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The Jeeves & Wooster Series: British upper-class capers, razor-sharp wit, and ingenious valet solutions amid the comic scrapes of 1920s London
Jeeves & Wooster Series follows the adventures of Bertram "Bertie" Wilberforce Wooster, a wealthy and idle young Londoner, and his highly competent valet Reginald Jeeves. A young English gentleman and one of the "idle rich", Bertie frequently appears alongside his valet, Jeeves, whose intelligence manages to save Bertie or one of his friends from numerous awkward situations. As the first-person narrator of ten novels and over 30 short stories, Bertie Wooster ranks as one of the most vivid comic creations in popular literature. Jeeves presents the ideal image of the gentleman, being highly competent, dignified, and respectful. Incredibly knowledgeable about topics ranging from horse racing to history, Jeeves has an encyclopedic knowledge of literature and academic subjects. He frequently quotes from Shakespeare and the romantic poets. Well informed about members of the British aristocracy thanks to the club book of the Junior Ganymede Club, he also seems to have a considerable number of useful connections among various servants. Jeeves uses his knowledge and connections to solve problems inconspicuously. Jeeves & Wooster Right Ho, Jeeves Leave It to Jeeves Jeeves and the Unbidden Guest Jeeves and the Hard-boiled Egg Absent Treatment Helping Freddie Rallying Round Old George Doing Clarence a Bit of Good The Aunt and the Sluggard Jeeves Takes Charge Jeeves in the Springtime Aunt Agatha Takes the Count Scoring off Jeeves Sir Roderick Comes to Lunch Jeeves and the Chump Cyril Comrade Bingo The Great Sermon Handicap The Purity of the Turf The Metropolitan Touch The Delayed Exit of Claude and Eustace Bingo and the Little Woman Jeeves and the Unbidden Guest Jeeves and the Hard-boiled Egg Bertie Changes His Mind
709 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 9, 2018
714 people are currently reading
264 people want to read
About the author
P.G. Wodehouse
1,708 books6,970 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 - 21 of 21 reviews
March 27, 2023
A lot of Wodehouse for 99¢
This so-called Jeeves and Wooster series does not contain all of the books and stories. Those which are in this book are in neither publication nor chronological order. Some of the stories in this volume are not even about Jeeves and Wooster. However there are two things to recommend this volume: You do get a lot of Wodehouse even if it isn't all of the Jeeves and Wooster books and stories. The other is the price which is 99¢ at this writing.
I shall endeavor to provide brief comments on each novel and story in this collection:
RIGHT HO JEEVES - Only Bertie could manage to get himself accidentally engaged to a girl whom, to use more modern parlance, he regards as a flake of the first order. He won't accuse her of actually writing poetry but she asked him if he ever thought that the stars are God's daisy chain. Only Jeeves could get him out of it and untangle the related tangled engagements.
LEAVE IT TO JEEVES - JEEVES saves a "starving artist" friend of Bertie's by steering him away from unsuccessful portrait painter to a smashingly successful comic artist.
THE UNBIDDEN GUEST - This quote is the foreshadowing which sets up the whole story, "It will be such a relief to know that Motty is safe with you, Mr. Wooster. I know what the temptations of a great city are. Hitherto dear Motty has been sheltered from them. He has lived quietly with me in the country. I know that you will look after him carefully, Mr. Wooster. He will give very little trouble.' She talked about the poor blighter as if he wasn't there. Not that Motty seemed to mind. He had stopped chewing his walking-stick and was sitting there with his mouth open. 'He is a vegetarian and a teetotaller and is devoted to reading. Give him a nice book and he will be quite contented."
JEEVES AND THE HARDBOILED EGG - The egg in question is a rich duke, tight with his money and with his not overly bright nephew.
ABSENT TREATMENT - Not a Jeeves and Wooster tale. Instead it concerns Bobbie Cardew, his wife Mary, their friend Reggie Pepper and memory.
More to come.
This so-called Jeeves and Wooster series does not contain all of the books and stories. Those which are in this book are in neither publication nor chronological order. Some of the stories in this volume are not even about Jeeves and Wooster. However there are two things to recommend this volume: You do get a lot of Wodehouse even if it isn't all of the Jeeves and Wooster books and stories. The other is the price which is 99¢ at this writing.
I shall endeavor to provide brief comments on each novel and story in this collection:
RIGHT HO JEEVES - Only Bertie could manage to get himself accidentally engaged to a girl whom, to use more modern parlance, he regards as a flake of the first order. He won't accuse her of actually writing poetry but she asked him if he ever thought that the stars are God's daisy chain. Only Jeeves could get him out of it and untangle the related tangled engagements.
LEAVE IT TO JEEVES - JEEVES saves a "starving artist" friend of Bertie's by steering him away from unsuccessful portrait painter to a smashingly successful comic artist.
THE UNBIDDEN GUEST - This quote is the foreshadowing which sets up the whole story, "It will be such a relief to know that Motty is safe with you, Mr. Wooster. I know what the temptations of a great city are. Hitherto dear Motty has been sheltered from them. He has lived quietly with me in the country. I know that you will look after him carefully, Mr. Wooster. He will give very little trouble.' She talked about the poor blighter as if he wasn't there. Not that Motty seemed to mind. He had stopped chewing his walking-stick and was sitting there with his mouth open. 'He is a vegetarian and a teetotaller and is devoted to reading. Give him a nice book and he will be quite contented."
JEEVES AND THE HARDBOILED EGG - The egg in question is a rich duke, tight with his money and with his not overly bright nephew.
ABSENT TREATMENT - Not a Jeeves and Wooster tale. Instead it concerns Bobbie Cardew, his wife Mary, their friend Reggie Pepper and memory.
More to come.
March 31, 2020
So many Jeeves and Wooster stories! Some of these I had read before. There is one told from Jeeves' perspective that is terrific and gives some insight to the way his mind works.
December 6, 2024
(Read as part of Letters Regarding Jeeves)
Lots of fun! Bertie and Jeeves are perfect for each other and they would make anyone else miserable if they hadn't found each other. Jeeves and his little scheming heart is wonderful and his ability to make Bertie dance to his tune greatly amused me.
Lots of fun! Bertie and Jeeves are perfect for each other and they would make anyone else miserable if they hadn't found each other. Jeeves and his little scheming heart is wonderful and his ability to make Bertie dance to his tune greatly amused me.
April 13, 2019
Right Ho Jeeves gets 5 stars on its own
The Jesse and Wooster series includes-actually begins with- one of my very favorite Bertie Wooster and Jeeves novels - Right Ho, Jeeves. Wodehouse at his best - perfectly narrated farce comes to life in ways that make you laugh until you cry. This was never fails to delight me and always sends me off on a laughing jag.
As I’ve mentioned, I’ve been reading these stories for over 30 years. Every couple of years or so, I require another dose of Wodehouse.
The remainder of this book includes several shorter stories, most featuring Bertie and Jeeves, but not all. To my mind, the others are not quite as good. The characters tend to be less developed copies of Bertie and Jeeves. And the last story, narrated by Jeeves rather than Bertie, falls short of the mark.
Still -all in all- this volume rates at least 4 stars.
I do think I prefer reading the separate Jeeves and Wooster books, rather than a collection like this one. Another wonderful Wodehouse I would recommend is called Joy in the morning. I think it was also published as Jeeves in the morning.
The Jesse and Wooster series includes-actually begins with- one of my very favorite Bertie Wooster and Jeeves novels - Right Ho, Jeeves. Wodehouse at his best - perfectly narrated farce comes to life in ways that make you laugh until you cry. This was never fails to delight me and always sends me off on a laughing jag.
As I’ve mentioned, I’ve been reading these stories for over 30 years. Every couple of years or so, I require another dose of Wodehouse.
The remainder of this book includes several shorter stories, most featuring Bertie and Jeeves, but not all. To my mind, the others are not quite as good. The characters tend to be less developed copies of Bertie and Jeeves. And the last story, narrated by Jeeves rather than Bertie, falls short of the mark.
Still -all in all- this volume rates at least 4 stars.
I do think I prefer reading the separate Jeeves and Wooster books, rather than a collection like this one. Another wonderful Wodehouse I would recommend is called Joy in the morning. I think it was also published as Jeeves in the morning.
September 17, 2019
The characters in this book are Exhibit A for the need for estate and inheritance taxes: to thwart the formation of an entire class of society with nothing to do except go to the theater, go to parties, and visit each others' country houses, coupling and uncoupling, multiplying and breeding, all the time exhibiting the inane and stupid nature of their characters while they spend their afternoons watching traffic, planning dinner, and worrying about how to get some rich uncle to keep paying them an allowance (i.e. the "Glorious Adventures" in the title). These people can't even get dressed in the morning without help. The humor in these antics wore off about half way through the first book, leaving me wondering why on earth it took the Brits so many centuries to at least try to get rid of these people.
June 16, 2020
Reading this anthology was like meeting up with old friends. My Granfather left me his Wodehouse collection I the 50’s, and I read them all. There were a few stories I missed back then, and I loved them all. Wodehouse is a master of writing in the first person, and the exposition of complex tales through the persona of clueless Bertie Wooster is a joy to read. He also has an unparalleled command of the English language, and he salts in enough upper class British-isms to delight Anglophiles without making us feel like outsiders.
February 22, 2021
Like a warm blanket on a rainy winter's afternoon, the world of Wooster and Jeeves is a comfortable, comforting and almost fairy tale one. I will always turn to their mild adventures when feeling sad or in need of comfort and enjoy being immersed in a world where the worst thing that can happen is being caught by Aunt Agatha when she's out for your blood or accidentally getting engaged to a young woman who is hell bent on improving you!
January 2, 2021
Always fun, although if one reads enough of the stories, a certain sameness obtains.
Viz. Bertie upsets Jeeves, but needs his assistance vis-à-vis some trifle. Such assistance is given, and Bertie expresses his gratitude to Jeeves by shaving his mustache, or disposing of his purple socks, or some such expiation.
Viz. Bertie upsets Jeeves, but needs his assistance vis-à-vis some trifle. Such assistance is given, and Bertie expresses his gratitude to Jeeves by shaving his mustache, or disposing of his purple socks, or some such expiation.
January 18, 2026
Fun and Jeeves
Glorious adventures indeed! With the television series with Fry and Laurie in mind, the original stories fascinate with their specific turn of phrase, the cultural setting of the period and the madcap characters.
Only pain with this particular electronic bundle - the unexplained repetition oc a number of stories. But it’s easy enough to skip and read on!
Glorious adventures indeed! With the television series with Fry and Laurie in mind, the original stories fascinate with their specific turn of phrase, the cultural setting of the period and the madcap characters.
Only pain with this particular electronic bundle - the unexplained repetition oc a number of stories. But it’s easy enough to skip and read on!
January 25, 2026
The first two parts are collections of short stories, many of which from the first part are repeated in the second part. The third part should be read sequentially. Some of the characters are familiar from the previous short stories, but we learn more about them. I found this website helpful in understanding the dated slang: .
October 18, 2021
More like 3.5 stars. There were stories in this collection that weren’t Jeeves and Wooster. The Jeeves and Wooster stories weren’t in chronological order based on what was happening in the stories. There is also, apparently, a limit to how much I can take all at once of Bertie Wooster.
August 31, 2023
Hilarious
I never tire of Bertie Wooster and Jeeves. It's not the plots so much (though they are ingenious) , it's P. G. Wodehouses's style of writing. Such well-turned sentences! It's a pleasure to read.
I never tire of Bertie Wooster and Jeeves. It's not the plots so much (though they are ingenious) , it's P. G. Wodehouses's style of writing. Such well-turned sentences! It's a pleasure to read.
reading-episodically
April 25, 2020I have this on my Kindle for occasional reading. Friends rave about Wodehouse, but I never read him until now.
August 17, 2020
Fun stories, wonderful use of language. All men should have a valet like Jeeves.
August 29, 2020
Lovely fun distraction
July 25, 2023
Jeeves & Wooster. Great collection of Jeeves & Wooster stories.
December 14, 2023
Laugh out loud funny. Literally laughing out loud reading in public or in a room by myself.
July 13, 2025
Fun story to read! Interesting slang vocabulary back in the day of jolly old England.
September 13, 2025
Quite a waste of time.
January 10, 2020
Great!
April 9, 2024
This was my go to book for a break between books, or when I was down. Wodehouse is so funny and reading it would 'Put me right. What?'
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews