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The Code of the Woosters
(Jeeves #7)
by
When Bertie Wooster goes to Totleigh Towers to pour oil on the troubled waters of a lover's breach between Madeline Bassett and Gussie Fink-Nottle, he isn't expecting to see his Aunt Dahlia there - nor to be instructed by her to steal some silver. But purloining the antique cow creamer from under the baleful nose of Sir Watkyn Bassett is the least of Bertie's tasks. He has
...more
Paperback, 286 pages
Published
May 1st 2008
by Arrow
(first published 1938)
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Popular Answered Questions
Robert Salisbury
It can certainly be read as standalone.
Mary Ann
This is a Bertie story.
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30

Start your review of The Code of the Woosters (Jeeves, #7)

A classic piece of Wodehouse silliness, involving Bertie Wooster, his formidable Aunt Dahlia and (of course) Jeeves in a scheme to steal an 18th century cow-creamer during a weekend party at an English country house.
Written in 1939, it also features a would-be fascist dictator of England named Spode, head of an organization called "The Black Shorts" (by the time he started his movement, the shirts had already been taken).
Laugh-out-loud funny. Highly recommended. ...more

I think I'm pretty safe when I say that Code of the Woosters is generally considered one of, if not the, best when it comes to a Bertie & Jeeves book.
And for good reason.
It. Is. Hilarious.

Wodehouse was really on top of his game when he wrote CotW.
It starts Bertie nixing a cruise that Jeeves wants them to go on, moves on to Aunt Dahlia ordering him to sneer at an antique cow creamer, and somehow ends with our favorite Wooster (as he would say) in the soup.
Roderick Spode (leader of the fascist Bla ...more
And for good reason.
It. Is. Hilarious.

Wodehouse was really on top of his game when he wrote CotW.
It starts Bertie nixing a cruise that Jeeves wants them to go on, moves on to Aunt Dahlia ordering him to sneer at an antique cow creamer, and somehow ends with our favorite Wooster (as he would say) in the soup.
Roderick Spode (leader of the fascist Bla ...more

Review updated on January, 4 2020.
"I mean, imagine how some unfortunate Master Criminal would feel, on coming down to do a murder at the old Grange, if he found that not only was Sherlock Holmes putting in the weekend there, but Hercule Poirot, as well."
I love this quote. It came from this book.
For those who somehow manage to avoid knowing anything about this classic British humor series the main heroes are Bertie Wooster and his servant Jeeves. Bertie's job is to get into all kind of absurd an ...more
"I mean, imagine how some unfortunate Master Criminal would feel, on coming down to do a murder at the old Grange, if he found that not only was Sherlock Holmes putting in the weekend there, but Hercule Poirot, as well."
I love this quote. It came from this book.
For those who somehow manage to avoid knowing anything about this classic British humor series the main heroes are Bertie Wooster and his servant Jeeves. Bertie's job is to get into all kind of absurd an ...more

No one weaves a plot like Wodehouse. Also, if you have a cow creamer, guard it with your life.
The 2012 re-read:
Aunt Dahlia dispatches Bertie to Totleigh Towers to purlorn a silver cow creamer coveted by his uncle Tom from Sir Watkyn Basset. Unfortunately, Bertie has his work cut out for him in the form of Stiffy Byng and Madeline Basset. Can Bertie escape with the cow creamer without winding up married to either woman?
This is my second reading of Code of the Woosters and I can definitely say the ...more
The 2012 re-read:
Aunt Dahlia dispatches Bertie to Totleigh Towers to purlorn a silver cow creamer coveted by his uncle Tom from Sir Watkyn Basset. Unfortunately, Bertie has his work cut out for him in the form of Stiffy Byng and Madeline Basset. Can Bertie escape with the cow creamer without winding up married to either woman?
This is my second reading of Code of the Woosters and I can definitely say the ...more

Gussie (Augustus) Fink-Nottle is getting married, the shy, newt lover, (men need silly hobbies, to keep sane) to lovely Madeline Bassett, an unlikely pair, daughter of Sir Watkyn Bassett. A stern former magistrate, that the unfortunate Bertie, met officially once, not a happy memory. Madeline was Wooster's ex- fiancee (he didn't want to be one), the marriage averse Bertie, had given a bachelor party for his friend, at the Drones club. It was a drunken, deplorable affair, which might have been ov
...more

Oh my god this is so, so, so funny. I was discussing Wodehouse with someone yesterday and, as he put it, "There are passages that you want to chase people around the house with, saying, 'Wait! Wait! Just listen to this bit!'"
Haven't laughed so hard in a good long while. God, but I love Wodehouse. ...more
Haven't laughed so hard in a good long while. God, but I love Wodehouse. ...more

There may be no better cure for pandemic blues than P.G. Wodehouse’s incandescently funny prose. Reading Jeeves and Wooster is like snorting unicorn dust; not only does it energize you and make you feel giggly, but it also gets you kind of horny. (I mean like growing a unicorn horn, you pervs—Jeeves and Wooster do not, as a rule, arouse one sexually, though if one is turned on by hilarious Edwardian slang, then one might need to confine one’s reading of these books to one’s boudoir.)
What’s part ...more
What’s part ...more

Classic Wodehouse. It doesn't get any better than this...actually it doesn't get much different than this either.
Perhaps that's not entirely fair. For me at least, The Code of the Woosters contains some of my favorite scenes and some of Wodehouse's most memorable characters. Herein his hero Bertie Wooster is at his daffiest, unable to accomplish the simplest of tasks, berating a cow creamer, without getting himself in thick soup. Soon after he's got a Bassett and that malodorous Spode badgering ...more
Perhaps that's not entirely fair. For me at least, The Code of the Woosters contains some of my favorite scenes and some of Wodehouse's most memorable characters. Herein his hero Bertie Wooster is at his daffiest, unable to accomplish the simplest of tasks, berating a cow creamer, without getting himself in thick soup. Soon after he's got a Bassett and that malodorous Spode badgering ...more

"We must say to ourselves: "What would Napoleon have done?" He was the boy in a crisis. He knew his onions."
Long have I resisted the fatal charm of P.G. Wodehouse. My previous forays into his oeuvre have been lacklustre. That was until, of course, The Code of the Woosters and I crossed paths.
"He paused and swallowed convulsively, like a Pekingese taking a pill."
So scrumptious. I should of known that I would of fallen into the trap sooner or later, given my proclivity for novels of a certain kin ...more
Long have I resisted the fatal charm of P.G. Wodehouse. My previous forays into his oeuvre have been lacklustre. That was until, of course, The Code of the Woosters and I crossed paths.
"He paused and swallowed convulsively, like a Pekingese taking a pill."
So scrumptious. I should of known that I would of fallen into the trap sooner or later, given my proclivity for novels of a certain kin ...more

I'm always shocked to find that hardly anyone in these United States has ever heard of or read the works of Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse.... most indians who read english stumble upon his works sooner or later-more so, I dare say, than the english themselves.
I've always maintained that if a Wodehouse book cannot lift your spirits, you must be pretty close to suicide.
Amazing plots, memorable characters and superb prose. Long winding complex sentences that never fail to incite peals of laughter, ...more
I've always maintained that if a Wodehouse book cannot lift your spirits, you must be pretty close to suicide.
Amazing plots, memorable characters and superb prose. Long winding complex sentences that never fail to incite peals of laughter, ...more

Jun 09, 2008
Alison
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
looking for light, clever fun
Recommended to Alison by:
Morfeus
Shelves:
rgbookclub
"You might put it that Hell's foundations are quivering. That is not overstating it, Jeeves?"
"No, sir."
P.G. Wodehouse was an English writer whose career spanned over seventy years and whose work included almost 100 novels, numerous short stories, 15 plays and 250 lyrics for some thirty musical comedies. Despite his impressive resume and reputation as a "master of English prose", I, unfortunately, wouldn't have known he existed if it hadn't been for Rory Gilmore. I guess that makes me more of a B ...more
"No, sir."
P.G. Wodehouse was an English writer whose career spanned over seventy years and whose work included almost 100 novels, numerous short stories, 15 plays and 250 lyrics for some thirty musical comedies. Despite his impressive resume and reputation as a "master of English prose", I, unfortunately, wouldn't have known he existed if it hadn't been for Rory Gilmore. I guess that makes me more of a B ...more

For those familiar with the Wooster/Jeeves stories, this is yet another circus with Bertie as ring master. As with all Woodhouse stories, the plot constantly shifts which in turn, requires carefully executed plans, most often created by Bertie's manservant, Jeeves. When Aunt Dahlia comes into the picture, the results are laugh out loud experiences. With a silver 'cow creamer' as the object of attention, Bertie is continually roped into schemes, and as usual, they all backfire. Imagine Lt Clousea
...more

Many consider this book to be the funniest of the Jeeves/ Wooster team, and I agree (though IMO, I would give that crown to Right Ho, Jeeves) that it is indeed extremely hilarious. Bertie, saved from the scaffold (i. e. marriage to Madeline Basset who thinks that the stars are God's daisy chain and every time a fairy sheds a tear, a star is born) at the last moment by Jeeves, finds himself ensconced in the country estate of the girl's father along with Gussie Fink-Nottle, her fiancée and Roderic
...more

“It’s an extraordinary thing—every time I see you, you appear to be recovering from some debauch. Don’t you ever stop drinking? How about when you are asleep?”
As usual, I'm behind on reading goals - being the last to finish this buddy read with Evgeny and Dan 2.0
My first foray into Wodehouse’s writing, and I’ve fallen for him. The comical and cleverly coined style made this one a fun read, even if the plot only left behind a three-star impression.
I finally see where the "Jeeves" came from - an ...more
As usual, I'm behind on reading goals - being the last to finish this buddy read with Evgeny and Dan 2.0
My first foray into Wodehouse’s writing, and I’ve fallen for him. The comical and cleverly coined style made this one a fun read, even if the plot only left behind a three-star impression.
I finally see where the "Jeeves" came from - an ...more

Meh. For whatever it's worth, I pinky swear I'll review this one.
...more

Classic Wodehouse humor with an insane convergence of many plots all converging with Bertie Wooster at their center. Only his man Jeeves has the brain power to extract him unscathed from the perils that threaten over the silver cow creamer, constable's helmet, a brown notebook, and possible engagement to two young ladies. At its best when being read into one's shell-like.
One thing I did notice after all these years is that I now know many more of the half-uttered quotations and references Bertie ...more
One thing I did notice after all these years is that I now know many more of the half-uttered quotations and references Bertie ...more

Wodehouse loves to pepper his texts with all kinds of wacky similes, so I would like to start my review with one too: reading one of his novels is like drinking a glass of chilled champagne, on a sunny morning, reclining in a chaisez longue on an impeccably trimmmed English lawn. And Code of the Woosters is a Grand Cru - one of the best years.
My previous Wodehouse novels were written in third person, this time Bertie Wooster is the narrator and I noticed an increase in goofiness and general bon ...more
My previous Wodehouse novels were written in third person, this time Bertie Wooster is the narrator and I noticed an increase in goofiness and general bon ...more

I really enjoyed this one. But my favourite joke in the whole thing was when Wooster refers to someone as a ‘sensitive plant’ and is told, “You know your Shelley!” To which he replies, “Am I?” That just about sums up everything I love about Wodehouse. The poetic reference Wooster only uses because he steals it from Jeeves and then his utter bewilderment at what he takes to be a bizarre adjective being used to refer to him. Utter joy.
And the women in this one are even more selfish and manipulativ ...more
And the women in this one are even more selfish and manipulativ ...more

I read an unusual question the other day. It asked, "In a sensationalist age, when everything quickly becomes a matter of passionate intensity, is there a place for the airy trifle?"
There are two correct answers to this question. The first is 'Yes, definitely.' The second, and best way to answer this is to just hand the person asking a copy of any Jeeves & Wooster book or, for that matter, anything written by the brilliantly hilarious P.G. Wodehouse. In this insane world, who doesn't need a litt ...more
There are two correct answers to this question. The first is 'Yes, definitely.' The second, and best way to answer this is to just hand the person asking a copy of any Jeeves & Wooster book or, for that matter, anything written by the brilliantly hilarious P.G. Wodehouse. In this insane world, who doesn't need a litt ...more

The Code of the Woosters - or, as I like to call it: The Adventure of the Silver Cow-Creamer
Behind every poor, innocent, harmless blighter who is going down for the first time in the soup, you will find, if you look carefully enough, the aunt who shoved him into it.
This is another Wooster story where Aunt Dahlia has a little job for Bertie. Go to an antique shop, and sneer at a cow creamer, if possible, register scorn! Turns out, Bertie's uncle Tom has his heart set on an antique silver cream j ...more
Behind every poor, innocent, harmless blighter who is going down for the first time in the soup, you will find, if you look carefully enough, the aunt who shoved him into it.
This is another Wooster story where Aunt Dahlia has a little job for Bertie. Go to an antique shop, and sneer at a cow creamer, if possible, register scorn! Turns out, Bertie's uncle Tom has his heart set on an antique silver cream j ...more

The Code of the Woosters is as funny as it gets and Wodehouse's masterpiece. The title refers to the fact that the Woosters never let a pal down, which leads Bertie Wooster into many a pretty pickle. When Gussie Fink-Nottle demands his help in healing the breach between himself and his fiancée, Bertie rushes to his help and goes to Totleigh Towers, the sinister den of Sir Watkyn Basset. Meanwhile, a cow creamer is creating trouble for our hero.
This is a brilliant piece of humour and I really do ...more
This is a brilliant piece of humour and I really do ...more

“Never let a pal down.”
If someone told me how hilarious The Code of the Woosters was I wouldn’t have believed them with a bat of an eyelash. As someone who doesn’t laugh very easily I’m surprised by the countless of guffaws and snorts I let out as I made my way through this charming novel. P.G. Wodehouse’s prose is easy-breezy with an amusing lyrical clang that bangs with comical twists and ingenious schemes. Wonderfully stitched, it tells of Bertram Wooster and a series of seemingly ridiculous ...more
If someone told me how hilarious The Code of the Woosters was I wouldn’t have believed them with a bat of an eyelash. As someone who doesn’t laugh very easily I’m surprised by the countless of guffaws and snorts I let out as I made my way through this charming novel. P.G. Wodehouse’s prose is easy-breezy with an amusing lyrical clang that bangs with comical twists and ingenious schemes. Wonderfully stitched, it tells of Bertram Wooster and a series of seemingly ridiculous ...more

"This is frightful, Bertie."
"Quite."
"What's to be done?"
"We must just put our trust in a higher power."
"Consult Jeeves, you mean?"
MUCH ADO ABOUT A COW-CREAMER AND A POLICEMAN'S HELMET IN TOTLEY TOWERS.
But, as usual, Jeeves turns out to be a "WOOLLY, BAA-LAMB" and saves the day, true love and Bertie's hide.
HILARIOUS.
Full review to come. ...more
"Quite."
"What's to be done?"
"We must just put our trust in a higher power."
"Consult Jeeves, you mean?"
MUCH ADO ABOUT A COW-CREAMER AND A POLICEMAN'S HELMET IN TOTLEY TOWERS.
But, as usual, Jeeves turns out to be a "WOOLLY, BAA-LAMB" and saves the day, true love and Bertie's hide.
HILARIOUS.
Full review to come. ...more

Addendum, January the 3rd 2014
Well last night I went to see the West End show: ‘Jeeves & Wooster in Perfect Nonsense’, which is an adaptation of ‘The Code of the Woosters’. My lovely fiancée bought us tickets for Christmas, which truly thrilled me whilst also making me a little anxious. Could any adaptation of what is one of my favourite books live up to my lofty expectations? If it didn’t reach the heights, could I hide my disappointment from my love and thus not seem ungrateful for this wonde ...more
Well last night I went to see the West End show: ‘Jeeves & Wooster in Perfect Nonsense’, which is an adaptation of ‘The Code of the Woosters’. My lovely fiancée bought us tickets for Christmas, which truly thrilled me whilst also making me a little anxious. Could any adaptation of what is one of my favourite books live up to my lofty expectations? If it didn’t reach the heights, could I hide my disappointment from my love and thus not seem ungrateful for this wonde ...more

I had forgotten how much Wodehouse books make me smile (and sometimes giggle). His Jeeves/Wooster stories are so delightful and are a quick read with maximum effect. Bertie Wooster gets himself into ridiculous situations and improbable adventures on a regular basis and only his very wise and patient man servant, Jeeves, can extract him. And Jeeves has a great talent for allowing Bertie to think that he has come up with the clever ideas himself to solve his self induced problems.
The dialogue is t ...more
The dialogue is t ...more

Aug 06, 2010
Stephen
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
audiobook,
humor-and-satire
This is a nice "feel good" story that will both entertain and genuinely brighten your mood. It's the kind of story you read when you need to recharge your happy battery and need a big fat smile. Bernie Wooster is especially attrative if you are a fan of British comedy, which I have a real weakness for. The dry humor, the purposely clever phrasing and the awkward social settings were right in my wheelhouse. It reminded me of a gentler, less acerbic (and, admittedly, less funny) version of the 70'
...more

Sweet gingersnaps, this book is the definition of hilarious. I laughed until I cried.
In a nutshell: READ. IT. Cancel the appointments, pretend you don't have a job, put your magnum opus on hold, skip the lessons about learning how to make a Joyful Noise, call off the wedding, forget about sleeping, do whatever it takes to make time in your schedule to read this gem. You will never regret it.
Toodle-oo, chums. I toddle off to break the last surviving mantelpiece ornament (read the book, you'll un ...more
In a nutshell: READ. IT. Cancel the appointments, pretend you don't have a job, put your magnum opus on hold, skip the lessons about learning how to make a Joyful Noise, call off the wedding, forget about sleeping, do whatever it takes to make time in your schedule to read this gem. You will never regret it.
Toodle-oo, chums. I toddle off to break the last surviving mantelpiece ornament (read the book, you'll un ...more

I'm currently experiencing a confluence of multiple factors that tend to cause me to read less (moving, freelance work, being mired in the middle of a difficult non-English book) but I can always fit in a little Wodehouse. This is, of course, delightful. It's odd that I've read some Jeeves and Wooster stories many, many times (an omnibus was one of the few books I brought with me for a year in Germany) but others I've read only once or not at all. I'm going to have to make an effort to look up t
...more

The Totleigh Towers Horror...
Sir Watkyn Bassett's country seat at Totleigh Towers is probably the last place in the world Bertie Wooster would choose to visit. In his role as magistrate, Sir Watkyn once fined Bertie five pounds for the crime of stealing a policeman's helmet. Unfortunately Sir Watkyn has forgotten the details of the crime, and thinks Bertie is a habitual criminal whom he sent to jail. But when Bertie receives an anguished plea from his old pal Gussie Finknottle, he is horrified t ...more
Sir Watkyn Bassett's country seat at Totleigh Towers is probably the last place in the world Bertie Wooster would choose to visit. In his role as magistrate, Sir Watkyn once fined Bertie five pounds for the crime of stealing a policeman's helmet. Unfortunately Sir Watkyn has forgotten the details of the crime, and thinks Bertie is a habitual criminal whom he sent to jail. But when Bertie receives an anguished plea from his old pal Gussie Finknottle, he is horrified t ...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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#NationalToastDay | 1 | 8 | Feb 23, 2016 10:59AM | |
Interesting juxtaposition | 2 | 21 | Oct 06, 2015 03:07PM | |
Reading Wodehouse: July 2014 MR: The Code of the Woosters - Discussion | 12 | 21 | Jul 15, 2014 03:00PM |
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 so
...more
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