Wooster Proposes, Jeeves Disposes or Le Mot Juste

by Kristin Thompson

P. G. Wodehouse's extraordinary career last from 1900 to his death in 1975. He wrote nearly a hundred books and innumerable short stories. His most popular works are those starring Bertie Wooster and his gentleman's personal gentleman, Jeeves. They first appeared in a 1915 story and were last seen in Wodehouse's final completed novel in 1975. Invariably Bertie's aunts, pals, and ex-fiancées plunged him into the soup, and Jeeves just as invariably retrieved him. How did Wodehouse stick to a few well-loved formulas and still manage to make his narratives perpetually fresh? Kristin Thompson is in a unique position to pursue this question. Since 1984 she has been the Archivist of the P. G. Wodehouse Estate's archive. She has had unprecedented access to the manuscripts and correspondence of Wodehouse. Using this material, she traces Wodehouse's working methods. His seemingly effortless prose and stories were in fact the products of lengthy planning and revisions. Notes and drafts allow Thompson to reconstruct the stages through which a typical project passed. She also examines how he drew upon conventions of Victorian and Edwardian literature, including the Sherlock Holmes stories, to create humor. She goes on to trace the development of the two protagonists, as Bertie goes from a drunken dimwit to a far more complex character and Jeeves develops from a clever servant to a nearly omniscient figure. Finally, she analyses at length the series' narrative technique and style. Should the work of a comic author be analyzed? Undoubtedly. Looking more closely at Wodehouse's work reveals new levels of humor. Wodehouse once remarked, "I like writing the Jeeves stories best," and it shows. "Wooster Proposes, Jeeves Disposes, by Kristin Thompson, is a Christmas wish come true for the P. G. Wodehouse a critical appreciation that treats Wodehouse as a serious literary craftsman-yet never gets stuffy." --Newsweek

390 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Anand · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. I was really surprised to see a book about Wodehouse by Kristin Thompson. She is a great film writer, but Wodehouse and film are quite different animals.
The book is really well written, and has a lot of little references that avid Wodehouse readers will love, while still having enough to keep the Wodehouse novice from getting bored.
This book analyzes some great Jeeves and Wooster bits, but is a little thin on the rest of Wodehouses characters and series.

[Diskojoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have just completed obtaining a complete collection of P.G. Wodehouse's book & in celebration, I re-read this book, which I had for over ten years. It goes into detail on how Wodehouse constructed and wrote his books, concentrating on the Jeeves/Wooster series.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This woman knows her Jeeves.

[Jenifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do like reading good, light (not jargon-y) literary criticism such as this.