Search - P. G. Wodehouse :: Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit

Another Wooster and Jeeves Classic From the Master

James Skrydlak | Pella, Iowa | 06/25/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In this novel, also published as Bertie Wooster Sees It Through, farceur supreme P.G. Wodehouse brings together all the elements for a delightful Bertie and Jeeves adventure: the endangerment of Bertie's bachelorhood, threats to his physical well-being, Aunt Dahlia's magazine Milady's Boudoir, the necessity for Bertie to steal jewelry, the possibility that Aunt Dahlia will have to part with her marvelous cook Anatole, and more.



Bertie's narration, always a joy, is in particularly fine form in this novel, and, as always, Bertie's engagement is broken off when his fiancee decides to wed another, Anatole stays with Aunt Dahlia at Brinkley court, and things in general turn out for the best, thanks largely to Jeeves's genius. Any veteran reader of Wodehouse's work knows that this will be the case, but Wodehouse's genius is such that the book is an absolute joy, anyway, on the first reading or the seventh."

"I shall insist on my rights to keep the mustache and tend i

Mary Whipple | New England | 01/19/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With delightful, tongue-in-cheek humor, P. G. Wodehouse continues the adventures of Bertie Wooster, an often silly member of the upper class who depends on his much more sensible "gentleman's gentleman," Jeeves, to keep his life from falling apart. In this novel, Wooster has been growing a mustache for the two weeks that Jeeves has been on a shrimping holiday, and he fears that Jeeves will not like it. Sure, enough Jeeves does not, and neither do any of his other friends--except for Lady Florence Craye, his former fiancée, now engaged (to Bertie's great relief) to Stilton Cheesewright.



The fate of the mustache is only the starting point for Wodehouse's comedy of errors, however, as Bertie goes from London to his Aunt Dahlia's country home, where Lady Florence, Stilton Cheesewright, and Percy Gorringe, a young man who wants to produce a play based on Lady Florence's book, are also in attendance. As Lady Florence and Stilton Cheesewright play out their on-again, off-again romance, Percy is casting longing eyes at Florence, who is flirting with Bertie, once again.



As is always the case with Wodehouse, events quickly become more complex. Percy wants Bertie to invest one thousand pounds in the play. Aunt Dahlia, wanting to sell her magazine, decides to "salt the mine," secretly selling her pearls so she can serialize a novel by a famous romance author to make the magazine more attractive. Her husband, at this point, decides to have the pearls appraised. Bertie takes Florence to a nightclub to "do research for her new novel," and he is arrested. Not surprisingly, it is the resilient Jeeves who comes to the rescue, time and time again, proving that good sense and grounding in the real world are far more important than the silly pretensions of Bertie and his friends.



Wodehouse's gentle satire of upperclass life makes his novels appeal to a broad spectrum of readers. His word play, consummate sense of irony, and ability to make dialogue sound simultaneously absurd and realistic create a fast-moving set of outrageous scenes in which Jeeves, the "gentleman's gentleman" proves to be the real hero, the one person who knows how to live in this silly world. n Mary Whipple

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The BEST Jeeves and Wooster ever!

DARBY KERN | Green Bay, WI United States | 08/16/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With no disrespect intended to Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry, I believe that Michael Horden and Richard Briers are the best Jeeves and Wooster. The story here is a better adaptation of Wodehouse's book, something that was never a concern for the TV adaptations. There's a pacing that is more akin to what I expect when I read the books too.

That said, this collection, recorded for the BBC and broadcast in 1979 is one of the best of the released series. The cast and characters are colorful and hilarious.

My only beef is the same one I'd have for any of the series, or any BBC drama from this time (with the exception of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)- the sound effects library at this time was not very complete and you can tell that the dogs and cats are humans making the noises.

Fortunately the quality of the writing/adaptation/performances far outshines ANY slight imperfection. This is a great set for anyone who loves Wodehouse or anyone who needs a primer. Induldge. It's well worth it!

What ho!"