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The Great Sermon Handicap
Book by Wodehouse, P. G.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1982
About the author
P.G. Wodehouse
1,840 books7,078 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).
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 21, 2021
This delightful Jeeves and Wooster short story, told by Bertie, works as a standalone, but fits in the wider arc of stories in The Inimitable Jeeves, where you can also read it.
It’s typical Wodehouse, albeit with a slightly below average ratio of startlingly original similes.
I reread this now because, going through my late father’s books, I found this edition that fits in the smallest of pockets, without disturbing the line of one’s tailoring. Jeeves would approve.
Relatable Plot!
In novels, Wodehouse’s plots are as amusingly and implausibly convoluted as a treasure hunt for the Holy Grail, written down by swallows, struggling to carry coconuts, while maintaining air-speed velocity. It’s easy to overlook how clever they are. This story is shorter and simpler. Twins Claude and Eustace, “more or less generally admitted to be the curse of the human race” persuade Bertie to bet on which local parson will preach the longest sermon, claiming their inside info makes it a safe bet.
I was raised an Anglican, and at boarding school, had to attend church every Sunday, so I’ve heard plenty of sermons, most of the latter by the man who is the longest-serving C of E priest: in 2019, he is 92 and has been in the same parish(es) for 62 years. (See Church Times article from three years earlier here).
Frogmarched schoolgirls are rarely a receptive audience, so we sought ways to add excitement. The one that we still joke about, more than 30 years later is “The Bells of Wells”. I can tell you nothing of the spiritual message, only that the vicar had been moved by a recent visit to that city. We noticed the constant repetition of the phrase in lugubrious tone and started to count. I think it was in the low forties, though there was disagreement about the precise number. In my remaining time at school, he never exceeded that degree of repetition in a single sermon.
Image “We’d better have her examined. She’s resolved to be good.” (Source.)
Had we been more like St Trinian’s, we might have extended that idea to something akin to the C and E (Claude and Eustace) scheme.
Plum’s Plums
• Country house gathering.
• Bertie getting into a convoluted scheme that doesn’t go according to plan.
• Loved-up young chap (Bingo) penning doggerel.
• Jeeves quietly ensuring disaster is avoided.
• Occasional archaic vocab (desiderated and excursus).
• Twists on well-known phrases (“I’m not much of a lad for the birds and the trees”).
• Humour and jolly japes all round.
Energetic Bertie
Bertie cycled 10 miles each way - in the summer - just to hear a sermon. Well, a sermon in which he had a financial stake, but even so, he’s fitter than I usually imagine him.
Quotes
• “I fear that brevity in the pulpit is becoming more and more desiderated by even the bucolic churchgoer, who one might have supposed would be less afflicted with the spirit of hurry and impatience than his metropolitan brother.”
• “A dashed pretty and lively and attractive girl, mind you, but full of ideals and all that. I may be wronging her, but I have an idea that she’s the sort of girl who would want a fellow to carve out a career and what not. I know I’ve heard her speak favourably of Napoleon.”
• “Jeeves coughed one soft, low, gentle cough like a sheep with a blade of grass stuck in its throat, and then stood gazing serenely at the landscape.”
• “Jeeves coughed again and fixed me with an expressionless eye.”
• “‘When Cynthia smiles,’ said young Bingo, ‘the skies are blue: the world takes on a roseate hue: birds in the garden trill and sing, and Joy is king of everything, when Cynthia smiles.’ He coughed, changing gears. ‘When Cynthia frowns…’”
• “‘Has he got the wind up?’
‘Somewhat vertically, sir, to judge by his voice.’”
It’s typical Wodehouse, albeit with a slightly below average ratio of startlingly original similes.
I reread this now because, going through my late father’s books, I found this edition that fits in the smallest of pockets, without disturbing the line of one’s tailoring. Jeeves would approve.
Relatable Plot!
In novels, Wodehouse’s plots are as amusingly and implausibly convoluted as a treasure hunt for the Holy Grail, written down by swallows, struggling to carry coconuts, while maintaining air-speed velocity. It’s easy to overlook how clever they are. This story is shorter and simpler. Twins Claude and Eustace, “more or less generally admitted to be the curse of the human race” persuade Bertie to bet on which local parson will preach the longest sermon, claiming their inside info makes it a safe bet.
I was raised an Anglican, and at boarding school, had to attend church every Sunday, so I’ve heard plenty of sermons, most of the latter by the man who is the longest-serving C of E priest: in 2019, he is 92 and has been in the same parish(es) for 62 years. (See Church Times article from three years earlier here).
Frogmarched schoolgirls are rarely a receptive audience, so we sought ways to add excitement. The one that we still joke about, more than 30 years later is “The Bells of Wells”. I can tell you nothing of the spiritual message, only that the vicar had been moved by a recent visit to that city. We noticed the constant repetition of the phrase in lugubrious tone and started to count. I think it was in the low forties, though there was disagreement about the precise number. In my remaining time at school, he never exceeded that degree of repetition in a single sermon.
Image “We’d better have her examined. She’s resolved to be good.” (Source.)
Had we been more like St Trinian’s, we might have extended that idea to something akin to the C and E (Claude and Eustace) scheme.
Plum’s Plums
• Country house gathering.
• Bertie getting into a convoluted scheme that doesn’t go according to plan.
• Loved-up young chap (Bingo) penning doggerel.
• Jeeves quietly ensuring disaster is avoided.
• Occasional archaic vocab (desiderated and excursus).
• Twists on well-known phrases (“I’m not much of a lad for the birds and the trees”).
• Humour and jolly japes all round.
Energetic Bertie
Bertie cycled 10 miles each way - in the summer - just to hear a sermon. Well, a sermon in which he had a financial stake, but even so, he’s fitter than I usually imagine him.
Quotes
• “I fear that brevity in the pulpit is becoming more and more desiderated by even the bucolic churchgoer, who one might have supposed would be less afflicted with the spirit of hurry and impatience than his metropolitan brother.”
• “A dashed pretty and lively and attractive girl, mind you, but full of ideals and all that. I may be wronging her, but I have an idea that she’s the sort of girl who would want a fellow to carve out a career and what not. I know I’ve heard her speak favourably of Napoleon.”
• “Jeeves coughed one soft, low, gentle cough like a sheep with a blade of grass stuck in its throat, and then stood gazing serenely at the landscape.”
• “Jeeves coughed again and fixed me with an expressionless eye.”
• “‘When Cynthia smiles,’ said young Bingo, ‘the skies are blue: the world takes on a roseate hue: birds in the garden trill and sing, and Joy is king of everything, when Cynthia smiles.’ He coughed, changing gears. ‘When Cynthia frowns…’”
• “‘Has he got the wind up?’
‘Somewhat vertically, sir, to judge by his voice.’”
July 14, 2026
Brilliant
November 24, 2016
A small masterpiece.
March 30, 2021
Wasn’t my most favourite book/ section of The Inimitable Jeeves. Wooster goes visits his friend Bingo in the Countryside. Bingo is in love, yet again (yawn, so tired of this thread). So, Bingo and chums come up with a plan to make some money......... They create a pool on which priest will do a sermon on a certain weekend. Not the best thread.
June 3, 2024
Someone pour one out for Bingo, he’s been having a real rough go of it as of late 😂
Read as part of the Letters Regarding Jeeves series on Substack, which includes all of the Jeeves literature by P. G. Wodehouse that is currently in public domain — the first 25 short stories, as well as the entirety of the novel ‘Right Ho, Jeeves’ — over the course of one year.
Read as part of the Letters Regarding Jeeves series on Substack, which includes all of the Jeeves literature by P. G. Wodehouse that is currently in public domain — the first 25 short stories, as well as the entirety of the novel ‘Right Ho, Jeeves’ — over the course of one year.
October 14, 2023
What is wrong with these men. Why are they betting on who can give the longest sermon of Church. Every single one of these characters needs God
As much as I love to see these characters be bumbling idiots, my favorite Jeeves stories are the ones where Jeeves directly interferes, rather than relying on coincidental friendships parlaying otherwise unavailable information to him. But I still give mostly full marks for ingenuity.
As much as I love to see these characters be bumbling idiots, my favorite Jeeves stories are the ones where Jeeves directly interferes, rather than relying on coincidental friendships parlaying otherwise unavailable information to him. But I still give mostly full marks for ingenuity.
June 16, 2022
Wodehouse flaunts his literary prowess from the very beginning of this short story having you fall in love with English aristocratic language and Oxford slang. The plot is confusing at first, gets a little clearer as you go through but is still not very understandable compared to his other pieces. I think if you understand betting and odds more than I do you’ll have a good standing. Nonetheless, it’s still enjoyable, witty and involves a well rounded satisfying ending.
December 5, 2022
I somehow raced through this part while reading the Inimitable Jeeves. Luckily, I found Nick Martin’s brilliant narration on YouTube. You can never get enough of Bertie and Wooster on this planet; that’s a fact. Here it is… enjoy !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHPz_...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHPz_...
December 10, 2024
This story follows closely after 'Comrade Bingo,' and bits of the previous story are mentioned in this one. It is a decent read and flows quite nicely. It took me a little over 40 minutes to finish this story. The storyline is easy to follow, with just enough suspense to keep the reader interested.
March 1, 2020
Ultimate !!😀😀
December 17, 2022
A charming Jeeves & Wooster story. And just the right length.
January 12, 2016
What a bizarre little book. I liked the old school English in the text.
Clearly, Mr Wodehouse was bored and presented us with this odd story about the length of preaching.
I did chuckle though.
Ministers "betting" on lengths of fellow minister's sermons. Haha, imagine that happened in these modern times.
A lady in a church was clearing out the church library and she put this book on my desk.
So I had to read it. I'm a sucker for old pages too.
Clearly, Mr Wodehouse was bored and presented us with this odd story about the length of preaching.
I did chuckle though.
Ministers "betting" on lengths of fellow minister's sermons. Haha, imagine that happened in these modern times.
A lady in a church was clearing out the church library and she put this book on my desk.
So I had to read it. I'm a sucker for old pages too.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews