What do you think?
Rate this book
Jeeves Again: Twelve New Stories
Brought to you by Penguin.
FEATURING HUGE NAMES FROM LITERATURE, COMEDY AND BEYOND - INCLUDING RODDY DOYLE, FRANK SKINNER AND ALAN TITCHMARSH - THIS ANTHOLOGY OF STORIES REIMAGINES JEEVES AND WOOSTER THROUGH FRESH EYES.
The irrepressible duo first appeared on the page in 1915, coming to feature in more than 35 short stories and eleven novels over the course of Wodehouse’s lifetime. Each story in this new collection offers a delightful and original reimagining of the incomparable Bertie Wooster and his gentleman’s gentleman – seeing them journey to the horse races in Paris, solve puzzles at a wartime Bletchley Park, and even transported forward in time to the year 2025.
Frank SkinnerRoddy DoyleAlan TitchmarshDominic SandbrookDeborah Frances-WhiteAndrew Hunter MurrayScarlett CurtisJasper FfordeJohn FinnemoreIan MooreWilliam Rayfet HunterFergus Craig
JEEVES AGAIN is a joyful celebration of Wodehouse as a much-beloved British literary icon – as well as a timely and entertaining reminder of the lasting impact of his characters on a whole new generation of readers and writers.
HEAR FROM THE WRITERS . . .
'A Wodehouse book is a journey into joy.' RODDY DOYLE, Booker Prize-winning author of PADDY CLARKE HA HA HA
'Anybody who has even a vague interest in good writing should read Wodehouse.' DOMINIC SANDBROOK, author and co-host of THE REST IS HISTORY
'I simply adore Wodehouse.' ALAN TITCHMARSH MBE, broadcaster and writer
'To stumble into the world of Wodehouse is like sinking into a warm bath.' SCARLETT CURTIS, Sunday Times bestselling author of FEMINISTS DON'T WEAR PINK (AND OTHER LIES)
'What Wodehouse is still today, just as much as ever, is funny.' JOHN FINNEMORE, creator of CABIN PRESSURE
P.G. Wodehouse, Frank Skinner, Roddy Doyle, Alan Titchmarsh, Dominic Sandbrook, Deborah Frances-White, Andrew Hunter Murray, Scarlett Curtis, Jasper Fforde, John Finnemore, Ian Moore, William Rayfet Hunter, Fergus Craig 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025
FEATURING HUGE NAMES FROM LITERATURE, COMEDY AND BEYOND - INCLUDING RODDY DOYLE, FRANK SKINNER AND ALAN TITCHMARSH - THIS ANTHOLOGY OF STORIES REIMAGINES JEEVES AND WOOSTER THROUGH FRESH EYES.
The irrepressible duo first appeared on the page in 1915, coming to feature in more than 35 short stories and eleven novels over the course of Wodehouse’s lifetime. Each story in this new collection offers a delightful and original reimagining of the incomparable Bertie Wooster and his gentleman’s gentleman – seeing them journey to the horse races in Paris, solve puzzles at a wartime Bletchley Park, and even transported forward in time to the year 2025.
Frank SkinnerRoddy DoyleAlan TitchmarshDominic SandbrookDeborah Frances-WhiteAndrew Hunter MurrayScarlett CurtisJasper FfordeJohn FinnemoreIan MooreWilliam Rayfet HunterFergus Craig
JEEVES AGAIN is a joyful celebration of Wodehouse as a much-beloved British literary icon – as well as a timely and entertaining reminder of the lasting impact of his characters on a whole new generation of readers and writers.
HEAR FROM THE WRITERS . . .
'A Wodehouse book is a journey into joy.' RODDY DOYLE, Booker Prize-winning author of PADDY CLARKE HA HA HA
'Anybody who has even a vague interest in good writing should read Wodehouse.' DOMINIC SANDBROOK, author and co-host of THE REST IS HISTORY
'I simply adore Wodehouse.' ALAN TITCHMARSH MBE, broadcaster and writer
'To stumble into the world of Wodehouse is like sinking into a warm bath.' SCARLETT CURTIS, Sunday Times bestselling author of FEMINISTS DON'T WEAR PINK (AND OTHER LIES)
'What Wodehouse is still today, just as much as ever, is funny.' JOHN FINNEMORE, creator of CABIN PRESSURE
P.G. Wodehouse, Frank Skinner, Roddy Doyle, Alan Titchmarsh, Dominic Sandbrook, Deborah Frances-White, Andrew Hunter Murray, Scarlett Curtis, Jasper Fforde, John Finnemore, Ian Moore, William Rayfet Hunter, Fergus Craig 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025
Audible Audio
Published October 16, 2025
15 people are currently reading
77 people want to read
About the author
P.G. Wodehouse
1,709 books6,954 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).
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 19, 2025
Jeeves at 110
I follow Jasper Fforde on substack, so when he posted a note about contributing to a new collection of Jeeves and Wooster stories I was intrigued. Never know what you're going to get in a package like this, but I figured Fforde's story alone would probably be worth the price of the book and pre-ordered it.
It's great! Every story is good. There was only one story that I felt didn't quite hold up, but even in that case (which I will not name) it was more that the author clearly decided to take a risk, and it didn't quite pay off. There was a lot of that sort risk-taking, and in all but that one case the authors beat the odds, in my opinion.
Jeeves first appeared in print in 1915, so unfortunately for those who favor round-number anniversaries, they missed the hundredth. But a lot of water has flowed under the bridge. A few of the authors did what I would have considered the obvious thing: they had Bertie narrate a new story set in the early twentieth century in which he gets into trouble and Jeeves gets him out. This is hard, because it leaves the intrepid author trying to do what P.G. Wodehouse himself did, and Wodehouse is a damn tough act to follow. The last two stories, by Fforde and Ian Moore were of that nature. Both of them, in my opinion, give Plum a run for his money.
Other writers set their stories in later times. For instance, at least two were set in or around World War II, and one or two in the twenty-first century. They use various tricks to justify the time displacement.
Another trick the writers use is to focus on some character other than Bertie and Jeeves. For instance, Scarlett Curtis's contribution "On Becoming Aunt Agatha" is told from the point of view of Aunt Agatha. Aunt Agatha always puzzled me a bit -- in the original stories, she's a paper tiger -- aside from saying horrible things to and about Bertie, she never really inconveniences him all that much. His "good and deserving" Aunt Dahlia is a far more productive trouble-maker. I suspect Curtis noticed the same thing.
Dominic Sandbrook's story "The Age of Spode," focuses on Roderick Spode, Earl of Sidcup. It is written as an exam administered to history students at Market Snodsbury University. It consists mostly of purported news stories about Spode, whom we are given to understand eventually became a Tory elder statesman. Bertie and Jeeves barely appear. This one was a lot of fun.
That brings up a warning: These stories make real demands on your memory. The authors assume that you've read most or all of Bertie's oeuvre and remember all the inhabitants and their relationships. For instance, several authors require that you remember how Spode, Madeline Bassett, and Bertie are entangled. For me that wasn't a problem.
In the copyright section, these words appear, "This work is published with the permission of the Estate of P. G. Wodehouse." I don't know how routinely that permission is given. But I am very glad that it was in this case, and if Wodehouse is looking down or up at us from somewhere, I imagine he, too, approves.
Blog review.
I follow Jasper Fforde on substack, so when he posted a note about contributing to a new collection of Jeeves and Wooster stories I was intrigued. Never know what you're going to get in a package like this, but I figured Fforde's story alone would probably be worth the price of the book and pre-ordered it.
It's great! Every story is good. There was only one story that I felt didn't quite hold up, but even in that case (which I will not name) it was more that the author clearly decided to take a risk, and it didn't quite pay off. There was a lot of that sort risk-taking, and in all but that one case the authors beat the odds, in my opinion.
Jeeves first appeared in print in 1915, so unfortunately for those who favor round-number anniversaries, they missed the hundredth. But a lot of water has flowed under the bridge. A few of the authors did what I would have considered the obvious thing: they had Bertie narrate a new story set in the early twentieth century in which he gets into trouble and Jeeves gets him out. This is hard, because it leaves the intrepid author trying to do what P.G. Wodehouse himself did, and Wodehouse is a damn tough act to follow. The last two stories, by Fforde and Ian Moore were of that nature. Both of them, in my opinion, give Plum a run for his money.
Other writers set their stories in later times. For instance, at least two were set in or around World War II, and one or two in the twenty-first century. They use various tricks to justify the time displacement.
Another trick the writers use is to focus on some character other than Bertie and Jeeves. For instance, Scarlett Curtis's contribution "On Becoming Aunt Agatha" is told from the point of view of Aunt Agatha. Aunt Agatha always puzzled me a bit -- in the original stories, she's a paper tiger -- aside from saying horrible things to and about Bertie, she never really inconveniences him all that much. His "good and deserving" Aunt Dahlia is a far more productive trouble-maker. I suspect Curtis noticed the same thing.
Dominic Sandbrook's story "The Age of Spode," focuses on Roderick Spode, Earl of Sidcup. It is written as an exam administered to history students at Market Snodsbury University. It consists mostly of purported news stories about Spode, whom we are given to understand eventually became a Tory elder statesman. Bertie and Jeeves barely appear. This one was a lot of fun.
That brings up a warning: These stories make real demands on your memory. The authors assume that you've read most or all of Bertie's oeuvre and remember all the inhabitants and their relationships. For instance, several authors require that you remember how Spode, Madeline Bassett, and Bertie are entangled. For me that wasn't a problem.
In the copyright section, these words appear, "This work is published with the permission of the Estate of P. G. Wodehouse." I don't know how routinely that permission is given. But I am very glad that it was in this case, and if Wodehouse is looking down or up at us from somewhere, I imagine he, too, approves.
Blog review.
December 2, 2025
Good lord no. NO. This is blasphemy, heresy, sacrilege.
Who could be the intended audience for this? Lovers of P.G. Wodehouse will find almost none of the original charm. If you're a modern reader with a passion for Jeeves and Wooster, one imagines it's out of a desire for escapism and the familiar formula: Bertie gets into a scrape at the behest of an aunt/a Drones club friend, involving Spode/a stolen French chef/purloined silver collectible/mistaken identity/country homes/near-miss engagements to pulchritudinous yet unsuitable girls...
What you don't want is this bastardization. The forceful modernization strips it of all the whimsy and nostalgia, and leaves you with... A.I.? Self-driving cars? All the elements of modern life a reader was presumably looking for an escape from in the first place.
Look, I love good adaptations. Ones that identify core truths about an original work and translate it into another context, somehow making both the original and the adaptation more true. Think Emma and Clueless, or Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now. This? This is keeping the barest bones of the story (basically just names?) in place and eliminating the core. I'm so upset I read it.
Who could be the intended audience for this? Lovers of P.G. Wodehouse will find almost none of the original charm. If you're a modern reader with a passion for Jeeves and Wooster, one imagines it's out of a desire for escapism and the familiar formula: Bertie gets into a scrape at the behest of an aunt/a Drones club friend, involving Spode/a stolen French chef/purloined silver collectible/mistaken identity/country homes/near-miss engagements to pulchritudinous yet unsuitable girls...
What you don't want is this bastardization. The forceful modernization strips it of all the whimsy and nostalgia, and leaves you with... A.I.? Self-driving cars? All the elements of modern life a reader was presumably looking for an escape from in the first place.
Look, I love good adaptations. Ones that identify core truths about an original work and translate it into another context, somehow making both the original and the adaptation more true. Think Emma and Clueless, or Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now. This? This is keeping the barest bones of the story (basically just names?) in place and eliminating the core. I'm so upset I read it.
December 31, 2025
3 stars .ᐟ 🎩
╰┈➤ lots of unmarked spoilers !
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ overall thoughts !
It wasn't terrible but it was a rollercoaster on fire going through shark infested waters of emotions.
None of the stories deserved 0 stars - even the worst ones had some good bits.
I now know what I look for in a pastiche.
I felt like some of the stories were writing about Stephen Fry's Jeeves and Hugh Laurie's Bertie Wooster rather than P.G.Wodehouses' characters.
I was not prepared for the amount of stories set in 2025. I thought there would only be one! And I was NOT prepared for the shipping of Jeeves and Bertie but it had to come at some point I suppose.
Most of the stories were pretty cute.
The Icebreaker - 3.5 ✰
╰┈➤ by Frank Skinner
It felt like a fever dream.
I did like how Bertie reacted to the modern world. I like the title as well - it worked in more ways than one. It's breaking the ice as the first story and it's about Bertie and Jeeves being frozen in ice.
I actually know about Frank Skinner and I wasn't dissapointed.
Jeeves and the Forbidden Fruit - 5 ✰
╰┈➤ by John Finnemore
I love John Finnemore. I love the way he writes, his humor, his characters, his radio shows so I had high, high hopes for this one and 👏 it 👏did👏not 👏dissapoint!
I loved everything about it. And we got a Sherlock Holmes reference 🤭🤭🤭 AND he implied that Brinkely Court was in Bletchley Park.
It was historically accurate as well!
↳ ❝ "Yes . . . as a matter of fact, I offered Major Jeeves a post just now."
"Oh, good egg! What did he say?"
". . . He asked me to speak to you."
"Oh! Which, of course, you were just on the point of doing anyway! How splendidly these things work out. Hang on, though . . ." For something had just caught up with me. "Did you say "Major Jeeves"?"
"Yes. That was the rank he achieved by the end of the last war. Didn't you know?"
"I did not! But I say . . . if I'm a captain . . . will I have to salute him?"
"Naturally."
Well. It was a bit of a facer, just at first, but then, the more I thought about it . . . I mean to say, why not? If there's a chap more deserving of a salute, I should bally well like to know who it is. ❞
🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡
Ah Jaysis, Jeeves - 1.75 ✰
╰┈➤ by Roddy Doyle
I mean... it wasn't terrible terrible but it wasn't good either.
Why did Roddy Doyle have to change Bertie's surname? What was wrong with Wooster?
Making Bertie Irish was... a choice. He didn't have to do that but you've got to write what you know.
Mandy was... fine. She was just... there.
The ending was pretty cute. I liked how Jeeves got more Irish but I would have liked to have seen Bertie become more like Jeeves but that's just me.
Roddy Doyle wimped out of a satisfying finish. The resolution fell flat.
↳ ❝ 'And really, like - you're marrying Mandy?'
'Yes, sir,' he said. We have come to an under-standing. "Through chaos as it swirls, it's us against the world.""
'Yeats?'
'Coldplay, sir.'
And he winked at me.
A thought hit me as he turned to open the door.
It - the thought, like - made me sit up and it had nothing to do with meerkats. If Mandy got married again, she'd be knocking on my door in no time.
'Good luck now, Jeeves,' I said.
'You're grand, sir,' he said back. ❞
The Age of Spode - 3.5 ✰
╰┈➤ by Domonic Sandbrook
It was so fun and creative! AND WE GOT GEORGE ORWELL TALKING ABOUT JEEVES AND SPODE! GEORGE ORWELL!
AND an extract from The Code of the Woosters AND seeing Jeeves and Bertie in their old age 🥹🥹 what more could you want?
Mixed Doubles - 2.5 ✰
╰┈➤ Deborah Frances-White
This one was also a fever dream with a massive climax and satisfying resolution. I liked how she kept referring to William Shakespeare's shall I compare thee to a summers day? And it was historically accurate.
↳ ❝ 'But when we come home, Jeeves, y'know, I think I like the arrangement we have.'
'Sir?'
'I think I'm the sort of chap who has found a valet that he likes and likes living with his valet. I think that's my summer's day. Do you know what I mean, Jeeves?'
'I believe I do, sir. Very much so.'
And then Jeeves looked at the fields we were passing and said, 'The bard would be most pleased, sir.' ❞
This could be interpreted in a number of ways but I like to think that Deborah Frances-White is choosing not to ship Bertie and Jeeves.
This story also reminded me of the song "Pink Pony Club" and there was a lot of alliteration which was... unusual.
Drive On, Jeeves - 3.75 ✰
╰┈➤ by Andrew Hunter Murray
0.05/5 🌶
WHY WAS JEEVES A CAR AND WHY DID IT WORK?
But it did work. It was modern day and people don't have valets in 2025.
I gave it a 0.05 for spice because of one similie but that was it for spice in this one.
I loved all the references to modern times and to Jeeves and Wooster.
I loved how the number plate on Car Jeeves was PG81JVS.
PG is obviously P.G.Wodehouse and JVS is obviously Jeeves.
But the 81 confused me for a time until I learned that P.G.Wodehouse was born in 1881 🥹 how adorable is that?
But it wasn't all great. Here is now Bertie described Car Jeeves' voice:
↳ ❝ The voice was rich, male, fruity. Imagine someone who's been gargling chocolate-coated gravel and smoking twenty Gitanes a day and you're halfway there. ❞
Just no.
But I did like this bit:
↳ ❝ 'Well. Excellent, Jeeves. Let me pop out of this dressing-gown and into a suit, and we can get started. Oh. Also. Am I ... sitting in your lap right now?'
That would hardly be appropriate for a first meeting, sir. Rather consider yourself cupped in two capable hands.'
'Oh. Right. In that case, cup away.'
'Very good, sir.' ❞
We love to see it 🙂↕️🙂↕️
But then we get moments like this:
↳ ❝ Jeeves gave a small cough. 'If I may be indiscreet, sir, I was rather more driver than passenger in the matter.'
'How so?'
'It was my initiative to abstract Rivet, sir.'
'You? How did you get him? How could you?'
'If you recall, my ventilation system is capable of synthesising a large number of discreet aromas, sir. For example...' He paused, the air vents whirred, and within a few seconds the car smelled entirely of roast beef. ❞
Ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ewwwww 😶😶
But I did like how we got the title of the story as the last line.
On Becoming Aunt Agatha - 3.75 ✰
╰┈➤ by Scarlett Curtis
It was so cute 🥺
We got baby Bertie 🥹
The ending made me emotional. It was more like a fanfic but a very, very well written fanfic and Aunt Agatha was a bit too unlike Aunt Agatha but compare to some of the other stories - it was quite good.
Scarlett Curtis is a very good writer. It was written so beautifully and I like how feminism was woven into it. I am definetly going to read more of Scarlett Curtis' stuff.
↳ ❝ Love is not a word that has popped up much throughout my life. It is not a goal for which I ever aimed, nor an emotion I have ever had any particular interest in striving to capture. It has always seemed to me that laughter, joy, mischief and pain were far more interesting waters through which to wade. But love, believe it or not, is the only true word that comes to mind when I think of my relationship with Bertie and my role as his Aunt.
Bertie Wooster, is, quite simply put, the love of my life. ❞
🥹🥺
And then the ending...
↳ ❝ Dare I say that if someone were to write a book about the goings-on of my nephew Bertie, it might lighten the gloom for anyone who, like me, has ever experienced a dark night of the soul. You see, there is so much joy to be discovered in this world, if one just finds an individual or two who can spark it. If I were a less busy woman, I might write such a book myself... but I have people to meddle with, and cigars to smoke. For now, I shall leave that particular task to someone else. ❞
This >>>> 🥹💞💞
Dead Body in My Hotel Room - 2.5 ✰
╰┈➤ by Fergus Craig
This one was also a fever dream. I don't think that I like it when people insert themselves into their stories.
Just Ask Jeeves - 1.5 ✰
╰┈➤ by William Rayfet Hunter
William Rayfet Hunter's short story where he kinda shipped Bertie and Jeeves made me feel like this:
😵💫😵💫😵💫🥴🥴🥴
The resolution fell flat as a pancake and the ending was... weird. There were lot of similies that felt AI generated.
It was not historically accurate in the slightest and I really didn't like how Jeeves called Bertie "Bertie" at the end.
Jeeves and Wooster II - 2 ✰
╰┈➤ by Alan Titchmarsh
Alan Titchmarsh gave us a nothing burger of a story.
It felt like he was showing off too much. You could tell he loved the stories and that was nice but I didn't like how it ended on a cliffhanger.
It felt like a classic novel the way he was describing everything.
Jeeves Out-Jeeved - 2.5 ✰
╰┈➤ by Jasper Fforde
0.75/5 🌶
🎶 Bobby 🎶
🎶 just killed a man 🎶
And I mean that literally. She didn't outright murder him but it's implied that she had a hand in his death.
It started off so well! I really enjoyed the first two chapters then it all went downhill badly.
Very badly.
One of the reasons was Watson - Bobby's female maid. Not only was she called WATSON but she and Jeeves were rivals AND were once engaged. Of course they were. 🙄🙄
And the spice! Bertie saw Bobby getting ready to go into the bath and I quote saw everything.
The repetition of:
"Everything, sir?"
"Everything, Jeeves!"
Really, really wasn't needed. I don't like how Jeeves was "Out-Jeeved" and the ending was pretty dark.
Jeeves By a Nose! - 4.5 ✰
╰┈➤ by Ian Moore
It was so good! It was a breath of fresh air after all the bad ones.
It was a bit unrealistic for young Thos to be the jockey and Bertie didn't have to give away his sunglasses but you can't have everything.
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ conclusion !
Would I re-read this book in full? Absolutely not. Would I re-read some of the short stories? Yes. Would I reccomend it? Only to very dedicated and open-minded P.G.Wodehouse fans. I really liked all the callbacks and references to the modern world and the original stories. There was a healthy mix of good, mediocre and not so good.
3 stars ✨️
-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈
Well that happened.
John Finnemore did not dissapoint and I am so happy about that 🤭🤭
Fullrant review to come.
-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈
It has a short story written by John Finne–
That's all I need to know. I love John Finnemore and his stuff.
But a story set in 2025? Not sure how I feel about that.
Excited to read my first pastiche!
╰┈➤ lots of unmarked spoilers !
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ overall thoughts !
It wasn't terrible but it was a rollercoaster on fire going through shark infested waters of emotions.
None of the stories deserved 0 stars - even the worst ones had some good bits.
I now know what I look for in a pastiche.
I felt like some of the stories were writing about Stephen Fry's Jeeves and Hugh Laurie's Bertie Wooster rather than P.G.Wodehouses' characters.
I was not prepared for the amount of stories set in 2025. I thought there would only be one! And I was NOT prepared for the shipping of Jeeves and Bertie but it had to come at some point I suppose.
Most of the stories were pretty cute.
The Icebreaker - 3.5 ✰
╰┈➤ by Frank Skinner
It felt like a fever dream.
I did like how Bertie reacted to the modern world. I like the title as well - it worked in more ways than one. It's breaking the ice as the first story and it's about Bertie and Jeeves being frozen in ice.
I actually know about Frank Skinner and I wasn't dissapointed.
Jeeves and the Forbidden Fruit - 5 ✰
╰┈➤ by John Finnemore
I love John Finnemore. I love the way he writes, his humor, his characters, his radio shows so I had high, high hopes for this one and 👏 it 👏did👏not 👏dissapoint!
I loved everything about it. And we got a Sherlock Holmes reference 🤭🤭🤭 AND he implied that Brinkely Court was in Bletchley Park.
It was historically accurate as well!
↳ ❝ "Yes . . . as a matter of fact, I offered Major Jeeves a post just now."
"Oh, good egg! What did he say?"
". . . He asked me to speak to you."
"Oh! Which, of course, you were just on the point of doing anyway! How splendidly these things work out. Hang on, though . . ." For something had just caught up with me. "Did you say "Major Jeeves"?"
"Yes. That was the rank he achieved by the end of the last war. Didn't you know?"
"I did not! But I say . . . if I'm a captain . . . will I have to salute him?"
"Naturally."
Well. It was a bit of a facer, just at first, but then, the more I thought about it . . . I mean to say, why not? If there's a chap more deserving of a salute, I should bally well like to know who it is. ❞
🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡
Ah Jaysis, Jeeves - 1.75 ✰
╰┈➤ by Roddy Doyle
I mean... it wasn't terrible terrible but it wasn't good either.
Why did Roddy Doyle have to change Bertie's surname? What was wrong with Wooster?
Making Bertie Irish was... a choice. He didn't have to do that but you've got to write what you know.
Mandy was... fine. She was just... there.
The ending was pretty cute. I liked how Jeeves got more Irish but I would have liked to have seen Bertie become more like Jeeves but that's just me.
Roddy Doyle wimped out of a satisfying finish. The resolution fell flat.
↳ ❝ 'And really, like - you're marrying Mandy?'
'Yes, sir,' he said. We have come to an under-standing. "Through chaos as it swirls, it's us against the world.""
'Yeats?'
'Coldplay, sir.'
And he winked at me.
A thought hit me as he turned to open the door.
It - the thought, like - made me sit up and it had nothing to do with meerkats. If Mandy got married again, she'd be knocking on my door in no time.
'Good luck now, Jeeves,' I said.
'You're grand, sir,' he said back. ❞
The Age of Spode - 3.5 ✰
╰┈➤ by Domonic Sandbrook
It was so fun and creative! AND WE GOT GEORGE ORWELL TALKING ABOUT JEEVES AND SPODE! GEORGE ORWELL!
AND an extract from The Code of the Woosters AND seeing Jeeves and Bertie in their old age 🥹🥹 what more could you want?
Mixed Doubles - 2.5 ✰
╰┈➤ Deborah Frances-White
This one was also a fever dream with a massive climax and satisfying resolution. I liked how she kept referring to William Shakespeare's shall I compare thee to a summers day? And it was historically accurate.
↳ ❝ 'But when we come home, Jeeves, y'know, I think I like the arrangement we have.'
'Sir?'
'I think I'm the sort of chap who has found a valet that he likes and likes living with his valet. I think that's my summer's day. Do you know what I mean, Jeeves?'
'I believe I do, sir. Very much so.'
And then Jeeves looked at the fields we were passing and said, 'The bard would be most pleased, sir.' ❞
This could be interpreted in a number of ways but I like to think that Deborah Frances-White is choosing not to ship Bertie and Jeeves.
This story also reminded me of the song "Pink Pony Club" and there was a lot of alliteration which was... unusual.
Drive On, Jeeves - 3.75 ✰
╰┈➤ by Andrew Hunter Murray
0.05/5 🌶
WHY WAS JEEVES A CAR AND WHY DID IT WORK?
But it did work. It was modern day and people don't have valets in 2025.
I gave it a 0.05 for spice because of one similie but that was it for spice in this one.
I loved all the references to modern times and to Jeeves and Wooster.
I loved how the number plate on Car Jeeves was PG81JVS.
PG is obviously P.G.Wodehouse and JVS is obviously Jeeves.
But the 81 confused me for a time until I learned that P.G.Wodehouse was born in 1881 🥹 how adorable is that?
But it wasn't all great. Here is now Bertie described Car Jeeves' voice:
↳ ❝ The voice was rich, male, fruity. Imagine someone who's been gargling chocolate-coated gravel and smoking twenty Gitanes a day and you're halfway there. ❞
Just no.
But I did like this bit:
↳ ❝ 'Well. Excellent, Jeeves. Let me pop out of this dressing-gown and into a suit, and we can get started. Oh. Also. Am I ... sitting in your lap right now?'
That would hardly be appropriate for a first meeting, sir. Rather consider yourself cupped in two capable hands.'
'Oh. Right. In that case, cup away.'
'Very good, sir.' ❞
We love to see it 🙂↕️🙂↕️
But then we get moments like this:
↳ ❝ Jeeves gave a small cough. 'If I may be indiscreet, sir, I was rather more driver than passenger in the matter.'
'How so?'
'It was my initiative to abstract Rivet, sir.'
'You? How did you get him? How could you?'
'If you recall, my ventilation system is capable of synthesising a large number of discreet aromas, sir. For example...' He paused, the air vents whirred, and within a few seconds the car smelled entirely of roast beef. ❞
Ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ewwwww 😶😶
But I did like how we got the title of the story as the last line.
On Becoming Aunt Agatha - 3.75 ✰
╰┈➤ by Scarlett Curtis
It was so cute 🥺
We got baby Bertie 🥹
The ending made me emotional. It was more like a fanfic but a very, very well written fanfic and Aunt Agatha was a bit too unlike Aunt Agatha but compare to some of the other stories - it was quite good.
Scarlett Curtis is a very good writer. It was written so beautifully and I like how feminism was woven into it. I am definetly going to read more of Scarlett Curtis' stuff.
↳ ❝ Love is not a word that has popped up much throughout my life. It is not a goal for which I ever aimed, nor an emotion I have ever had any particular interest in striving to capture. It has always seemed to me that laughter, joy, mischief and pain were far more interesting waters through which to wade. But love, believe it or not, is the only true word that comes to mind when I think of my relationship with Bertie and my role as his Aunt.
Bertie Wooster, is, quite simply put, the love of my life. ❞
🥹🥺
And then the ending...
↳ ❝ Dare I say that if someone were to write a book about the goings-on of my nephew Bertie, it might lighten the gloom for anyone who, like me, has ever experienced a dark night of the soul. You see, there is so much joy to be discovered in this world, if one just finds an individual or two who can spark it. If I were a less busy woman, I might write such a book myself... but I have people to meddle with, and cigars to smoke. For now, I shall leave that particular task to someone else. ❞
This >>>> 🥹💞💞
Dead Body in My Hotel Room - 2.5 ✰
╰┈➤ by Fergus Craig
This one was also a fever dream. I don't think that I like it when people insert themselves into their stories.
Just Ask Jeeves - 1.5 ✰
╰┈➤ by William Rayfet Hunter
William Rayfet Hunter's short story where he kinda shipped Bertie and Jeeves made me feel like this:
😵💫😵💫😵💫🥴🥴🥴
The resolution fell flat as a pancake and the ending was... weird. There were lot of similies that felt AI generated.
It was not historically accurate in the slightest and I really didn't like how Jeeves called Bertie "Bertie" at the end.
Jeeves and Wooster II - 2 ✰
╰┈➤ by Alan Titchmarsh
Alan Titchmarsh gave us a nothing burger of a story.
It felt like he was showing off too much. You could tell he loved the stories and that was nice but I didn't like how it ended on a cliffhanger.
It felt like a classic novel the way he was describing everything.
Jeeves Out-Jeeved - 2.5 ✰
╰┈➤ by Jasper Fforde
0.75/5 🌶
🎶 Bobby 🎶
🎶 just killed a man 🎶
And I mean that literally. She didn't outright murder him but it's implied that she had a hand in his death.
It started off so well! I really enjoyed the first two chapters then it all went downhill badly.
Very badly.
One of the reasons was Watson - Bobby's female maid. Not only was she called WATSON but she and Jeeves were rivals AND were once engaged. Of course they were. 🙄🙄
And the spice! Bertie saw Bobby getting ready to go into the bath and I quote saw everything.
The repetition of:
"Everything, sir?"
"Everything, Jeeves!"
Really, really wasn't needed. I don't like how Jeeves was "Out-Jeeved" and the ending was pretty dark.
Jeeves By a Nose! - 4.5 ✰
╰┈➤ by Ian Moore
It was so good! It was a breath of fresh air after all the bad ones.
It was a bit unrealistic for young Thos to be the jockey and Bertie didn't have to give away his sunglasses but you can't have everything.
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ conclusion !
Would I re-read this book in full? Absolutely not. Would I re-read some of the short stories? Yes. Would I reccomend it? Only to very dedicated and open-minded P.G.Wodehouse fans. I really liked all the callbacks and references to the modern world and the original stories. There was a healthy mix of good, mediocre and not so good.
3 stars ✨️
-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈
Well that happened.
John Finnemore did not dissapoint and I am so happy about that 🤭🤭
Full
-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈
It has a short story written by John Finne–
That's all I need to know. I love John Finnemore and his stuff.
But a story set in 2025? Not sure how I feel about that.
Excited to read my first pastiche!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Want to read
October 16, 2025My grumpy take: well, at least I've heard of Roddy Doyle and Jasper Fforde - as for the others...? There are dozens of other writers whose shoulders should have been tapped for this anthology (not to mention the glaring omission if Ben Schott and Sebastian Faulks, both of whom penned Wodehouse Estate approved novels this past decade or so) - was particularly put off by the Penguin promo vid where the writer smiles proudly about having Jeeves and Wooster deal with AI. Jeeves. Wooster. A fucking I. Come on, pal.
January 10, 2026
Curate's egg.
November 28, 2025
Despite the Goodreads entry above, these are not stories by P. Wodehouse. They are stories featuring Wodehouse's characters, Bertie Wooster and his Butler Jeeves, written by contemporary English writers.
I was pleased that the book had no introduction. It is a way of saying that there is no need for an excuse to spend more time with Bertie and Jeeves.
Most of the stories set Bertie and Jeeves in peculiar settings. They are time traveled to current day London or they are trying to help the cause in WW2 England, or Jeeves is an AI. Roddy Doyle had me laughing with his story about an Irish lad who hits the lottery and ends up hiring Jeeves. The title is perfect, "Ah Jaysis Jeeves".
The writers have fun with the form of the stories. Some of the stories are in Bertie's perfect voice. Dominic Sandbrook has a brilliant story in the form of a history exam. Scarlett Curtis has a complex memoir by Bertie's Aunt Agatha. Fergus Craig has a dark story about a modern-day Bertie and Jeeves in the tech bro world, with fun bonus self-reference.
It is not surprising that a few issues of modern concern keep popping up. Lord Sidcup, aka Spode, the Nazi-ish leader, appears in several stories. Several stories have fun with the riddle of Bertie and Jeeves sexuality, which, of course, was unquestioned and not discussed by Wodehouse. Andrew Hunter Murray has several very funny scenes with a modern-day Bertie dealing with a temperamental and difficult fictional Norwegian writer named Uwe Gnarsson, who is a very thinly disguised version of the actual temperamental and difficult Norwegian writer Karl Ove Knausgård.
This is a collection of smart witty writers having fun with two of the great comedic characters in English literature.
I was pleased that the book had no introduction. It is a way of saying that there is no need for an excuse to spend more time with Bertie and Jeeves.
Most of the stories set Bertie and Jeeves in peculiar settings. They are time traveled to current day London or they are trying to help the cause in WW2 England, or Jeeves is an AI. Roddy Doyle had me laughing with his story about an Irish lad who hits the lottery and ends up hiring Jeeves. The title is perfect, "Ah Jaysis Jeeves".
The writers have fun with the form of the stories. Some of the stories are in Bertie's perfect voice. Dominic Sandbrook has a brilliant story in the form of a history exam. Scarlett Curtis has a complex memoir by Bertie's Aunt Agatha. Fergus Craig has a dark story about a modern-day Bertie and Jeeves in the tech bro world, with fun bonus self-reference.
It is not surprising that a few issues of modern concern keep popping up. Lord Sidcup, aka Spode, the Nazi-ish leader, appears in several stories. Several stories have fun with the riddle of Bertie and Jeeves sexuality, which, of course, was unquestioned and not discussed by Wodehouse. Andrew Hunter Murray has several very funny scenes with a modern-day Bertie dealing with a temperamental and difficult fictional Norwegian writer named Uwe Gnarsson, who is a very thinly disguised version of the actual temperamental and difficult Norwegian writer Karl Ove Knausgård.
This is a collection of smart witty writers having fun with two of the great comedic characters in English literature.
December 12, 2025
I'll be honest, it's been a long time since I read any Jeeves, and I picked this up on a whim, based on a couple of the authors. I'm not really sure what I think of it.
This is a bunch of writers taking Jeeves and Wooster and doing their own thing with them. In a few cases they are recognisable from the original stories, but in a lot they are transported, to WWII or the modern world. There is one exception, a beautiful piece of writing from Dominic Sandbrook, in the form of a history exam, I won't spoil it, but this must be the only time Noel Edmonds and Roderick Spode appear in the same sentence.
Like most anthologies, it has some highs and some lows, but your mileage may differ dependant on how you have read Wodehouse in the past. Personally I really enjoyed Roddy Doyles take, but I can see it not going down particularly well in some households. There are some odd choices, Alan Titmarsh in particular was unsatisfying to me, but this is a collection of short stories so if one doesn't appeal, there's another one coming along.
The major plus point is this is a comic story collection, that did actually make me laugh. I don't find a lot of comic novels funny, this is a definite exception.
Glad I picked it up
This is a bunch of writers taking Jeeves and Wooster and doing their own thing with them. In a few cases they are recognisable from the original stories, but in a lot they are transported, to WWII or the modern world. There is one exception, a beautiful piece of writing from Dominic Sandbrook, in the form of a history exam, I won't spoil it, but this must be the only time Noel Edmonds and Roderick Spode appear in the same sentence.
Like most anthologies, it has some highs and some lows, but your mileage may differ dependant on how you have read Wodehouse in the past. Personally I really enjoyed Roddy Doyles take, but I can see it not going down particularly well in some households. There are some odd choices, Alan Titmarsh in particular was unsatisfying to me, but this is a collection of short stories so if one doesn't appeal, there's another one coming along.
The major plus point is this is a comic story collection, that did actually make me laugh. I don't find a lot of comic novels funny, this is a definite exception.
Glad I picked it up
January 1, 2026
I love Wodehouse he was / is such a wonderful writer. Try writing like him!! No, you can’t and neither can any of this lot! Some of the stories are amusing. Dome with a modern twist. Not one as brilliant, light with a use of the English language that can touch by a long, long way a true master.
You want Wodehouse? Read Wodehouse !! Yeah, ok it’s a starter for those who gave yet to read the Master. When you have read the Original, then you will realise that this lot try, but will never obtain the same level of humour and sheer wonderfulness of a man who can make the English aristocracy seem harmless. Stupid even. Even in 2026, believe me ( I’m English ) they ate far from that.
But my word he’s funny, lighter than a feather, frothier than your red faced uncle. Genius and funny with it.
They try, God bless them. They try,
!!
You want Wodehouse? Read Wodehouse !! Yeah, ok it’s a starter for those who gave yet to read the Master. When you have read the Original, then you will realise that this lot try, but will never obtain the same level of humour and sheer wonderfulness of a man who can make the English aristocracy seem harmless. Stupid even. Even in 2026, believe me ( I’m English ) they ate far from that.
But my word he’s funny, lighter than a feather, frothier than your red faced uncle. Genius and funny with it.
They try, God bless them. They try,
!!
October 19, 2025
A cracking collection with some laugh out loud stories.
Jeeves again is a collection of short stories by various writers. As with all these types of collections there are always some stories that are stronger than other and in this case the strongest all come from people with a proven pedigree in comedy. John Fennimore’s ‘Forbidden Fruit’ is absolutely top notch. The final two from Jasper Fforde and Ian Moore had me laughing out loud. The reference to the artist Van Clomp in ‘Jeeves out-Jeeved’ felt like a perfect little easter egg for long standing fans of comedy. These stories were absolute joys. Other tales in the collection worked well to varying degrees, some more engaging than others. Overall it is well worth a read for fans of PG Wodehouse.
Thank you to the publisher for a review copy of this book.
Jeeves again is a collection of short stories by various writers. As with all these types of collections there are always some stories that are stronger than other and in this case the strongest all come from people with a proven pedigree in comedy. John Fennimore’s ‘Forbidden Fruit’ is absolutely top notch. The final two from Jasper Fforde and Ian Moore had me laughing out loud. The reference to the artist Van Clomp in ‘Jeeves out-Jeeved’ felt like a perfect little easter egg for long standing fans of comedy. These stories were absolute joys. Other tales in the collection worked well to varying degrees, some more engaging than others. Overall it is well worth a read for fans of PG Wodehouse.
Thank you to the publisher for a review copy of this book.
October 18, 2025
For fans of Wodehouse this is a terrific read. Granted, some authors kept to the style and formula of Wodehouse and these were particularly enjoyable ( take a bow Ian Moore, Hunter Murray and Frances-White). But even those who took their own paths write very interesting and amusing stories.
I’ll read this book again and add it to my Wodehouse collection.
I’ll read this book again and add it to my Wodehouse collection.
December 14, 2025
A great read and a real variety of stories. Particularly liked the one from Aunt Agatha's point of view, the one that imagined Jeeves as a car (very Knightrider), and the one structured as a series of newspaper clippings. A lot of fun all round.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 20, 2025
Authorised fan fiction.
The Roddy Doyle one was, characteristically, very good. I’ve no time for Dominic Sandbrook however: I’m rather prejudiced against him.
The Roddy Doyle one was, characteristically, very good. I’ve no time for Dominic Sandbrook however: I’m rather prejudiced against him.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews