Allison Symes's Blog - Posts Tagged "jeeves-and-wooster"
Revisiting The World of Jeeves and Wooster
Having read a lot of lovely non-fiction recently on Kindle and in paperback, it was time to get back to fiction.
I’ve just finished re-reading the marvellous P.G. Wodehouse: A Life In Letters so it was obvious to me next up on my reading list would be his most famous creations, Jeeves and Wooster.
Am so glad to be reading their stories again. Wodehouse’s gift with words is amazing and I struggle at times not to laugh out loud. I only try to resist simply because I read at bedtime and don’t want to disturb anyone. Maybe Wodehouse’s work should come with a warning here!
I also thought Jeeves and Wooster would be the perfect summertime read - I am right on that one.
If you haven’t read any, do check them out. They are so funny and the way Wodehouse plays with the English language is sublime.
I’ve just finished re-reading the marvellous P.G. Wodehouse: A Life In Letters so it was obvious to me next up on my reading list would be his most famous creations, Jeeves and Wooster.
Am so glad to be reading their stories again. Wodehouse’s gift with words is amazing and I struggle at times not to laugh out loud. I only try to resist simply because I read at bedtime and don’t want to disturb anyone. Maybe Wodehouse’s work should come with a warning here!
I also thought Jeeves and Wooster would be the perfect summertime read - I am right on that one.
If you haven’t read any, do check them out. They are so funny and the way Wodehouse plays with the English language is sublime.
Author Anniversaries - P.G. Wodehouse
Often when we think about author anniversaries, we’re commemorating the birth, sometimes the death, of globally renowned authors such as Jane Austen, Charles Dickens etc.
Or it can be the anniversary of when one of their most famous books was first published, you know the kind of thing here.
But 2025 sees a strange author anniversary for one writer and where the events took place within weeks of each other.
In early 1975 the wonderful humorous author, P.G Wodehouse was finally knighted. In February 2025, sadly he died. So this year sees the 50th anniversary of these things and the P.G. Wodehouse Society (UK) has been commemorating these. (I’m a member).
I love Wodehouse’s way with the English language. It is simply brilliant and his characters live on in your head long after you’ve finished reading the stories.
I even like Wodehouse’s golf stories and I hate the game as I do see it as a good walk ruined! There aren’t many writers who could achieve making someone read about a subject they are really not keen on. Even fewer can make them enjoy it!
Wodehouse’s characters live on in the forms of Jeeves and Wooster, Lord Emsworth, Uncle Fred, and so many more.
There are some books of letters out written by the great man too and they’re well worth a read as they’re a fascinating insight into the writing life he enjoyed.
You also get to see his wartime controversy from his viewpoint (and I would add had the Nazis got irony at the time Wodehouse would have been in real trouble. Check out the reproductions of his radio speeches which caused so much trouble and you will see what I mean).
But above all check out his stories, Especially when life is grim, and it is right now, they are a tonic and I happily recommend them just on those grounds.
Or it can be the anniversary of when one of their most famous books was first published, you know the kind of thing here.
But 2025 sees a strange author anniversary for one writer and where the events took place within weeks of each other.
In early 1975 the wonderful humorous author, P.G Wodehouse was finally knighted. In February 2025, sadly he died. So this year sees the 50th anniversary of these things and the P.G. Wodehouse Society (UK) has been commemorating these. (I’m a member).
I love Wodehouse’s way with the English language. It is simply brilliant and his characters live on in your head long after you’ve finished reading the stories.
I even like Wodehouse’s golf stories and I hate the game as I do see it as a good walk ruined! There aren’t many writers who could achieve making someone read about a subject they are really not keen on. Even fewer can make them enjoy it!
Wodehouse’s characters live on in the forms of Jeeves and Wooster, Lord Emsworth, Uncle Fred, and so many more.
There are some books of letters out written by the great man too and they’re well worth a read as they’re a fascinating insight into the writing life he enjoyed.
You also get to see his wartime controversy from his viewpoint (and I would add had the Nazis got irony at the time Wodehouse would have been in real trouble. Check out the reproductions of his radio speeches which caused so much trouble and you will see what I mean).
But above all check out his stories, Especially when life is grim, and it is right now, they are a tonic and I happily recommend them just on those grounds.
Books and Stories in Culture
No matter what our own cultures are, there will be books and stories which stand out in them.
These will be the books and stories “everyone knows” but may not necessarily have read for themselves.
I am so conscious of all the wonderful English language classics I am unlikely to get around to reading though I am determined to get at least some read.
Where this comes in is when you play the great game of spot the influences when reading works by authors you love.
A great example of this is Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. There are all sorts of “nods” in those.
Another example can be found in the stories of Jeeves and Wooster by P.G. Wodehouse where Bertie Wooster inevitably gets the name of the author and/or the book concerned not quite right. Yet it is clear from context the book and author do exist.
So cultural books and stories can inspire other tales. I like this!
These will be the books and stories “everyone knows” but may not necessarily have read for themselves.
I am so conscious of all the wonderful English language classics I am unlikely to get around to reading though I am determined to get at least some read.
Where this comes in is when you play the great game of spot the influences when reading works by authors you love.
A great example of this is Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. There are all sorts of “nods” in those.
Another example can be found in the stories of Jeeves and Wooster by P.G. Wodehouse where Bertie Wooster inevitably gets the name of the author and/or the book concerned not quite right. Yet it is clear from context the book and author do exist.
So cultural books and stories can inspire other tales. I like this!
