Customer Reviews

Inimitable Jeeves

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One of the earlier Jeeves and Wooster collections, this is a series of very loosely linked short stories generally following the same template: young, wealthy airhead Wooster or his pal Bingo Little gets in some sticky situation, and it is up to his genius butler Jeeves to devise an ingenious solution to the quandary. Here, the somewhat repetitious misguided amorous ramblings of Bingo make for the lion's share of troubles, although the high spirits of Bertie's cousins Claude and Eustace also make plenty of work for Jeeves. The stories can fairly be compared to contemporary TV sitcoms, as they to reply on recurring (often over the top) characters, a rarefied setting, a single type of humor, and recurring situations. Simply put, if you like one Wooster story (and don't get sick of them), you're going to like them all. Much of this can be explained by Wodehouse's mastery of the language and constant deft turns of phrase, period slang, and comic timing. Those who deride the shallow subject matter and milieu of the Jeeves and Wooster series need to recall the context in which these stories appeared. Only a few years removed from the horrors of World War I-an event barely alluded to in the series, despite the loss of an entire generation of British young men-the stories can be viewed as a bandage of sorts, an attempt to transport the reader to a world far removed from the traumatic recovery from the Great War. Not to mention Wodehouse's clear depiction of the upper classes as wastrels and idiots of the highest order when compared to the street savvy of the servants (as exemplified by Jeeves). Of course, one doesn't read Wodehouse for social commentary or as a salve these days, but for his dry wit and keen command of the written word.

Were you to read only one Wodehouse book (God forbid) which one might it be? I would suggest this one, although there are numerous contenders from the Jeeves, Drones, golf, Mr. Mulliner and Blandings stories, not to mention the one-offs and great unknowns.

Although this book has what might be called an overarching narrative, being that all the tales are told in the first person by one Bertie Wooster, the chapters nevertheless neatly fall out as short stories even if with somewhat "cliffhanger" endings, which is to say they don't resolve.

That almost perfect format will delight both short story fans and afficianados of the novel, and also spun off some of the best TV yarns in the Jeeves and Wooster and World of Wodehouse TV series.

My British edition (for copyright reasons not for sale in the U.S.) shows a cover photo op of Ian Carmichael as Wooster in the BBC series "The World of Wooster". As PGW noted, this was one of many instances where Bertie was overly mature and greyed; there seems a deliberate attempt to make Carmichael seem older-- whereas most readers, Wodehouse included, see him as somewhat youngish.

In Wodehouse Playhouse, which includes brief vignettes of PGW, he gives his imprimatur to the series for at least casting Bertie somewhat younger. Even better was the stellar performance in Jeeves and Wooster, in which "Pearls Mean Tears" "Comrade Bingo" and a number of these other chapters, expanded into episodes, appear. No wonder such a wonderful series was inspired by such a delightful read.

This is the first Jeeves & Wooster story Plum ever wrote. The main characters in this novel are Bertie and his valet Jeeves, a complete gentleman and the first to admit Bertie is a bit of a chump. There's also a wide collection of terrifying aunts, miserly uncles, love-sick friends and unwanted fiances that make the plot really witty. Bertie gets into a bit of a trouble when one of his pals, Bingo Little starts to fall in love with every second girl he lays his eyes on. But the soup gets really thick when Bingo decides to marry one of them and enlists Bertie's help. Luckily, he has the inimitable Jeeves to pull him out of it. Excellent entertainment and a good insight into life in England in the 1920s.

Published in 1923, this first volume in the Jeeves series is a collection of short stories, all loosely tied together. Most of the stories in this collection center on Bertie's old school chum Bingo Little and his extraordinary propensity for falling in love with `every second woman he meets.' Notable in this book is Jeeves's constant displeasure at some ill-chosen article of clothing belonging to the young master, and his haughty way of expressing his disapproval - and, of course, Bertie's constant giving in to Jeeves's wishes. Although not the funniest or wittiest of Wodehouse's books, it is a wonderful introduction to the characters and the unique humor and style of Wodehouse. The story that stands out to me in this collection, on the strength of its purely ingenious premise, is The Great Sermon Handicap, followed by The Purity of the Turf.

See next: Carry On, Jeeves

Who could resist Jeeves? Who could resist Bertie? The Inimitable Jeeves is just another cut out classic.

Bingo, Bertie's "old pal" from school just can't stop falling in love. After all, there are tons of pretty waitresses out there. Bingo keeps falling in love and then devising plans to get his crotchety old uncle to let him marry. He gets so close to marrying, and then each time falls in love with a new girl right before the vows are said.

Meanwhile, Aunt Agatha (Bertie's aunt) is out to get Bertie. She keeps on trying to get him married, something Bertie is quite happy not to do. Unfortunately, Aunt Agatha's pestering is nearly unbearable.

The humorous twins Claude and Eustace are up to their usual trouble. The twins (whom George and Fred from Harry Potter are probably based after) keep borrowing money and asking favors from Bertie. They are traveling around the country, and getting on people's nerves.

Finally there is Jeeves and Bertie, one of the most famous comic pairs of all time. Bertie Wooster, the not so smart schlep, and his brilliant butler, Jeeves make the perfect laugh out loud couple. Bertie is always getting himself tied up, and Jeeves always manages to get him untied. Bertie can't help running to Jeeves whenever he finds himself in a muddle. Unless, of course, Jeeves is worked up in a snit about Bertie's purple socks or other apparel. When it comes to changing into different clothes so that Jeeves will like the attire, Bertie puts his foot down....sometimes.

Whichever character you like most, and whichever episode strikes your intrest, you are sure to be tickled pink with this witty and humorous novel.

This was my first Wodehouse book, and it remains my favorite. I have read it at least 10 times, and still chuckle audibly when I do so. It never gets stale. Every single chapter is hilarious. If you love humor and love the English language, you will treasure this book!

This is a pretty early Jeeves & Wooster (not, I think, the very first, as somebody says below) and it suffers a bit from being a rambling collection of episodes tied up with the absolute slimmest of attempts at an overall theme. Broadly speaking, it deals with the repeated encounters between Bertie and the irrepressible Bingo Little, whose amorous misadventures make up most of the book. There's a slight uncertainty about Bertie's diction; Wodehouse is too keen to emphasise Bertie's stupidity, which leads to a certain repetitiveness, and the book lacks the inspired lunatic poetry of later stories. Still, it does contain the classic line about "aunt calling to aunt like mastodons bellowing across the primeval swamp", and it's clearly a test-bed for many later ideas.

But if you're a Wodehouse beginner, I'd direct you first to "Joy in the Morning" or the all-time classic "The Code of the Woosters". Wodehouse's genius wasn't just his sense of humour, it's his benignity; you can be a raging left-wing anarchist like me and still find his books a delight, because he has so few prejudices and is capable of being so funny about almost nothing at all. He is amazingly lacking in malice. His books are absolutely not a useful guide to Britain in the 20s, or for that matter Britain at any time - they obey their own internal laws, and you either get it or you don't. That his career lasted from before Henry James' death to a time when Don DeLillo had already published three novels is something I find slightly appalling - but I'm still glad the books are there.

Although "The Inimitable Jeeves" is not the first appearance of the famous double act, Jeeves and Wooster, it is the first book to be 'completely' dedicated to them. It was first published in 1923, and was originally known in America as, simply, "Jeeves".

The book is set in the 1920s England and features Wodehouse's best known creations : Bertie Wooster and his valet, Jeeves. Bertie is the book's wealthy, good-natured and rather dim narrator. He's a member of the "idle rich" and, rather than having to work for a living, lives off an allowance provided by his uncle. He spends much of his time in the bar-room of the Drones Club, is fond of the occasional wager and has an appalling dress sense. Luckily, Bertie has Jeeves to look after him. Without Jeeves, Bertie's life would be a mess : he makes an excellent hangover cure, his bets usually win and he's intelligent enough to rescue Bertie from nearly any situation. He disapproves of Bertie's more garish items of clothing, and will - occasionally - take it upon himself to deal with the offending item.

All of the short stories are connected and most of them involve Bertie's friend Bingo Little, who is always falling in love - occasionally while still 'officially' in love with another. It's Bingo who most consistently drops Bertie into trouble : Bingo's schemes generally aim for an increase in his allowance from his Uncle, with the intention of marrying his latest girlfriend. Generally, Bingo's intended is a girl his uncle wouldn't approve of - so he ropes Bertie and Jeeves into helping him out. There are also appearances for Bertie's troublesome cousins, Claude and Eustace, a devious bookmaker called Steggles and Bertie's fearsome Aunt Agatha. Bertie is held in very low esteem by Agatha, but she is determined that Bertie should marry - Bertie's opinion, as far as she is concerned, is irrelevant.

A very easy and enjoyable read.

Bertie Wooster, a well-heeled but "mentally negligible" London bachelor, is the enjoyable narrator of this comic novel from Edwardian era England. The book is really more of a collection of stories, pulled loosely together by the impulsive romances of Bingo Little, Bertie's old school chum and "friend for more than 15 years," who mooches meals and cigarettes and falls in and out of love with the most inappropriate people. Lack of intelligence is no affront to Bertie's self respect, since -- as a member of the "upper classes" -- he is "so sunk in callous self-indulgence" that he restricts his life primarily to drinking, eating, gambling and occasionally being terrorized by his aunts. However, when Bertie faces imminent matrimony with Honoraria Glossip, the amazonian daughter of the "eminent loony-doctor" -- when Bertie is swindled into putting a deposit on stolen pearls -- when Bertie's life is disrupted by his two "excreascenceses, " nephews Claude and Eustace, who suffer from an excess of the "sporting spirit" -- when Bingo becomes a street-preaching socialist in order to win the woman of his heart -- -- when Bertie is persuaded to pose as the romance writer Rosie M Banks, in order to appeal to Bingo's father on his behalf . . . when Bertie, as he so frequently does, lands in the soup -- he always turns to literature's most famous valet, his perfect manservant Jeeves. With cool and intellectual precision, Jeeves invariably solves the problem with a few deft strokes, and sometimes a little Shakespeare thrown in. Although Bertie almost always ends up a the butt of the joke, his good humor and benign temperament ensure a happy ending with no hard feelings. Jeeves and Bertie are one of Wodehouse's most successful creations, and following them through their adventures is a pleasure that no reader should miss.

--Auralgo

The Twenties produced several notable works of fiction, and right there in with the best of them is this, the most delightful of all the Jeeves and Wooster entries.

Composed of a running series of short stories originally published in the Strand and Cosmopolitan magazines, "The Initimable Jeeves" achieves its distinction through the remarkable quality level of the stories combined with the full blossoming of two of the more notable and best-loved characters in all of fiction, Bertie Wooster and Jeeves. They would be paired again many times, but here they are given probably the best pure story material they would ever enjoy.

This was one of the most popular books of the twenties; first published in 1923, in a decade and a half it sold over 3 million copies. To put that figure in perspective, "Gone With the Wind" , the best-seller to end all best-sellers, needed a full decade to surpass 3 million in sales. (Though admittedly Margaret Mitchell's tome came at a much steeper price!)

If you like Wodehouse you'll love "The Inimitable Jeeves".

Fans of the Hugh Laurie Television series will discover more episodes were adapted from this book than any two of the rest!