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Jeeves: A Gentleman's Personal Gentleman
Acquiring those traits that render him indispensable to his master, a member of London high society, valet Reginald Jeeves masters the art of silent movement, memorizes "Debrett's British Peerage," and anticipates his employers's every need.
191 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1979
About the author
C. Northcote Parkinson
97 books50 followersCyril Northcote Parkinson was a naval historian and author of some sixty books. He was educated at Cambridge, and went on to teach in Malaya, and in the United States at Harvard and in Illinois.
He was an important scholar in the field of public administration.
His most famous work is Parkinson’s Law, or The Pursuit of Progress.
He was an important scholar in the field of public administration.
His most famous work is Parkinson’s Law, or The Pursuit of Progress.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 2, 2010
I read this last year. You'd have thought I would have added it at the time.
Basically, this is the story of Jeeves, pre- and post-Bertie Wooster. We get to see Jeeves as a youth, his stint at Blandings Castle learning from Beach, the final fate of Bertie Wooster (marriage AND a title), and Jeeves's final fate as well. Jeeves also gets to hobnob with fictional detectives in the course of his adventures, like Hercule Poirot, Lord Peter Wimsey, and Father Brown, partly explaining his logical abilities later on.
Not as good as Wodehouse but defintely worth a read. It's fast and good for some laughs.
Basically, this is the story of Jeeves, pre- and post-Bertie Wooster. We get to see Jeeves as a youth, his stint at Blandings Castle learning from Beach, the final fate of Bertie Wooster (marriage AND a title), and Jeeves's final fate as well. Jeeves also gets to hobnob with fictional detectives in the course of his adventures, like Hercule Poirot, Lord Peter Wimsey, and Father Brown, partly explaining his logical abilities later on.
Not as good as Wodehouse but defintely worth a read. It's fast and good for some laughs.
September 12, 2011
While fun, there are quite a few inaccuracies in this account of the life of Jeeves, especially when we come to his time with Bertie. Things happen out of order or at the wrong time, some stories are tossed entirely out the window in favour of a new idea. I was particularly bothered by the mention of Muriel Singer in a romantic connection with Bertie, ending in the remark that she married Bruce Corcoran: anyone with a passing knowledge of the Wooster cannon knows that in all ways this statement is entirely incorrect. As the author himself comments: "What the reader forgets is that he is reading a biography, not a mere work of fiction. This is what happened." However, since this is the biography of a fictional character, based on a fictional work, I would expect a certain amount of accuracy in the tales that are directly related in the works of PG Wodehouse. To such events as happen outside of the Bertie/Jeeves narrative, I give free rein. Also, poor Mr. Mulliner. 5.22pm
September 7, 2020
I have to confess, I bought this book under the misapprehension that it was a murder mystery after reading something about it - it turns out that's just one episode in the story. So, already a little disappointed, through no fault of the author's.
Apart from that, I found the book dull. It trundles along recounting Jeeves' life, without any real structure or climax. And really, I just don't see the need for its existence. P.G. Wodehouse did a fine job of creating Jeeves, and any attempt at creating a back story for him seems a little presumptuous. If anything, it detracts from the original characterisation.
Apart from that, I found the book dull. It trundles along recounting Jeeves' life, without any real structure or climax. And really, I just don't see the need for its existence. P.G. Wodehouse did a fine job of creating Jeeves, and any attempt at creating a back story for him seems a little presumptuous. If anything, it detracts from the original characterisation.
April 15, 2026
I really liked this biography of one of my favorite fictional characters (Parkinson, a naval historian and historical novelist, also wrote one of Hornblower, which I might read some day.) In its first half, it is basically a work of retro-engineering: Parkinson asked himself what kinds of life experiences might have shaped a human being into Jeeves, and his speculations are both plausible and enjoyable (everybody loves a good origins story.) The second half ties together many bits and pieces from the Wodehouse canon, though having read only part of it so far, I cannot yet tell which episodes are retellings and which are original additions. The Poirot/Wimsey/Father Brown crossover does not sound like something Wodehouse would have ventured into (but I may be wrong) and the shooting of the Vampire of Vitriola seems like an extension of Jeeves' canonical movie career (I wish this film would get made by a competent director with a good feel for campy horror, like Tim Burton or Autumn de Wilde.) If I had to change anything, it would be the ending. I wish that, instead of finishing his career as an inn-keeper, Jeeves had met a multi-lingual Spinoza scholar (at, say, a book signing) and lived happily ever after with her. (Maybe he did, as a future "definitive" biography based on newly discovered sources will reveal.)
January 20, 2020
An entertaining biopic of Jeeves, pre and post the Wooster years. An interesting and curious addition to the shelves of any Wooster fan, it is well written and fun but lacks the inimitable Wodehouse style and is let down by several canon errors.
May 22, 2021
'You have genius, Jeeves! There is no other word for it. Your brain, when you die, should be placed in a museum.'
'I endeavour to give satisfaction, my lord.'
'I endeavour to give satisfaction, my lord.'
September 11, 2023
A little oddity, of interest I suspect only to die-hard Wodehouse fans - but in failing to come anywhere near to Wodehouse's standards of wit or of prose, is bound to disappoint any Wodehouse fan - which makes it a doomed and somewhat frustrating project.
This is ostensibly a biography of Jeeves, although the conceit is fairly thin, and it soon becomes clear that this is just Northcote Parkinson having a bit of loosely structured fun with the character of Jeeves. Where it is least successful is in the sections where, inexplicably, it decides to retell stories from the Jeeves canon - thus we have paraphrased versions of stories that any Wodehouse fan (surely the only audience for a book like this) has already read - this feels pointless, and at times outright annoying.
While the author occasionally quotes from Wodehouse's text (and the Wodehouse estate is acknowledged on the copyright page, so this is presumably some kind of authorised 'biography'), the vast bulk of the writing is at best a pastiche of PGW, and at worst a weak imitation. There's a certain satisfaction in joining the dots and getting a 'behind-the-scenes' view of various incidents from the canon, but this is very limited - and the ending feels like a stretch, and is contrived and unconvincing, resting as it does on the completely implausible 'redemption' (for which read: complete and unconvincing transformation) of one of Wodehouse's characters.
There are occasional moments of wit, and the book is at its best when instead of trying (and failing) to ventriloquise PGW, the author does something new. There's a bizarre but entertaining section in which Jeeves' story overlaps with various great detectives from literature - a lightly amusing pastiche romp. But overall this is a rather pointless and unsatisfying book, and feels slight and silly (and not in a good way).
This is ostensibly a biography of Jeeves, although the conceit is fairly thin, and it soon becomes clear that this is just Northcote Parkinson having a bit of loosely structured fun with the character of Jeeves. Where it is least successful is in the sections where, inexplicably, it decides to retell stories from the Jeeves canon - thus we have paraphrased versions of stories that any Wodehouse fan (surely the only audience for a book like this) has already read - this feels pointless, and at times outright annoying.
While the author occasionally quotes from Wodehouse's text (and the Wodehouse estate is acknowledged on the copyright page, so this is presumably some kind of authorised 'biography'), the vast bulk of the writing is at best a pastiche of PGW, and at worst a weak imitation. There's a certain satisfaction in joining the dots and getting a 'behind-the-scenes' view of various incidents from the canon, but this is very limited - and the ending feels like a stretch, and is contrived and unconvincing, resting as it does on the completely implausible 'redemption' (for which read: complete and unconvincing transformation) of one of Wodehouse's characters.
There are occasional moments of wit, and the book is at its best when instead of trying (and failing) to ventriloquise PGW, the author does something new. There's a bizarre but entertaining section in which Jeeves' story overlaps with various great detectives from literature - a lightly amusing pastiche romp. But overall this is a rather pointless and unsatisfying book, and feels slight and silly (and not in a good way).
December 26, 2014
If you're a Jeeves and Wooster fan, as I am, this is a lovely addition to your collection. It's a fun, quick read telling the imagined backstory of the venerable Jeeves and how he came to be quite such an able, intelligent, fascinating character.
As a book in itself, though? It's only ok. I don't think anyone can recreate Wodehouse's writing style, and the author does seem to attempt it in telling Jeeves's life story and recounting the inevitable comic antics of his employers prior to Bertie. Don't get me wrong, it's a lovely little read but I think it might have worked better written in its own voice. There were also a couple of plot inaccuracies in the Bertie section, which I was surprised made it past a fact checker.
What I did love, however, was the crossing of paths between Jeeves, Father Brown and Poirot and the many in depth footnotes and references.
As a book in itself, though? It's only ok. I don't think anyone can recreate Wodehouse's writing style, and the author does seem to attempt it in telling Jeeves's life story and recounting the inevitable comic antics of his employers prior to Bertie. Don't get me wrong, it's a lovely little read but I think it might have worked better written in its own voice. There were also a couple of plot inaccuracies in the Bertie section, which I was surprised made it past a fact checker.
What I did love, however, was the crossing of paths between Jeeves, Father Brown and Poirot and the many in depth footnotes and references.
December 1, 2015
A fictional biography of the inimitable Jeeves, outlining his childhood and parentage (going some way towards explaining his gentlemanly bearing and near-genius), by way of interactions with several other well-known literary figures. An (unofficial) 'ending' to the Jeeves and Wooster stories also appears, one perhaps not to all tastes but satisfying at any rate.
November 8, 2008
Classic. A well done biography of the unflapple manservant from the Wooster and Jeeves tales. Written in the subtle style and wit of P. G. Wodehouse
July 31, 2011
If you love the humor of P.G. Wodehouse like I do, you'll certainly get a kick out of Parkinson's recount of Wooster's shenanigans.
April 20, 2011
Borrowed from South Pasadena library. Details of the story though are fuzzy.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews