honoria Glossop--"a ghastly dynamic exhibit who read Nietzsche and had a laugh like waves breaking on a stern and rockbound coast"--makes her more than just another of the horsey set: it conveys the horror that one might have if one (1) is a young man of little brain and good heart and (2) had once been engaged to her.In all, a treasury, a word-hoard, a gift that keeps on giving . . .

Just Pretend the Third Part's Not There

As the title indicates, this volume is three books in one. "The Inimitable Jeeves" is a collection of episodes, chronologically arranged, each episode taking about 1-3 chapters. In "Very Good, Jeeves!" the episodes are shorter, about a chapter each. "Right Ho, Jeeves" is one long story.Each episode follows the dependable formula of Bertie Wooster falling -- or being pushed -- into trouble and climbing out with advice or more direct help from Jeeves. Wooster's troubles are seldom simple; they usually involve many layers of complication and seem hopeless, while the Jeevesian solutions elegantly peel away the difficulties and make things right. Wodehouse's characters (all, not just these two) are wonderfully drawn, and the hilarity is frequent and intense."Right Ho, Jeeves," however, is different. The solutions are less elegant, Wooster and Jeeves seem a bit mean-spirited and the language and plotting seem forced. I strongly recommend you read the first two books, chapters in the second of which can easily be taken out of order if desired, and ignore the third. "The Inimitable Jeeves" and "Very Good, Jeeves!" are so wonderful and occasioned so many episodes of embarrassing public laughter or suppression of same that I have had to give the book top marks anyway.By the way, as I'm not sure what effect my having seen the PBS "Jeeves and Wooster" productions had on my reading of the books, if you haven't seen these you might want to rent a tape before or during your first exposure to the stories in print. The stories can certainly stand alone, but as the settings are so bygone-days and Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry are so perfect in their roles, the video experience could make the imagery even more effective. Wooster's verbal shuffling and conversational mode are unusual outside England of the '20s and '30s, so a cold reading might be a little difficult to "hear" correctly; an hour with a video could make it all go down more easily. And ease of reception, after all, is necessary for humor to do its best.

A bracing tonic for daily existence

I've been reading (and re-reading) Wodehouse for over 15 years now. I can't stay away for long. It seems no matter how often I read a Bertie and Jeeves, or a Blanding's Castle story, it is somehow fresh and pleasing. Scenes, lines, and even single words ("incredulous") keep popping unexpectedly into my mind and making me laugh out loud. If you have read him, read more! If you haven't, then for Heaven's sake start now and start often!!