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The Code of the Woosters

(Jeeves #7)

P.G. Wodehouse

4.34 · Rating details · 22,478 ratings · 1,604 reviews

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

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Paperback, 286 pages

Published May 1st 2008 by Arrow (first published 1938)

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Oct 28, 2007 Bill Kerwin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

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

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Feb 03, 2020 Anne rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, hoopla, favorites, read-in-2019, humor, audio, p-g-wodehouse

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.

description

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

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May 02, 2017 Evgeny rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: humor

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

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Feb 04, 2008 Dan Schwent rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, 2012, pants-shittingly-awesome, wodehouse

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 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 there is a reason I've been recommending it to people for the better part of a decade. P.G. Wodehouse was in mid-season form when he chiseled this masterpiece out of a block of stone. The Code of the Woosters should be handed out in writing classes as a prime example of how to orchestrate a plot. The twists are perfectly timed so the jaw-droppingest moments happen at the end of chapters.

The writing is superb and Wodehouse moves his characters through the scenery like a master puppeteer. Gussie Fink-Nottle, that "ghastly gob of gorgonzola," makes his return, still bethrothed(ish) to Madeline Basset and is just as quirky. Who else would think to put newts in the bathtub after breaking an aquariam? La Basset is the same as she was in the previous volume. I'm not sure if Stiffy Byng or Stinker Pinker make appearances in other volumes but they are quite memorable here. Roderick Spode is by far the best supporting character of the book, though, a facist who cowers whenever someone mentions "Eulalie," the meaning of which is not clear until the end. As always, the narrative is a minefield of hilarious similes.

The plot meanders all over Totleigh Towers. Like most Jeeves stories, Bertie gets himself deeper and deeper into the soup, the plot encircling such props as the aforementioned cow creamer, a notebook, and a policeman's helmet. As I mentioned before, the reversals of fortune are impecably timed.

I could go on and on about this book. Suffice to say, it's an easy five and my go-to recommendation for people who want to give P.G. Wodehouse a shot. They didn't make an episode of the phenomenal BBC Jeeves and Woosters series starring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie out of it for nothing!

...more

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Sep 21, 2013 Henry Avila rated it really liked it · review of another edition

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 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 overdone (the celebration), just a little, but still the way the members all gentlemen, like it . When Bertie gets up from bed the next day, at last, and not very quickly, in his home, Mr.Wooster doesn't know whether it's morning or night. To an idle rich man, makes no great difference. Jeeves, his butler, and a genius (his boss, is sadly not), informs Bertie, his Aunt Dahlia, needs to talk to him, so he uncomfortably ...goes to see her . She has a wacky scheme involving an antique, cow-creamer, poor Bertie, females are always getting him into big trouble. After a misadventure inside a shop, with Sir Watkyn, how unlucky can a man be, Bassett buys the item mentioned before, not our errand boy ... And his friend the giant, frightening, Roderick Spoke a would be dictator of England scares Mr.Wooster, never a brave human being. Unfortunately Sir Watkyn, recognizes Bertie as the person that appeared before him, in court, but thinks he's only a petty criminal. Now by how's Bertie's dressed, he believes, has lifted himself up and has become respectable! Bassett congratulates him, for turning his life around, the wise Sir Watkyn's methods work ...Then Wooster embarrassingly collides with Sir Watkyn, outside, trying to take the silver cow-creamer ? Bertie gets invited later to the new, Justice of the Peace's home, guess who? By Gussie and Madeline, Sir Watkyn, has come into quite a lot of money, inherited he says, but Bertie is not quite so sure. Aunt Dahlia still needs Wooster to steal the cow-creamer, from Bassett, for her husband Tom, some women will never be discouraged. A fanatical collector of strange objects, his uncle is, and another weird hobby. Besides Sir Watkyn, wants to take Anatole the best cook in the United Kingdom, from the inflamed Aunt Dahlia (Wooster shudders)! Complication arise though, Stephanie Byng, Madeline's cousin demands that Bertram, take the local policeman's helmet... their in a feud. Where can you hide a helmet, though? She's engaged to one of the many friends, Bertie's acquired in his university days, the always hapless man knows by now, disaster will occur. Humiliation, and every conceivable thing which will show the world, Mr. Bertram Wooster, is not a real gentleman , he can't say no though. Bertie almost becomes engaged to Stephanie, and then Madeline, again ... Engagements here come swiftly, but are broken even faster, and what about the cow-creamer, how can he take that too? When Bertie is being closely watched by everyone, especially the suspicious, evil, Spoke, his connection to Aunt Dahlia was found out. Somehow all these things , will work themselves out for a happy ending, well, a satisfying one while Jeeves is still around ... The funniest P.G.Wodehouse novel...P.S. the code, never let a pal down ! ...more

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Nov 05, 2009 Michael rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, comedy-parody, all-time-favorites

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

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May 15, 2020 Sean Gibson rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

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

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Dec 18, 2008 Jason Koivu rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: comedy, wodehouses, humor, favorites

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

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Jan 20, 2018 Ailsa rated it really liked it · review of another edition

"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

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Feb 14, 2008 Sriram rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

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

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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 "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 Bertie than a Jeeves.

Many of his works include recurring settings and characters. One such set of characters, Bertram Wooster and his clever butler Jeeves, are at the heart of "The Code of the Woosters." "Bertie" is an old school English bachelor who rubs elbows with other upper-class British socialites. He's a bit dim yet extremely loyal (it's part of his own moral *code*), and to say that he has a knack for getting himself into situations is an understatement. Jeeves, his loyal servant, is there to get Bertie out of his entanglements by use of his good sense and keen problem-solving skills. (He's so good with information, he even had a search engine named after him--Ask.com was previously AskJeeves.com).

Throughout reading, I was trying to decide how I would best describe Wodehouse's style. The best I could come up with was "Sherlock Holmes meets Three's Company." There are no mysteries here...no murders or missing person cases to be solved. But each particular mess Bertie finds himself in ("the spectacle of as raw a bit of underhanded skulduggery as has ever been perpetrated in a civilized country") requires as much instinct and "know-how" to tidy up as any case Holmes was called in on. The predicaments seem to follow the Three's Company philosphy of situational comedy: If it can happen, it will...and with the most inconvenient timing, ironically, and with things and body parts getting bruised and broken. Throw in some dry, deapan dialogue, a lot of black-mailing, and multiply the shenanigans by ten.

His descriptions are some of the best and most comical ever written...

On Gussie: "a fish-faced pal", "confirmed recluse", "a less promising prospect (for marriage) it would have seemed impossible to discover in a month of Sundays"

On Madeline Bassett: "a droopy, soupy, sentimental exhibit, with melting eyes and a cooing voice and the most extraordinary views on such things as stars and rabbits"

On Spode: "It was as if Nature had intended to make a gorilla and had changed its mind at the last moment"

I can see myself being hooked on this series. It's light, it's intelligent, it's clever and engaging...as I am reading, I'm smiling inside. ...more

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Feb 23, 2020 Jonathan K rated it really liked it · review of another edition

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

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Sep 22, 2011 Nandakishore Varma rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: humour

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

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Jul 06, 2017 Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: a-own-book-form, first-in-series, 3-star, classics-i-have-finally-conquered, classics, cover-love, got-in-2017, humor-misc, part-of-series, read-in-2017

“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

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Apr 25, 2017 Ɗẳɳ 2.☊ rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, buddy-reads, humor

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

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May 01, 2018 Julie Davis rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

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

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Mar 12, 2012 Algernon (Darth Anyan) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, 2012

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

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May 18, 2011 Trevor rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: literature

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

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May 21, 2016 Tom Mathews rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: humor, u-k-stuff, read-in-2016, audiobook

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

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Mar 05, 2015 Andrea rated it really liked it

Shelves: classics, humor

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

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May 06, 2009 Sherwood Smith added it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

This country house adventure of Bertie and Jeeves concerns the cow creamer and the would-be dictator, and how Bertie defangs him. It also stands out for making reference to the cliches of Regency novel heroes of the silver fork style, which is interesting as this was 1934.

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Jun 19, 2020 Kavita rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: humour, uk

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

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Oct 26, 2019 Joshie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: literature-british, classics, 4-star, own, humour

“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

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Apr 01, 2019 Melindam rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: uno-colour-cover, humour, anglophilia

"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

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Mar 19, 2009 F.R. rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

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

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Jan 23, 2019 Jill Hutchinson rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: humor, fiction

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

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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

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Jun 16, 2015 Annie Hawthorne rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, everyone-ought-to-read, cozy-literature, comedic, wodehouse

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

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May 30, 2017 Emily rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017, fiction, very-long-ago

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

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Mar 21, 2018 Leah rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018, classics, humour

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 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 to learn that Madeline has broken off her engagement to the aforesaid newt-fancying Gussie. Madeline, regular readers will know, thinks Bertie loves her and is quite likely to decide to marry him unless he can find a way to patch things up between the sundered lovers. Add to this the fact that Aunt Dahlia wants him to steal a silver cow-creamer from Sir Watkyn, and it seems fate has decided that Bertie must enter the lion's den. Fortunately Jeeves will be by his side...

This is one of the best of the Jeeves and Wooster books, filled with all the regulars and a plot that gets ever more convoluted until Jeeves manages to sort everything out for the young master in the end. Madeline is as soupy as ever, still thinking that each time a bunny rabbit sneezes a wee star is born. One can quite understand Bertie's reluctance to enter into the blessed state of matrimony with her. Gussie is as hopeless as ever – not only has he managed to offend Madeline, but he's lost a notebook in which he has carefully jotted down some stinging insults about his host and Roderick Spode, a man whom it's unwise to annoy unless one likes having one's spine tied in a knot. In the interval since we last saw him, Spode has become an aspiring dictator. His followers wear black shorts – unfortunately other dictators had already used black and brown shirts, so his choices were somewhat limited. And to top it all off, Stiffy Byng wants Bertie to steal another policeman's helmet! Dark days, indeed!

The plots are only part of what makes Wodehouse so wonderful though – and he does have a tendency to recycle the main points, like the Gussie-Madeline break-up. It's the humour and general silliness of it all that makes them such a joy to read, combined with the certain knowledge that everything will be all right in the end, thanks to Jeeves. And most of all, it's the wonderful use of language...

“The trouble with you, Spode, is that just because you have succeeded in inducing a handful of half-wits to disfigure the London scene by going about in black shorts, you think you're someone. You hear them shouting "Heil, Spode!" and you imagine it is the Voice of the People. That is where you make your bloomer. What the Voice of the People is saying is: "Look at that frightful ass Spode swanking about in footer bags! Did you ever in your puff see such a perfect perisher?”

I listened to the audiobook this time, narrated by Martin Jarvis. He does a great job, giving each person a distinctive voice well suited to his or her character. His Madeline in particular had me in hoots. It occurred to me that men “doing” Wodehouse women actually works rather better than when women act them, because they're written very much from Bertie's perspective and he's baffled by them on the whole. A woman acting Madeline is never as funny as Bertie's descriptions of her. I usually look out for Jonathan Cecil's narrations of the Jeeves books, but Jarvis was just as good once I got used to his different style.

Altogether, great fun! You either 'get' Wodehouse's humour or you don't, and for those of us who do, there's no greater pleasure than a visit to his world. I hope you're one of the lucky ones too...

“There are moments, Jeeves, when one asks oneself, 'Do trousers matter?'"
"The mood will pass, sir.”

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About P.G. Wodehouse

P.G. Wodehouse

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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