Very Good, Jeeves

Jeeves #4

by P.G. Wodehouse

Beginning with a mysterious message and a visit to the dreaded Aunt Agatha, Very Good, Jeeves once again sees Bertie Wooster beset by difficulties that can only be untangled by his faithful butler. Indeed, by the time of this entry in the Jeeves cycle, written in 1930, everyone is seeking the butler's advice--he is universally recognised as the man to get you out of a spot of bother. When he becomes attached to an unsuitable young woman, Bertie is asked--much to his indignation--"You don't believe for a moment Jeeves will sanction the match?" Even if Bertie refuses to acknowledge his butler's influence, it does not escape the attention of those around him.

As always, Wodehouse perfectly captures (and exposes to ridicule) the trivial concerns of the idle rich. Poor Bertie finds it impossible to refuse to help a friend-"We Woosters have our code"--and always finds that the solution to the muddle results in his own embarrassment, generally engineered by the discretely manipulative Jeeves. Read by Simon Callow, this audio abridgement offers a lively reading of the source material, which will both enchant Wodehouse's many fans, and convince newcomers to explore the rest of the author's extensive oeuvre. --John Oates

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Classics, Short Stories, Comedy, Audiobook, British Literature

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1930

About the author

Sir 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).

Reviews

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little Wodehouse is good for the soul.

I chose this fun volume of Jeeves & Wooster because I needed some cheering up after finishing a long and depressing tome (I'm looking at you, Donna Tartt) and now all is well again. Right ho!

"Very Good, Jeeves" is a collection of 11 short stories featuring everyone's favorite valet ("a personal gentleman's gentleman," as Jeeves describes himself) and the ongoing scrapes of Mr. Bertie Wooster. In each story, either Bertie or one of his friends and relatives is in a bind, and fortunately for everyone, Jeeves is always there to advise and set things right.

Goodreads lists this collection as being fourth in the series, but the marvelous thing about reading Wodehouse is it doesn't seem to matter which book you pick up first -- he's such a brilliant comic writer that you can pick up any Jeeves story and you're immersed. Each story makes sly references to previous adventures, but it won't hamper your enjoyment if you don't recognize it.

This is only the second Jeeves & Wooster book I've read, but I enjoy them so much I plan to read the whole set. One of the things I especially love about them is that the stories are narrated by Wooster, who can be such a bumbling fool that it's hilarious whenever he tries to go against Jeeves.

"You know, whatever you may say against old Jeeves -- and I, for one, have never wavered in my opinion that his views on shirts for evening wear are hidebound and reactionary to a degree -- you've got to admit that the man can plan a campaign. Napoleon could have taken his correspondence course. When he sketches out a scheme, all you have to do is follow it in details, and there you are."

Right ho!

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun group of short stories featuring Bertie and Jeeves.
I'm not sure I really had a standout favorite in here but it was still a good time.



The core gang all make appearances in these stories. The ever-present Tuppy and Bingo, along with Roderick Glossip and the glorious Aunt Delhia. This wasn't my favorite collection, but Wodehouse is like pizza. Even mediocre he's better than lima beans.
I think people today need a laugh as much as the people did back then and P.G. Wodehouse is a master of his craft. Making people smile is definitely not a wasted life.
Recommended.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Very Good, Jeeves is a collection of eleven humorous stories featuring Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves. Bertie is a fun-loving - but rather dim - British toff who always getting involved in hare-brained schemes that go sideways. And Jeeves is his very clever 'gentleman's gentleman' who invariably makes things right.



Some of Bertie's escapades stem from his attempts to get back at his friend Tuppy Glossup.



Tuppy bet Bertie he couldn't swing across a swimming pool on a set of rings.....then disabled the last ring. Of course our hapless hero had to drop into the pool in his elegant evening togs. Thus, Bertie is forever trying to get revenge on Tuppy - with disastrous results. This and Bertie's other adventures are timeless and hilarious.



In this book Bertie gets treed by a swan; inadvertently drops a pail of flour on himself; punctures the wrong person's hot water bottle; loses his Aunt Agatha's beloved dog; gets caught on the grounds of a girls' school; becomes the unwilling face of 'Slingsby's Superb Soups' - and much more. One thing I love about these stories: if there's a tug-of-war between Bertie and Jeeves - over loud trousers, an inappropriate hat, a tasteless vase, a missed trip to Monte Carlo, etc. - things always go Jeeves' way in the end. Ha ha ha. 😃







If you need cheering up - or just want to laugh - you can't go wrong with these light, fun tales. Highly recommended.

You can follow my reviews at http://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot.com/

[W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Years ago,when I couldn't get enough of Wodehouse,I had a particular fondness for this volume of eleven short stories.

"When Bertie Wooster lands in the soup,only the infinite sagacity of Jeeves can pull him out."

Wodehouse created a lot of characters,but they all pale in comparison to Jeeves and Bertie Wooster.This series is Wodehouse at his very best.

It's been a long time since I last read it.Will read again soon to see how it feels after all these years.

[Dmitri · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The question of how long an author is to be allowed to go on recording the adventures of any given character is one that has frequently engaged the attention of thinking men.”
- P G Wodehouse, 1934 Preface

“The populace was too stunned for the moment to take immediate steps. Young Tuppy got right through the first verse without so much as a murmur, then they all seemed to pull themselves together.

A costermonger roused is a terrible thing. I had never seen the proletariat really stirred before, and I’m bound to say it rather awed me. I mean, it gave you some idea of what it was like during the French Revolution. From every corner of the hall there proceeded the sort of noise which you hear at one of those East End boxing places when a referee disqualifies the popular favorite. And then they passed beyond mere words and began to introduce the vegetable motif.

These blokes had grown up from childhood in the knowledge of how to treat dramatic entertainment that doesn’t please them. From the moment I saw that banana splash upon Tuppy’s shirt front I realized how infinitely more effective and artistic it was than any potato could be. Not that the potato school of thought hadn’t its supporters also. I saw several intelligent looking fellows who threw nothing else.

The effect on Tuppy was rather remarkable. His eyes bulged and his hair seemed to stand up, and yet his mouth went on opening and shutting. You could see in a dazed automatic way he was still singing. Then, coming out of his trance, he began to pull for the shore with some rapidity. Last seen of him he was beating a tomato to the exit by a short head.”

************

What greater way to while away the day than with another book about Bertie and Jeeves? This 1934 collection gathers short stories by P G Wodehouse originally published during the late 20’s in The Strand and Cosmopolitan magazines. Jeeves is the brilliant servant to Bertie who is as hopelessly confused as ever. Summoned by his overbearing Aunt Agatha to provide company for two weeks with a visiting Cabinet Minister, Bertie runs into his old friend Bingo who is now tutoring his cousin Thomas, since he had lost his wife’s money at the racetrack. When the boy plays a spectacular practical joke on the Minister Bingo is at risk of losing his job. Jeeves solves the fiasco by blaming Bertie, averting a work offer with the Cabinet.

Bertie visits Sippy at his newspaper editor’s office and finds him glum. He has fallen in love with a Miss Moon and can’t bring himself to tell her so. His old headmaster Waterbury submits articles Sippy is afraid to reject. Bertie decides that Sippy has an inferiority complex and resolves to remedy it. His hairbrained scheme backfires but Jeeves has the matter in hand. Bertie and Jeeves were headed to Montecarlo but there’s a change in plans. Bertie is invited to a country estate where his friend Tuppy is staying and plans to play a prank to get revenge for a prior slight. It boomerangs when Jeeves betrays him but Bertie finds it had been masterminded by his valet to foil Aunt Agatha’s schemes to get him engaged to a Miss Wickham.

Aunt Dahlia steams in, complaining Tuppy is dumping his cousin Angela for an opera singer. Bertie’s friend Beefy is hosting a talent show where she volunteered to sing and Tuppy plans to impress her with a song. Jeeves arranges for Bertie to sing the same ditty before him and steal the show. Miss Wickham, an old flame of Bertie’s, arrives unexpectedly for lunch with an American play producer whom she hopes to convince to stage her mother’s play, bringing his bratty son. Bertie dodges the meeting but returns to find out that Wickham has given his Aunt Agatha’s dog to the boy. It’s up to Jeeves to sort the mess out. When Bertie’s rival for a Miss Pendlebury is hit by her auto he blames Bertie, who gets into hot soup with his relatives.

Wickham runs into Bertie at a golf tournament and foists her 13 year old cousin on him, who’s out past curfew from the girls school run by Agatha’s friend. Ignoring Jeeves advice Bertie almost lands in jail but is saved by the cool headed valet. Jeeves is on vacation and Bertie visits his favorite Aunt Dahlia but is dismayed to find his loathsome cousin Thomas is there. In a good conduct contest with another boy Dahlia bet her chef against Lady Snettisham’s kitchen maid, hoping for her son Bonzo to win. Bertie bungles fixing the results and Jeeves needs to be recalled from the shore. He suggests bringing Sebastian to the house, a younger boy with long blonde curls and a superior attitude, to tempt Thomas into bad behavior.

Bertie is visiting his friend Bingo who is down in the dumps. His wife has an old friend in the house, reforming the menu with vegetarian meals and a booze ban while talking nonstop about Bingo’s bad habits. Jeeves, tasked to get rid of her, arranges to sour Bingo’s wife on the houseguest Miss Pyke. Bertie’s fat uncle Lord Yaxley plans to marry a Miss Platt who is half his age but his Aunt Agatha objects as she is from the working class. Bertie is enlisted to pay her off but his courage fails him and it is up to Jeeves to find a way to end the affair. Aunt Dahlia arrives in a huff because Tuppy is in the countryside flirting with a flapper while he’s engaged to her daughter. Bertie and Jeeves go to where he is staying to fix things up.

After reading several novels and short story collections by Wodehouse they can become somewhat repetitive as P. G. alludes to in his preface. This doesn’t detract from his work, now nearly a century old. The joy in his books is immediate, like comic strips or situation comedies without illustrations and stage action which can be easily imagined. In Ishiguro’s 1989 ‘Remains of the Day’ the dramatic tables were turned and the story is seen through the eyes of the butler Stevens. He realizes that his personal dreams were unfulfilled in his employment by the wealthy, but he perseveres in traditions of the old feudal spirit. Jeeves mental superiority to Bertie in some ways stands the class based order on its head in a light hearted manner.

[Algernon · Rating 4 out of 5]

- Jeeves, have you ever pondered on Life?
- From time to time sir, in my leisure moments.
- Grim, isn't it, what?
- Grim, sir.

All Bertram Wooster wants from life is a good night's sleep followed by a hearty breakfast, a whole day lazing at the Drones Club and maybe a vaudeville show in the evening, but troubles seems to gather around him like bees around honey. His favorite analogy is "landing in the soup", usually with a push from
the long queue of friends and relatives who come knocking on his door. Grim, indeed! But what rich source of inspiration for Wodehouse, and what joy for the reader who, despite the rather repetitive nature of the plot twists, is always entertained by the efforts of the characters to either woo a young lady or to be released from an impulsive engagement. By the fourth book in the series, most readers know that Bertram is incapable of getting out of the soup by his own means ( If you ask my aunt Agatha she will tell you - in fact, she is quite likely to tell you even if you don't ask her - that I am a vapid and irreflective chump. Barely sentient, was the way she once described me: and I'm not saying that in a broad, general sense she isn't right.), and relies on his "gentleman's gentleman" Jeeves to deliver the solution. As usual, the main attraction is not so much in the plot, but in the delightful use of the English language, with the occassional French thrown in the mix:

espieglerie = playfullness, mischief, roguery, trick, slyness, gaminerie

The word is apt to describe in fact the whole collection of sketches and farces. Thank You Jeeves can be read independently of the other short stories and novels featuring the duo of scattered brain master and phlegmatic, resourceful servant, but some familiarity with the family background and with the recurring secondary characters is helpful. without further ado, let's see what the highlights are:

Jeeves and the Impending Doom : Bertie is visiting the countryside, but he cannot relax, since his aunt Agatha wants him to make a good impression on a government minister, while his young cousin Thomas is planning mischief against the guests at the manor. A very large and irritable swan plays a major part in the denouement, putting Bertie in a tight spot. The silver lining can be found in the poor impression made by Bertie on the minister, indefinitely delaying plans to make him work for a living.

The Inferiority Complex of Old Sippy : Sipperley is an old school mate of Bertie, once a happy-go-lucky freelance writer, now a stressed literary magazine editor. The stress is compounded by the visits of a scary old head with literary aspirations, and by the failure of said editor to impress a young lady with his savoir-faire. After a row between Bertie and Jeeves on a point of fashion ( a horrible vase Bertie insists on displaying in his apartment), the Wooster is left to devise his own plan to save the day. Needless to say, the plan is idiotic (involving a bag of flour and practical jokes) and the result is disastrous. Jeeves saves the day, and the vase is doomed : replace the vase with some other article of clothing or decoration and you have the longest running joke in the series, the inversion of roles between master and servant.

Jeeves and the Yule-Tide Spirit : goodwill and kindness towards mankind rule the day, but count Tuppy Glossop out. He is a devious member of the Drones Club who tricked Bertie fully clothed into the swimming bath on a dare. Bertie's thirst for revenge makes him abandon earlier plans to go to Monte Carlo, to the chagrin of Jeeves who enjoys "a little flutter at the tables". Bertie has a second reason for a visit to the countryside, as his heart is doing its own flutters at the sight of the lovely Miss Roberta Wickam. Bobbie Wickam is one of my favorite female leads from Wodehouse, showing a wild streak of character and an apetite for practical jokes to rival the follies of the gentlemen. Another silly plan of action involving water bottles, stout sticks and sharp darning needles leaves Bertie stranded in the soup and disappointed in the gentler sex. A hasty escape down a drain pipe is in order.

Jeeves and the Song of Songs is my favorite in the collection, showcasing the resourcefulness of Jeeves at killing two or three birds with one clever plan. The story starts on a downer, with Bertie so depressed he cannot even enjoy his breakfast, but ends with a song and dance:

"- Life is like that, sir.
- True, Jeeves. What have we here? I asked, inspecting the tray.
- Kippered herrings, sir.
- And I shouldn't wonder, I said, for I was in thoughtful mood, if even herrings haven't troubles of their own.
- Quite possible, sir.
- I mean, apart from getting kippered.
- Yes, sir.
- And so it goes on, Jeeves, so it goes on."

The plan is to help Tuppy Glossop (the rascal with a taste for pranks from the first short story) impress his new girlfriend, a voluminous opera singer with a short temper named Cora Bellinger, while at the same time sabotaging the same efforts and returning Tuppy to the loving arms of Bertie's cousin Angela, daughter of the formidable Aunt Dahlia. Dahlia has a low opinion of the moral fibre of these young men, and is as usual keen to put them back in their place:

The modern young man is a congenial idiot and wants a nurse to lead him by the hand and some strong attendant to kick him regularly at intervals of a quarter of an hour.

With a little help from the popular ballad "Danny Boy" and the careful coreography of Jeeves, exits Cora and back in moves Angela.

Episode of the Dog McIntosh : Bertie has a very short memory when it comes to pretty ladies, so he is soon back under the spell of the sprightly Miss Bobbie Wickam, now in his London apartment and keen on a scheme to sell a theatre script to a wealthy American. Mr Blumenfeld appeared already in an earlier collection, using his young son as a marketing guru to decide on the quality of the scripts. To win this boy's good opinion, Bobbie gifts him the dog McIntosh from the title, belonging to Bertie's aunt Agatha. Bertie must now steal the animal back before Agatha becomes aware of the missing pet. Jeeves finds a way to help Bertie that lands him deeper into trouble and opens his eyes once again to the basic frivolity of the young lady. For now, his master is safe, but I have a feeling Bobbie is not out of the picture for long:

"You know how it is. Love's flame flickers and dies. Reason returns to her throne, and you aren't nearly as ready to hop about and jump through hoops as in the first pristine glow of the divine passion."

The Spot of Art : disappointed by Bobbie Wickam, Bertram Wooster turns his attention to a young lady painter, Miss Gwladys Pendlebury (spelled with a 'w'), to the dismay of his aunt Agatha and of Jeeves who casts a "squinty eye" at the brand new portrait of his master that hangs in the saloon:

- Well, in my opinion, sir, Miss Pendlebury has given you a somewhat hungry expression. A little like that of a dog regarding a distant bone, sir."

Bertie refuses to see reason, but a series of unfortunate events involving speeding cars, injured young men crashing at his apartment, jealous husbands, tripping over golf balls and an advertising campaign for Slingsby's Superb Soups - Succulent and Strengthening will wither once again the gentleman's romantic ardour, returning him to the careful supervision of Jeeves.

Jeeves and the Kid Clementina : I told you Bobbie will be back, and now she meets Bertie at a golf tournament in Bingley-on-Sea. She wheedles an invitation to dinner for her and her protegee Clementina, "a quiet, saintlike child of about thirteen". What Bertie doesn't know is that the kid is playing hookey from the same nearby girl school that Bertie visited in an earlier short story. With scary reminders of his past mistreatment at the hands of the young pupils, Bertie is reluctant to return to the premises, but Bobbie has once again landed him in the thick of it, with a garnish of angry policemen and assorted window-smashing flowerpots.

The Love That Purifies : is my second favorite in the book and is a riff on the continuing troubles Bertie has around small children. At the country manor of his aunt Dahlia, dark clouds are gathering on the horizon. The lady has placed a bet on the outcome of a Good Conduct Prize between young Thomas (the devilish kid with the swan from the opening story) and her nephew Bonzo. She now risks losing Anatole, her celebrated French cook, if Bonzo is tricked into misbehaviour. And his opponent is reputed to be merciless:

'In the society of young Thos, strong men quail. He is England's premier fiend in human shape. There is no devilry beyond his scope.'

Jeeves is urgently called back from his yearly holiday, and manages to turn the cards on Thomas by bringing a third kid into the play, Sebastian Moon. Judging by Wooster's own reaction to the good natured new boy, young Thomas would be unable to keep calm and to behave in his presence:

I don't know why it is, but I've never been able to bear with fortitude anything in the shape of a kid with golden curls. Confronted with one, I feel the urge to step on him or drop things on him from a height.

Jeeves' solution puts to an elegant use the adolescent gentlemen's tendency to defend the honour and charms of their favorite movie stars - Clara Bow, Greta Garbo and Lilian Gish.

Jeeves and the Old School Chum : deals with the matrimonial hiccups between Bingo Little and Rosie M Banks, two of the frequent support characters in the Jeeves & Wooster saga. The peace in the apartment of the newlyweds is shattered when an old school friend of Rosie arrives from America for an extended visit. Laura Pyke threatens the very fabric of British culture (the five o'clock tea) by her relentless advocacy of a healthy diet based on vegetables and whole grains. I had a great time noticing that diet crusaders are still up and about today and as fervent and dictatorial as Mis Pyke.

Indian Sumer of an Uncle : the reader tempted to think that Bertie Wooster is surrounded only ny domineering aunts can relax. It's time for his male relatives to take the spotlight, although it must be said that Lord Yaxley, aka Uncle George, is as much of a wastrel and as scatter brained as Bertie, only quite a bit older and fatter. Since he is preparing to marry a young waitrees (a health hazard most particular to the getlemen of Pittsburg, according to the book), the family asks Bertie to intervene and buy the girl off. Of course, the outcome will favor love over pragmatism (albeit from an unexpected direction), and Bertie is forced to "exit hurriedly, pursued by a bear".

The Ordeal of Young Tuppy : the final story is another winner, and marks the return of Tuppy Glossop, once again ignoring the charms of Bertie's cousin Angela for a new love interest, a country lady with a passion for dog breeding. The setting is once more the season of peace and goodwill:

"Every year, starting about the middle of November, there is a good deal of anxiety and apprehension among owners of the better class of country-house throughout England as to who would get Bertram's Wooster's patronage for the Christmas holidays. It may be one or it may be another. As my Aunt Dahlia says, you never know where the blow will fall."

Peace and goodwill are scarce when the traditional football match between Upper Bleaching and Hockley-cum-Meston is about to start. Tuppy is advised to participate and impress his new lady with his prowess, not knowing that the rivalry between the two hamlets goes back a long time, and so the game is played in a manner reminiscent of its original inception:

The game is one that would have a great interest for the antiquarian. It was played first in the reign of King Henry the Eighth, when it lasted from noon till sun-down over an area covering several square miles. Seven deaths resulted on that occasion.

The thorough thrashing of Tuppy in the mud is finally soothing Bertie's resentments over the swimming bath incident at the Drones, and has the added benefit of returning the subdued lover to the arms of Angela.

All's well that ends well in the Wodehouse universe, and love has a reliable tendency to come on top, despite countless pratfalls and misunderstandings. Jeeves delivers the goods like a phlegmatic, stiff-upper lip fairy godmother. Thanks to the BBC adaptation, I will probably always picture the duo as Hugh Laurie / Stephen Fry did on the TV screen. My final words of appreciation for the novel, echo the gratitude of Bertie after he is saved for the umpteeth time by his gentleman's gentleman. Thank you, Mr. Wodehouse:

Once more you have stepped forward like the great man you are and spread sweetness and light in no uncertain measure.

[Katie Lumsden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeeves is just such an utter joy.

[Jason Koivu · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the earlier Jeeves & Wooster, Very Good, Jeeves sees Wodehouse with some matured characters, but a plot that is still taking baby steps.

If memory serves (and it seldom does, so take that with a necessary grain of salt!), the first few "Jeeves" books Wodehouse penned were written as short stories. This one definitely is and I'm not a huge fan. Or perhaps I should say that I prefer the full length novellas of later books. These shorts felt like they were just getting off the ground only to suddenly land. The books wherein Jeeves and Wooster get to flap their wings for the length of a novel are much more satisfying. Short though they may be, almost all of these stories pack a solid comedic punch.

While the stories change faces over the course of nearly a dozen shorts, the faces of the characters stay mostly the same, thus retaining a certain sense of continuity. Bertie's "friends" and/or old school chums Tuppy Glossop and Bingo Little pop up occasionally. That spunky bird Bobbie Wickham sticks her nose in now and then to make Bertie's life more taxing. His mostly-beloved Aunt Dahlia likewise prods poor Bertie from time to time to make sure he's not idle, much to the delight of us readers.

The collection includes:

"Jeeves and the Impending Doom"

"The Inferiority Complex of Old Sippy"

"Jeeves and the Yule-tide Spirit"

"Jeeves and the Song of Songs"

"Episode of the Dog McIntosh" (US edition: "Jeeves and the Dog McIntosh")

"The Spot of Art" (US edition: "Jeeves and the Spot of Art")

"Jeeves and the Kid Clementina"

"The Love That Purifies" (US edition: "Jeeves and the Love That Purifies")

"Jeeves and the Old School Chum"

"Indian Summer of an Uncle" (US edition: "The Indian Summer of an Uncle")

"The Ordeal of Young Tuppy"

[Roman Clodia · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Let me get this straight,' said Aunt Dahlia, looking a bit fogged. 'You think that, if he goes on trying to light her cigarette with his automatic lighter long enough, she will eventually get fed up and hand him the mitten? Is that the idea?'

This is absolutely the pip from Wodehouse! A cornucopia of Jeeves and Bertie riches with some welcome appearances from Bingo and Rosie Little, Sir Roderick Glossop, Tuppy Glossop, Old Sippy and naughty Bobby Wickham - and we find Bertie up a number of trees with flowerpots and an angry swan; sorting the love lives of all his friends; and waging war on fearsome Aunt Agatha while soothing good egg, Aunt Dahlia. Bliss!

[carol. · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is really no one who can wash away the troubles, soothe the careworn brow--how does that go again?
--And careworn brows forget, sir.
Exactly! When my brows need forgetting. No one can soothe and forget like P.G. Wodehouse.

I was idling away the morning, doing my best to make myself scarce, what with visiting family being more than a jot tiring, when I popped into the Strand to see if they could help improve the noggin. Not to say they had fish, but they did have a rather large assortment of the printed and bound word, and tucked under a table was a stack of bargain Wodehouse. "Right-ho," I thought and before another moment passed, I had picked up a copy with the intent to seal the deal.

It's tricky to describe how pleasurable the Jeeves and Bertie stories by Wodehouse are. Gentle farces, almost completely lacking in anything resembling modern action or soap opera dynamics, they lull one into an idyllic pastoral setting that calms and relaxes until a snort-worthy moment slides in. Besides the convoluted plots dreamed up to reunite separated lovers, or seek revenge for a practical joke, there are the witty bon mots and references that poor Bertie almost never gets, but result in a distinct upward curve of the naso-labial fold of the discerning reader. Wodehouse is a word-smith, but not one of the overflowing adjectives and adverbs variety; rather he plays with expectations and meaning in a clever and fun way.

For those new to Wodehouse, the central premise is that Jeeves, an intelligent, discerning, "personal gentleman's gentleman," is constantly using the grey matter to pull poor Bertie out of various scrapes. Occasionally the relationship is complicated by Bertie attempting to demonstrate cultural (that vase! that painting!) and problem-solving independence (the bag of flour gag!), but we all know Jeeves will win out.

These eleven stories are no exception to Jeeves' (and Wodehouse's) genius. The usual supporting cast stops by, including Aunts Agatha and Dahlia, Miss Bobbie Wickham, Bingo, and an assortment of characters in various stages of love. Poor Bertie often finds himself in the role of matchmaker. "Jeeves and the Impending Doom" is undoubtedly one of the stars, as Bertie is dispatched to Aunt Agatha's place to make an impression, and is manipulated into helping Bingo manage his wayward ward. A swan proves to be his undoing. Then, Jeeves has his Monte Carlo vacation postponed in "Jeeves and the Yule-Tide Spirit," so that Bertie can attempt practical joke revenge on Tuppy at the same time he presses his suit with Roberta. Luckily for us all, Sir Roderick (he of the overgrown eyebrows) is also in residence. "The Love that Purifies" was one of my favorites, as the plot hedges around a contest of good behavior between two small boys and various efforts to derail them, with Aunt Dahlia's chef Anatole at stake. "Mercenary little brute!" she said. "I never saw such a sickeningly well-behaved kid in my life. It's enough to make one despair of human nature."

Heartily recommended.

Delicious samples:

"You!" said Sir Roderick finally. And in this connection I want to state that it's all rot to say you can't hiss a word that hasn't an 's' in it. The way he pushed out that 'You!' sounded like an angry cobra, and I am betraying no secrets when I say that it did me no good whatsoever.
(--from Jeeves and the Yule-Tide Spirit)

Bingo said..., "By the way, Bertie, would you like a cocktail?"
"I would."
"Well you won't get one. We don't have cocktails anymore. The girl friend said they corrode the stomachic tissues."
I was appalled. I had no idea the evil had spread so far as this.
"No cocktails!"
"No. And you'll be dashed lucky if it isn't a vegetarian dinner."
"Bingo," I cried, deeply moved. "You must act."
(--from Jeeves and the Old School Chum)

"In a matter of this kind, Jeeves, the first thing is to study--what's the word I want?
--I could not say, sir.
"Quite a common word--though long."
--Psychology, sir?
"The exact noun. It is a noun?"
--Yes, sir.
"Spoken like a man!"
(--from The Inferiority Complex of Old Sippy)


Cross posted at http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2013/0...

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never know quite how to review Wodehouse except to say that he has become something of a vacation from the cynical nonfiction to which I normally gravitate. Despite the fact that Very Good, Jeeves! was first published in 1930, it is still uproariously funny. And yet I’m not sure it would appeal to everyone—especially not those few Americans who abhor the BBC generally and British humor specifically. But for anglophiles like myself I highly, highly recommend it.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

A genuinely festive book of 11 vibrant short stories starring the Wodehouse staple of Wooster and Jeeves. Not that it's a competition - because it isn't - but I may prefer Wodehouse's novels. ~ mainly because they allow entrance to wider / wilder complication, giving way to countless farcical elements: cavalcades of upping the ante.

Since these are briefer stories - each containing a single, only slightly layered, entanglement - farce isn't given the opportunity to parade itself. But that's fine. More than fine.

Each story is a well-polished gem. An added plus is that many of them contain appearances by Bertie's beloved Aunt Dahlia - caustic, of course, but deep-down as smitten with Bertie as he is with her. She is one of Wodehouse's most charming creations.

Many of the tried-and-true thorns in Wooster's side are in evidence: i.e., odd young ladies:

... I once got engaged to his daughter, Honoria, a ghastly dynamic exhibit who read Nietzsche and had a laugh like waves breaking on a stern and rock-bound coast.

... social servants, like policemen...

There's no doubt about it, being a policeman warps a man's mind and ruins that sunny faith in his fellow human beings which is the foundation of a lovable character.

... children in general...

"I don't know why it is, but I've never been able to bear with fortitude anything in the shape of a kid with golden curls. Confronted with one, I feel the urge to step on him or drop things on him from a height."

I started the read with a-story-a-day; the kind of recipe that makes for a very restful ending to the 8-to-5.

But, for the latter half of the book, I caved and read at a continuous clip. The (mis)adventures became too addictive - as were W&J themselves, as was the pleasure of their company.

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

We all wish we had someone as discrete as Jeeves to help us get over the muddles and messes we create.



Rescue...
‘Jeeves!’ I shouted.

‘Sir?’ came a faint respectful voice from the great open spaces.

‘My man,’ I explained to the Right Hon. ‘A fellow of infinite resource and sagacity. He’ll have us out of this in a minute. Jeeves!’

An Aunt's opinion on youth...
‘The modern young man,’ said Aunt Dahlia, ‘is a congenital idiot and wants a nurse to lead him by the hand and some strong attendant to kick him regularly at intervals of a quarter of an hour.’



Clever dialogue
I couldn’t follow him. The old egg seemed to me to speak in riddles.

‘You seem to me, old egg,’ I said, ‘to speak in riddles. Don’t you think he speaks in riddles, Jeeves?’

Another satisfying conclusion
‘Jeeves,’ I said, ‘you think of everything.’

‘Thank you, sir. In Mr Glossop’s absence, would you care to drink this whisky-and-soda?’

I shook the head.‘No, Jeeves, there is only one man who must do that. It is you. If ever anyone earned a refreshing snort, you are he. Pour it out, Jeeves, and shove it down.’

‘Thank you very much, sir.’

‘Cheerio, Jeeves!’

‘Cheerio, sir, if I may use the expression.’




This collection contains the following humorous stories;
1. Jeeves and the Impending Doom
2. The Inferiority Complex Of Old Sippy
3. Jeeves and the Yule-Tide Spirit
4. Jeeves and the Song of Songs
5. Episode of the Dog Mcintosh
6. The Spot of Art
7. Jeeves and the Kid Clementina
8. The Love That Purifies
9. Jeeves and the Old School Chum
10. Indian Summer of An Uncle
11. The Ordeal of Young Tuppy


Jeeves, while rescuing Wooster, always makes a satisfactory end for himself. Wooster may be the master, but Jeeves is always the winner.

Enjoy!

[Kirt Boyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jeeves and the Impending Doom, the first story in Very Good, Jeeves! made me want to write humorous fiction. Not so much because of this particular story, which is hysterical, but because it was my introduction to Wodehouse. Somewhere between when Bertie "pronged a moody forkful" of the eggs and b. and when he announced, ". . . it seems to be a mere matter of time before I perpetrate some ghastly floater and have her hopping after me with her hatchet," I was hooked.

There is so much to like about Wodehouse. There's nobody funnier, of course, but the language is what always gets me. What makes the above line so funny has nothing to do with Aunt Agatha or her hatchet, but the fact that she's hopping. Great writers always choose the perfect word. Had Aunt Agatha been running, or chasing, or even skipping, the image wouldn't be nearly as funny. Humor is always about surprise; about taking two things and jamming them together in a new and surprising way. Wodehouse did this over and over again, but never quite as brilliantly as when he had Bertie say, "Have you ever noticed how a swan's eyebrows sort of meet in the middle? Gives them a sort of peevish look."

Jeeves and the Impending Doom is only one of eleven stories in Very Good, Jeeves! but it gets things off to a great start. There's just something about two grown men sitting on the roof of a building in the pouring rain because, as Bertie put it to Jeeves, "The place is alive with swans!" that is endlessly entertaining.

[Thomas Stroemquist · Rating 4 out of 5]

A couple of lesser stories in this one, so not the full 5. The best ones are absolutely brilliant though! 4 stars according to Wodehouse’s own scale, really. Still very much recommended, but not in favour of the preceding one in the series.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the first three books pretty quickly, and started the fourth, but then paused for a bit. A couple weeks ago I realized that I had eight books started on Audible, waiting for me to finish, so I started systematically finishing them. It was so fun getting back into the escapades of Bertie and Jeeves, especially after a little break because I was reminded of how much I absolutely adore them.

I listened to the audiobook by the excellent Jonathan Cecil. When it comes to Jeeves and Wooster, you definitely want the audiobooks read by Cecil or Martin Jarvis. Both narrators are fantastic. I tried another guy and it was dreadful in comparison. I had to stop listening.

Let's jump into the stories. As usual, Bertie finds himself in all kinds of conundrums but Jeeves is there to scoop him out. One of my favorite things about this series is the fun slang. While I'm in the midst of a Jeeves book I find myself saying phrases like "in the soup" and "the old bean." It's delightful and easy to understand within context.

*Some of the story descriptions have spoilers!*

Jeeves and the Impending Doom
Bertie is forced into a visit with Aunt Agatha. His penniless friend Bingo is tutoring her nightmare child, Thos. Thos, angry at a visiting Reverend, traps the poor guy on an island with some vicious geese. (I loved the geese so much.) Bertie tries to save the Reverend and gets blamed instead. This works out well for Bingo, who didn't want to get fired for Thos's bad behavior.

Jeeves and the Inferiority Complex of Old Sippy
Bertie devises a plan to help his old buddy, Sippy, get over his fear of an old head master. As with most of Bertie's plans, it's less than foolproof.

Jeeves and the Yuletide Spirit
One of my favorite recurring gags, is any of Bertie's interactions with Sir Roderick. They're always a hoot. Tuppy pulled a prank on Bertie involving some missing rings and a swimming pool and it is now Bertie's mission to get revenge. Bertie has a great idea involving some water bags in bed, but he inadvertently hits Sir Roderick instead.

Jeeves and the Song of Songs
Tuppy needs help convincing his girl, Cora, that he's not a prankster. On the other end is Aunt Dahlia, telling Bertie that he needs to get Tuppy back for her daughter, Angela. There is a complex plot involving the song "Sonny Boy," with Jeeves fixing matters on the side. (This was my least favorite story in the bunch.)

Jeeves and the Dog Macintosh
Bertie accidentally gives away Aunt Agatha's dog, Macintosh. As you can imagine, it is vital he gets the dog back before Aunt Agatha figures it out.

Jeeves and the Kid Clementina
Bertie has to figure out how to get Clementina back into her school without the headmistress knowing she was gone. Bertie was tricked into the plan by Bobbie, a spirited, but somewhat nonsensical young woman, who happens to be Clem's cousin. Jeeves is not a fan of Bobbie and knows that trouble will follow in her wake. (Bobbie is probably my least favorite character in all of the stories.)

Jeeves and the Love That Purifies
Bertie is off to visit his Aunt Dahlia while Jeeves takes his requisite vacation. Unfortunately, Dahlia is not entirely pleased to see Bertie as she was counting on the wits of Jeeves to get her out of an unfortunate situation.

Dahlia made a bet that her boy would behave better than Thos, Aunt Agatha's young boy who is usually a big stinker, but Thos is being an angel. It wouldn't be as big a deal but Dahlia bet away Anatole, their prized chef. Bertie tries to entice Thos to bad behavior but nothing works. All they can do is call in Jeeves.

Jeeves arrives and suggests they invite Sebastian Moon over, a youngin that seems to bring out the worst in other boys. Even this doesn't seem to work until Jeeves casually mentions to Sebastian that he should make fun of Greta Garbo. This enrages Thos who loves Great with a passion. As usual, Jeeves saves the day.

Jeeves and the Old School Chum
I loved this story. Bingo is "in the soup" because of his wife's friend. This friend has big ideas about dieting and frequently uses Bingo as an example of "what not to do." Bingo is worried that with all these comparisons Mrs. Bingo will figure out how much better she could've done. Therefore they must get rid of the friend! (Just get her to move on, not murder her.) One of my favorite scenes was when Bertie was interacting with the father trying to keep his baby asleep. It was so funny. I also loved that the entire plan revolved around getting everyone "hangry."

Jeeves and the Indian Summer of an Uncle
Bertie's fat Uncle George is set on marrying a young waitress. Aunt Agatha is appalled that he's trying to marry "the proletariat!" She insists Bertie pay her off and get rid of her.

Jeeves and the Ordeal of Young Tuppy
Tuppy joins a local rugby team and it's a bit rougher than he imagined it would be. Bertie still wants payback for Tuppy but this might be pushing the limit.

Love my adventures with Jeeves and Bertie. These are stories I know I'll be returning too over and over again.

[Wanda Pedersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an excellent first book for 2019! Wodehouse writes like a charm, making me giggle whilst turning a gorgeous phrase. And it’s as if he knew the women in my family when he says, “Hell, it is well known, has no fury like a woman who wants her tea and can’t get it.” My sisters, my niece and myself frequently suffer from being hangry if we are not fed & watered on a regular basis. Having a pleasant outing requires copious amounts of coffee, regular feedings, and sufficient snacks for the day. So Jeeves plan to disrupt Mrs. Bingo Little’s school friendship through depriving her of lunch plus delaying tea-time was entirely believable to me.

I love Bertie’s willingness to flee the house to avoid unpleasantness, his suffering being known as a lunatic in order to avoid jobs & women. He is the ultimate peace-at-any-pricer. The all-knowing expertise of Jeeves is the perfect foil to the very fallible B. Wooster.

If you haven’t yet made the acquaintance of Mr. Wooster and the inimitable Jeeves, what are you waiting for?

[Hákon Gunnarsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes I just need a bit of Wodehouse in my life. I’ve been reading him now for some thirty, forty years. The thing is, he always seems to cheer me up, and that’s why I keep rereading him. This collection of short stories, that are all about Wooster and Jeeves, is 90 years old, but it never feels old, just fun. The two characters are in my opinion among the very best humor fiction has to offer. Wholeheartedly recommended to anyone that likes humor fiction.

[John Hatley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of short stories starring that famous team of Jeeves and Wooster practically demanded to be given five stars. I must admit, being the honest sort, that I have thoroughly enjoyed every book about these two that I’ve ever read, and rather suspected before I’d even opened this one that I was going to like it. It didn’t disappoint me.

[Jessica Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

1987 - I was twenty-five years old and holed up in the intensive care unit at the National Neurological Hospital in London, stricken from head to toe with Guillain-Barré Syndrome. Symptoms: total paralysis. Prognosis: uncertain.

Guillain Barré Syndrome is a bizarre illness. It attacks the myelin sheath that transmits messages along one's peripheral nerves. One day my toes went numb. A week later I found myself in hospital, unable to move, breathe or speak. An unscratchable itch on my leg could propel me to the brink of insanity. Dust fell into my eyes and I couldn’t blink or wipe it away. I could not call out for assistance.

Upon learning of my perilous condition, my mother had dropped everything, packed a suitcase and flown from Sydney. Now she sat by my bedside for twelve hours a day, every day.

Each night mum grabbed a few hours' sleep at her friends' house; Chrissy and Ralph were devotees of an Indian guru by the name of Swamiji. When Swamiji heard of my situation he began to call my mother and tell her of his visions for me. ‘I see yellow,’ spake the guru. The next day mum arrived at the hospital laden with armfuls of daffodils and yellow tulips. She filled all the vases in the room with them. Two days later, Swamiji called again: ‘I see purple.’ Out went the daffodils, replaced by swathes of irises. Mum herself was dressed in a purple silk kimono that she’d borrowed from Chrissy. Then Swamiji made a personal appearance at the ICU, without shoes. Through his flowing grey beard he blew into my chakras. Matron tried to hustle him from the room but Swamiji resisted her. At that point Sister Mary entered the scene.

Sister Mary had been hospitalised for an acute attack of Multiple Sclerosis but was now on the bounce back. She busied herself by ambling from ward to ward with her walking stick, rescuing the souls of fellow patients. Some of those ingrates did not wish to be saved but in me she found a compliant mark. Being fully paralysed I didn’t have much choice in the matter.

Sister Mary visited most days and sprinkled my motionless body with Lourdes water that she kept in a plastic bottle. She left a specimen jar by my bed containing some small pieces of black stuff. ‘Relics of Padre Pio,’ Sister Mary said. Not being much of a Christian I didn’t cotton on to the significance of these. I was quite taken aback when I later learned that they were bits of the charred remains of a revered Catholic priest.

Swamiji blew and Sister Mary sprinkled and as they did so the two of them fell into meaningful discussion of matters philosophical and theological. They could not see eye-to-eye about how best to save me but each of them gave as good as they got. Their conversation continued; Swamiji took to calling Sister Mary on the wheelie payphone on her hospital ward. She would then appear at my bedside in high dudgeon: ‘I had your friend Swamiji on the phone last night. He’s a very irritating man.’

‘He’s not my friend,’ I wanted to say, but I couldn’t speak.

Since I was hooked up to a ventilator, my only means of communication was by a tortuous method of blinking at an alphabet board. It was tedious and often upsetting for all concerned. Mum sat by my bedside week after week. Sometimes she read out the crossword clues and then patiently tried to decipher the answers that I blinked. But mostly she read aloud books by P.G. Wodehouse. She voiced the characters of Bertie and Jeeves and played up the ridiculousness of their awful scrapes. Mum had no way of knowing that inside my waxen, immobile body I was aching with laughter. Those books were written with a lightness and sense of the absurd that helped me to find the funny side of my own predicament.

During months of rehabilitation - learning to walk, talk, write and do everything that I thought I had mastered as a toddler - I sometimes entertained the fantasy that I might one day repay my debt of gratitude to the universe and to the NHS by retraining as a nurse. I examined the qualities required: tolerance, compassion, self-sacrifice, an ability to look at blood and vomit without fainting... and I knew the truth: that me becoming a nurse would be about as useful to the world as Tony Blair becoming a Middle East Peace Envoy.

No, nursing was not to be my vocation. But I've never forgotten how those long afternoons with Jeeves and Wooster helped me to escape the terror and confusion of being paralysed. 'One day', I thought, 'I would like to write a book that will help somebody else to get through a shit time'. When I was diagnosed with cancer and my boyfriend dumped me, I realised that day had come.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Going into "Very Good, Jeeves," I knew five of its stories would be repeats for me -- they comprised another collection I read, "Jeeves and the Old School Chum" -- but it turns out I had already read all eleven of its stories. I'm not quite sure how this happened. I don't think I'd read this particular collection before, but it's possible I had and simply forgot. I blame this on Wodehouse, whose book titles were all so bloody similar: "Very Good, Jeeves," "Thank You, Jeeves," "Right Ho, Jeeves," "The Inimitable Jeeves," "Carry On, Jeeves," "Oh Rather, Jeeves," "Cheerio, Jeeves," "Quite Right, Jeeves," "Indeed, Jeeves," etc., etc. (I might have made up some of those titles, but they do have the ring of truth to them, no?)

No matter. These eleven stories easily are among the best I've read by Wodehouse, and are thus worth rereading. A host of our favorite Wodehouse friends, relations and enemies are here: Aunt Agatha, Bingo Little, Cousin Thomas, Tuppy Glossop, Sippy, Anatole, Rosie M. Banks, Aunt Dahlia, Sir Roderick Glossop and Bobbie Wickham among them.

I was happy to read each of these stories again, and someday will enjoy reading them a third time. But first I need to sort out which Jeeves and Wooster stories I've read and which I haven't to ensure I give each a first read before I repeat any more. Blasted Wodehouse and his vexing titles!

[Melissa McShane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably my favorite of the Jeeves and Wooster collections; like The Inimitable Jeeves, this is a series of short stories featuring literature's favorite feckless son and his unflappable gentlemen's personal gentleman, and there's not a one here I don't love. The people who filmed the TV series Jeeves and Wooster seem to agree with me, as many of these showed up as episodes in that series.

I was going to pick a favorite, but that got too difficult, so I'm going to go with "read the whole thing." This was another book I read while in India, which added to the charm.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bought this early Penguin edition to add to the shelves and to read again.

Never fails to make you laugh.

Recommended.

[A.K. Kulshreshth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been a Wodehouse fan for more something like thirty five years now, and I still stand by all the things that I wrote in my review of Galahad at Blandings.

Very Good, Jeeves might have been very good for me -- it was certainly good for a few laughs. The problem with its short story structure was that after the first couple of stories the entertainment value dipped sharply. Later, I figured out that the way to maximise value with a book like this is to read (or listen to) one story at a time...

[Shiloah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, Bertie! All these harebrained schemes! Hilarious! I always need vitamin Wodehouse for a good dose of healthy laughter and amusement. Carry on! Right, ho!

[Peter Schutz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good, Jeeves…

[Raimondo Lagioia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not much of a fan of comedic literature but dash it, the British humour here is so spot on. All the pluck and iron of the Woosters are not quite enough to save our sweetly ineffectual Bertie (along with a few of his addled pals) from battleaxe aunts, flighty redheads, rampaging swans, and distasteful objets d'art, among other vexations. It's a good thing he has a redoubtable valet to bail him out of sundry predicaments.

With Jeeves's formidable intellect, one wonders why he doesn't stand for parliament. Is it ye olde "feudal spirit"? Or maybe it's just the perspicacity to steer clear of vipers. In any case, the tactical brilliance he employs to save his master's hide despite the latter's strenuous efforts to the contrary is nothing short of breathtaking.

7.5/10; 4 stars.

[Susan in NC · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore Jeeves and Wooster, they always perk me right up! Having Covid this week seemed like the perfect time for a visit - these short stories were the perfect format to enjoy a few every evening - accompanied by Jonathan Cecil’s excellent narration on the Audible. Had me smiling and chuckling as always, laughing out loud more than a few times.

My paperback edition of this short story collection has several enthusiastic comments from writers and actors who are fans, but the best are from Jeeves and Wooster themselves: Stephen Fry said, “You don’t analyze such sunlit perfection, you just bask in its warmth and splendour”, and Hugh Laurie called Wodehouse, “The funniest writer ever to put words on paper.” I agree wholeheartedly!

[Veronika Sebechlebská · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ak má posádka ISS problém, volá Houston, ak má Houston problém, volá Harrymu Stamperovi, ak má Harry Stamper nejaký problém, tak je to jeho dcéra zamilovaná do neperspektívneho pracovníka vrtnej plošiny, nehodného následníčky Stamperovského rodu, čo je moment, kedy prežitie ľudstva závisí od toho, či Jeeves zdvihne telefón

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Jonathan Cecil's narration of Wodehouse books! It has been a long time since I read this collection in paperback but I still remembered some of the stories quite well. However, that doesn't really matter with Wodehouse. I had intended to listen to this slowly, one story a day but found that I couldn't stop listening at just one :)