The Best of Wodehouse: An Anthology

by P.G. Wodehouse, John Mortimer (Introduction)

P.G. Wodehouse (1881-1975) was perhaps the most widely acclaimed British humorist of the twentieth century. Throughout his career, he brilliantly examined the complex and idiosyncratic nature of English upper-crust society with hilarious insight and wit. The works in this volume provide a wonderful introduction to Wodehouse’s work and his unique talent for joining fantastic plots with authentic emotion.   In The Code of the Woosters , Wodehouse’s most famous duo, Bertie Wooster and his unflappable valet Jeeves, risks all to steal a cream jug. Uncle Fred in the Springtime , part of the famous Blandings Castle series, follows Uncle Fred as he attempts to ruin the Duke of Blandings while he is preoccupied with his favorite pig. Fourteen stories feature some of Wodehouse’s most memorable characters, and three autobiographical pieces provide a revealing look into Wodehouse’s life.   With his gift for hilarity and his ever-human tone, Wodehouse and his work have never felt more lively. With a New Introduction by John Mortimer

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

840 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1949

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

[Jim]

What a delight is P.G. Wodehouse. This copy is one that I actually bought for my father, and it was the last book he read (or, more accurately, had read to him by a hospice volunteer). Don't know how Jeeves and Bertie sounded with a Texas accent, but I'm sure it was good medicine. It's impossible to be in a bad mood while reading Wodehouse. For anyone who loves language, reading him is like wandering onto a beautiful beach that's been salted with precious gems.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is more of an overall 5 star rating for P.G Wodehouse (this beautiful Everyman's copy just happened to be the Wodehouse I selected from my shelf -- but they're all winners). I always keep him nearby and I pick him up at at least once a year for some laughs.

[Sarah ♡ (let’s interact!) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Best Of Wodehouse: An Anthology is an 800 page tome consisting of two of Wodehouse’s most well-known novels (The Code Of The Woosters and Uncle Fred In The Springtime), a collection of his short stories, and excerpts from his autobiography Over Seventy.

The short stories included are:
- Jeeves Takes Charge: All about how Wooster met Jeeves. Right from the off it becomes apparent that Jeeves will indeed become the most ideal right hand man for Bertie, he shall be his “keeper”. 20 pages of excellence. I’d recommend you read this story as the most perfect introduction to these two characters, if you aren’t yet familiar with them.
- Jeeves and the Impending Doom: This one is all about Bertie visiting his Aunt Agatha, who is quite a ghastly woman. Here he runs into an old adversary whilst on his visit and some hilarity ensues.
- The Love that Purifies: This one is from the Very Good, Jeeves collection. It’s all about a Good Conduct contest between two of Bertie’s young cousin, Bonzo Travers (Aunt Dahlia’s son) and Thomas Gregson (Aunt Agatha’s son). Whichever boy behaves the best shall receive a sum of money. Of course, as the story runs its course, it shall be Jeeves to the rescue once more.
- Jeeves and the Yule-tide Spirit: Yes, I liked this because the title reminded me of A Christmas Carol lol. This one is very short, but it works well with the punchy, humorous dialogue between characters - especially Jeeves and Wooster’s exchanges.
- The Great Sermon Handicap: Wooster makes a bet on which parson he thinks will make the longest preach at their local Sunday sermon. There is also drama between his friend Bingo Little and his crush, Lady Cynthia.
- Uncle Fred Flits By: This makes for a good introduction to the characters Bongo and Uncle Fred. The uncle’s youthful and mischievous ways often gets poor nephew Bongo into trouble. Here they have wangled their way into a stately home.
- The Crime Wave at Blandings: Is this Wodehouse trying his hand at a crime/thriller? Well, not exactly. You shall have to read to find out, but this is one of my new favourites. Really rib-tickling. Kicking myself that I hadn’t read this one sooner.
- The Amazing Hat Mystery: A story is told about two men, Percy and Nelson, wanting to impress two women they are fond of by purchasing new hats. But things, of course, won’t go as simple as one might think… This is a Wodehouse story after all.
- Honeysuckle Cottage: ”Do you believe in ghosts?” A hilarious homage to Henry James’ ghost stories. Regarded as one of Wodehouse’s funniest and I would have to agree.
- Ukridge Rounds A Nasty Corner: (review tbc)
- A Bit Of Luck for Mabel: (review tbc)
- The Editor Regrets: (review tbc)
- The Heart of a Goof: ”How sad is it in this life that the moment to which we have looked forward with the most glowing anticipation so often turns out on arrival, flat, cold, and disappointing”. Why there is often issues arising, or arguments at, weddings or at Christmas… the over-expectation for everything to be perfect on the day.
- The Nodder: (review tbc)

I reviewed The Code Of The Woosters and Uncle Fred In The Springtime separately on my page when I completed them. They were definitely the highlights of this anthology overall for me.

This collection would make the most perfect introduction to this great man’s work and for that, it’s an easy 5 stars from me.

[Anand Ganapathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This anthology of some of PG Wodehouse 's best novels and short stories is a delight to read . 'Over seventy' , his autobiographical essays are just as humourous.

[Patrick DiJusto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jolly wonderful, as they say, book, what? The very thing to pop out some ha-ha's from the old tummy, and no fooling.

Wodehouse's Bertie Wooster is the epitome of the English idle rich minor aristocracy of the 1920s and 1930s. (Something the Monty Python crowd would later call the Upper Class Twit, which is dashed rude if you ask me, but there you are.) Bertie's relatives regard him (incorrectly, he would say) as young, flighty, not actually insane but could be mistaken as such, and constantly marinating in the most rummy imbroglios -- right pickles, some of them are.

Wooster's manservant, Jeeves, is the epitome of the English valet: intelligent, discreet, loyal, resourceful. He spends most of his time getting young Bertie out of (and sometimes into) the previously mentioned imbroglios (or, as they say, pickles).

I see this tome is included on the list of books that are supposed to be like Downton Abbey. Rather NOT, I say. The people of Downton Abbey are all, every man-jack of them, so dashed efficient -- always bustling to and fro in a frightful display of I don't know. Not a wastrel among them, what? So different from our hero that the Crawleys could rather do with the likes of young Bertie Wooster popping in for a visit or two. Bally shake the place up a bit, I say.

[~Geektastic~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I skipped over the novels in this collection, as I have them in separate volumes, and stuck to the short stories.

A great introduction to someone who is fast becoming a favorite.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Se avete letto e amato Jerome K. Jerome e ricordate con nostalgia gli ilari momenti passati in compagnia dei tre uomini in barca, Wodehouse saprà tenervi alto il morale altrettanto efficacemente. La raccolta di racconti è un ottimo punto di partenza per scoprire i personaggi della sua prolifica produzione letteraria ed apprezzarne lo stile. Si parte dal buon Lord Emsworth del castello di Blandings, si prosegue con le avventure del nipote di Mulliner e si conclude degnamente con l’apprezzabile Jeeves, il tutto con un’ironia e una comicità tipicamente inglesi a cui non ci si può non affezionare. Le storie sono ambientate nella prima parte del ‘900, più o meno fino agli anni ‘30, quindi larga importanza a maggiordomi, colletti rigidi, dame altezzose e giovanotti che cercano di darsi un tono con il pince-nez. Un mondo ovattato in cui è piacevole rifugiarsi, di quando in quando.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only had time to read one story in this - Honeysuckle Cottage, where a man is left his late aunt's cottage. She was the writer of romances, he writes detective thrillers with no women, but the spirit of her stories are haunting the place and everything he does and writes turns into a romance. It was utterly hilarious. When I have time again, I need to read more of these.

[doug.whatzup · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Too little has been written about vaudeville bird-imitators and their passionate devotion to their art: but everybody knows the saying, Once a Bird-Imitator, Always a Bird-Imitator. The Mabel Potter of today might be a mere lovely machine for taking notes and tapping out her employer’s correspondence, but within her there still burned the steady flame of those high ideals which always animate a girl who has once been accustomed to render to packed houses the liquid notes of the cuckoo, the whip-poor-will, and other songsters who are familiar to you all.” If you find this paragraph, from “The Nodder,” a hoot, you’re going to love reading Wodehouse.

I read the above paragraph to my wife, who found it “weird.” I, on the other hand, couldn’t stop laughing, and now have it practically memorized. Everything Wodehouse writes is like this – okay, the humor of his Jeeves stories is slightly less broad – so you’re either going to find his writing constantly amusing or constantly weird.

Obviously, my wife and I are in different camps.

This anthology makes for a nice introduction to Wodehouse's brand of humor, but it hardly does justice to one of the last century's most prolific writers. While I particularly enjoyed the short stories, of which there are 14 here, and the sections from the autobiographical "Over Seventy," I was a tad overwhelmed by the anthology's two full-length novels, The Code of the Woosters and Uncle Fred in the Springtime. The novels are on the short side, which is good, because they are best read in one sitting, with a few breaks as possible, at least for a guy of my advance years whose synapses don't fire like they used to. They're a sort of literary whack-a-mole, with characters popping in and out and complications piling up one after the other until the reader begins to lose faith that it can somehow be sorted out. I'm not certain that, in the end, Uncle Fred actually did sort everything out in the springtime, but no matter. I found myself constantly amused.

Ideally, immediately following "one after another" above, a footnote would be added explaining how he managed to keep all those balls simultaneously airborne. In "Over Seventy" he explains that he spends months outlining and refining his plotlines before actually putting pen (or rather pencil) to paper.

I'll be reading more Wodehouse, I'm sure, and my wife will simply have to tolerate the chuckling emanating from the next pillow over. I may, however, be making notes as I go.

[Waleed · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfectly chosen anthology. Includes Wodehouse's two best novels, and many of his best short stories. Excellent introduction by John Mortimer as well. But the last word should go to AA Gill:

"If you want to saddle Wodehouse with an idea, which I don't, it might be that there is a sort of bliss in ignorance, and that innocent loafing is the way to be. Success is not achieved, it's underachieved. His books stand alone like the lilies of the field, neither reaping nor sowing, just being Wodehousian to no discernible purpose, except as an invitation to do the same, to contrarily lean against the march of modern literature and humour. They could almost be seen as subversive."
Lines in the Sand: Collected Journalism, p.247

[Remco de Kok · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pure, unadulterated literary comfort food. Every page is at least good for a smile or a grin, and often a snigger or out-loud belly laugh. Also incredibly well-written by an absolute master at his craft. For some reason we tend to value the tragic over the comic and the serious over the humorous, but stylistically this is at a level with the likes of Dickens or even Shakespeare. Wonderful.

[Marilyn Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is nothing quite as palate cleansing as a dose of P G Wodehouse. I use these stories as an antidote to the tension I feel at work, the uneasiness of listening to the news, the dark images of the detective series I binge watch and the lack of true humor in my life. I find Bertie's silliness and Jeeves' calm and constant wisdom an absolutely therapeutic solution to a mad world.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up at random from the library, when I was trying to convince my daughter to add a few known good books to her pile (she was picking based on titles and covers). I've heard of Wooster and Jeeves as a BBC show, but I hadn't watched it, and I'd heard that Wodehouse was a good read.

The collection starts with "The Code of the Woosters", a longer Wooster and Jeeves story (novel?), but not the first. Wooster is an upper class, wealthy bachelor, and Jeeves his butler. The story is a social comedy centering on an ugly cow-creamer, a prized chef, and and increasingly tangled knot of relationships, which Jeeves helps to untangle by the end. It was delightful, but felt a bit extended like a six-episode show stretched to 14 via plot twists.

There's then 14 short stories, of which the first five are Wooster and Jeeves. Wodehouse is better at the short stories, where the tangling and untangling can happen over a shorter period. Almost all involve upper-class intrigue, and often reminds that class and money were often not correlated. Highlights were "Jeeves and the Yule-tide Spirit", which had me laugh out loud, and "Uncle Fred Flits By", which is the collection's introduction to Uncle Fred, a trouble-making old man.

"Uncle Fred in the Springtime" is a better novel-length story, showing Wodehouse's increasing skill and bringing back many of the characters from the short stories. Finally, there is "From Over Seventy", which is a humorous autobiography.

The editors did a good job of selecting these stories, or maybe Wodehouse never wrote anything bad. I enjoyed this quite a bit, and may look for other Wodehouse in the future.

[Mark McTague · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stopped after 315 pages (800+ in this anthology) for two reasons: 1) Bertie Wooster and his man, Jeeves, seem to have disappeared (though other characters introduced in the first third of the book seem to appear throughout, if my casual leafing through the remainder is any guide), and I enjoyed them so much that I was a bit deflated by their absence, but also 2) the witty repartee of the "jolly gentlemen" (to use my English friend's characterization) had grown a bit stale. I suppose that's an artifact of this age of binge viewing of videos - what seems fresh throughout an entire series spread over months, if not years, becomes a bit dull upon regular reading over a short span of time. More to the point, though the wit is genuine and genuinely funny, it IS a bit hard to become too fond of characters who dress for dinner daily, spend weeks at a time lounging about one another's estates, and have their maids and man servants tidy up after them, even for an ex-colonial on this side of the pond. As my working class English friend put it, "When you're shivering in mid-winter in a council flat in the north of England, it's a bit hard to care about the travails of the jolly gentlemen traipsing around the estates in the south of England." Having read my Jeeves and Wooster stories, and chuckled at the deadpan humor, amusing plot twists, and sparkling dialog, I'm inclined to agree. If you're still inclined to see what it's all about, read the first one, "The Code of the Woosters." It exemplifies all the best of his writing, and at 220 pages, it should satisfy one's taste.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I eavesdropped on a conversation where a girl was talking about a book she'd read and wanting recommendations for something similar. Since I read the same book, I paid attention to P.G. Wodehouse as a recommendation. That was a great recommendation, random stranger! My library only had the Best of Anthology, but really that was a great place to start because, wow, there is all is-the best! Great stories, great humor, fun and quirky characters but not over-blown. I highly recommend P.G. Wodehouse.

[Carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, I really enjoyed this. It's a great intro to Wodehouse, whom I had never read and is now a new favorite. The anthology includes 2 novels, a number of short stories from his various series, and an excerpt from an essay/autobiography at the end. His stories are, truly, delightful. I started acquiring my Wodehouse collection (and happily, there are literally dozens to collect, the man was prolific in the extreme) before I had gotten halfway through the anthology.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute joy. Two novels and short stories. A great introduction to PGW for those who don’t know him. And great reads for his fans.

The writing in his stories is wonderful. He has some of the best dialogue ever. Somewhat like my favorite Austen, he always chooses just the right words to construct the perfect sentence.

I love his stories because they make me laugh but also because of the writing.

[James Violand · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful romp through wit. The inability to identify with the problems of aristocratic men living frivolously and yet dependent upon the largesse of relatives, does not in any way diminish the enjoyment of reading Wodehouse. His humor brightens your day.

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of fun. I had not read a Wodehouse for 20 years so it was a nice break. However, I probably won't read many more soon. The humor gets rather stale and a little tiring. I'm just not the big fan like many others I know.

[R Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's glorious as ever. A couple of the short stories aside which didn't do much for me, ( featuring the lesser known regulars ), but those aside, a bit of Jeeves, a bit of Uncle Fred and a bit of PG in his own words, it's a delight. Perfect bedtime reading.

[Nightingale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely collection of Wodehouse's work. It has a mix of stories including the Jeeves and Wooster series as well as other short stories. (The Jeeves and Wooster ones remain my favourites). Great for a light-hearted read!

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

the 14 short stories and two novels are full of the humour of wodehouse,I would suggest this volume to any reader who;s like to laugh.

[Sam Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this bitter world, what better antidote could there ever be.

[Rose Rutkowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a clever man! Every single page of this big book is a gem. The sun is always shining somewhere…and much brighter in the delightful world of Wodehouse.

[Deana Hamilton-Grummons · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars
Really enjoyed the Jeeves stories the best.

[Eleanor Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

also good.

[ju · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but not all stories are as good as "The code of the Woosters". Still one of my favorite authors. Writing style is great and it's quite funny.

[Claire Mayo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marvellous!

[Taka · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid collection--

None of Wodehouse stories disappoints. Every single one of them, in fact, engages. Plus, he is funny - not as funny as DFW (de gustibus non est disputandum), which is always good.

I especially liked the figure of Uncle Fred (who appears in "Uncle Fred Flits By" and the novel, Uncle Fred in the Springtime) whose taste for anything adventurous coupled with his unparalleled charm and intelligence makes him an irresistible character.

I was also a fan of Clarance, the Earl of Emsworth whose absentmindedness gives rise to all sorts of hilarity and trouble.

I wasn't much impressed by the Jeeves and Wooster stories, but loved Mr. Mulliner's "Honeysuckle Cottage" where a writer of hard-boiled mystery novels find his life upset by the "curse" of his aunt, the writer of saccharine romance novels and finds himself in a typical plot of such a romance. Just a hilarious work of genius.

Another important thing about Wodehouse's fiction is that he is a master of complicated plots. I surrendered to him especially in Uncle Fred in the Springtime which, by far, has one of the most complicated and interwoven plots I have ever encountered in literature. Simply genius.

I'll further explore more Wodehouse novels and short stories for sure, especially those that feature Uncle Fred and Earl of Emsworth.

A delightful collection.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This 800-page volume-- not including notes, biographical annotations, etc.-- is surely one of the most pleasurable, addicting, and essential things I have read. If you know and love Wodehouse, you will doubtless agree; if you don't, this tome is a persuasive (though perhaps daunting) introduction.

It contains: The Code of the Woosters, which is perhaps the most essential of all the "Jeeves and Wooster" novels, and among my favorites; a dozen or so short stories, including a handful of Jeeves/Wooster ones and others that feature staple Wodehouse characters; Uncle Fred in Springtime, which might be his most famous non-Jeeves novel; and lengthy excerpts from his memoir, Over Seventy.

Everything here is quintessential Wodehouse, I think, and nearly all of it hilariously dry, clever, and seemingly effortless. (Uncle Fred in Springtime is a bit more complicated than the Jeeves books, and I think that works against it; on the other hand, Over Seventy is easily the funniest and most entertaining autobiography I have read.)

All told: A desert island book if ever there was one.