Life with Jeeves (A Jeeves and Bertie Compendium) [Paperback]

P. G. Wodehouse (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 29, 1983

This omnibus edition will delight newcomers to Wodehouse as well as those already familiar with his sunny universe and his sparkling prose. It contains Right Ho, Jeeves, The Inimitable Jeeves and Very Good, Jeeves.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

P. G. Wodehouse (1881-1975) is an English-born storyteller and journalist who came to America before World War I and sold a serial to the Saturday Evening Post, where most of his books first appeared. Though Wodehouse wrote more than 90 books and 20 film scripts, and collaborated on more than 30 plays and musical comedies, he is perhaps best known as the creator of the gentlemanly character Jeeves, "that subtle master of prudence, good taste, and ineffable composure." This three-part edition will delight newcomers to Wodehouse as well as those already familiar with his "sunny universe and sparkling prose." Let the reader beware: unless you are the kind of person who enjoys being stared at, do not attempt to read anything by P. G. Wodehouse in public. If you do, you'll soon find yourself an object of interest on the bus, plane or train as you attempt to stifle guffaws or end up accidentally swallowing your tongue in a useless effort to squash that belly-laugh. Wodehouse is, quite simply, one of the funniest men on the planet, and this latest compendium of his work, Life with Jeeves, is Wodehouse at his best.

Here you'll find Bertie Wooster, a complete gentleman, but the first to admit he's a bit of a chump; his valet, Jeeves, infinitely sagacious, the source of all solace; and a wild collection of terrifying aunts, miserly uncles, love-sick friends, female authors, crusading communists, troublesome cousins, cantankerous dogs, unwanted fiancés and more-all bound up in plots as impossibly labyrinthine as they are laugh-out-loud funny.

About the Author

The author of almost a hundred books and the creator of Jeeves, Blandings Castle, Psmith, Ukridge, Uncle Fred and Mr Mulliner, P.G. Wodehouse was born in 1881 and educated at Dulwich College. After two years with the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank he became a full-time writer, contributing to a variety of periodicals. As well as his novels and short stories, he wrote lyrics for musical comedies, and at one stage had five shows running simultaneously on Broadway. At the age of 93, in the New Year's Honours List of 1975, he received a long-overdue Knighthood, only to die on St Valentine's Day some 45 days later. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics); Omnibus edition (September 29, 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140059024
• ISBN-13: 978-0140059021
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #471,331 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Novel, Great Short Stories, March 8, 2004

By 

James Skrydlak "mostlymozart" (Pella, Iowa) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Life with Jeeves (A Jeeves and Bertie Compendium) (Paperback)

This volume is rather an odd collection, consisting of the first twenty-nine Bertie and Jeeves stories (at least the first twenty-nine to be collected) plus the novel Right Ho, Jeeves. Wodehouse hit his stride in the 1920s (at approximately the age of forty!), and Right Ho, Jeeves, the latest work published here, dates from 1934, so these are works from the beginning of his greatest period, which, for my money, runs to the mid-1950s (Wodehouse lived until Valentine's Day 1975).

Wodehouse was that rare author who was a master of both the novel and the short story. These stories are wonderful. I'm particularly fond of Jeeves and the Old School Chum and Sir Roderick Comes to Lunch; others may well have different favorites, and who am I to differ? Every story is a jewel in its own way.

Right Ho, Jeeves isn't, in my opinion, in a class with The Mating Season, Summer Lightning, or Heavy Weather as one of the greatest of Wodehouse's novels, but that's a bit like saying that Symphony No. 25 in Gm isn't Mozart's greatest symphony. Symphony No. 25 is still a wonderful symphony, and Right Ho, Jeeves, is a great, funny novel.

Wodehouse has brought me more happiness than any other author; there are, I'm sure, thousands more who would join me in that opinion. If you've never read any Wodehouse, you could do far worse than to start with this book, and you're in for a rare treat.

76 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just Pretend the Third Part's Not There, March 31, 2000

By 

Bill Strickland "Bill" (Albany, Georgia) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Life with Jeeves (A Jeeves and Bertie Compendium) (Paperback)

As the title indicates, this volume is three books in one. "The Inimitable Jeeves" is a collection of episodes, chronologically arranged, each episode taking about 1-3 chapters. In "Very Good, Jeeves!" the episodes are shorter, about a chapter each. "Right Ho, Jeeves" is one long story.

Each episode follows the dependable formula of Bertie Wooster falling -- or being pushed -- into trouble and climbing out with advice or more direct help from Jeeves. Wooster's troubles are seldom simple; they usually involve many layers of complication and seem hopeless, while the Jeevesian solutions elegantly peel away the difficulties and make things right. Wodehouse's characters (all, not just these two) are wonderfully drawn, and the hilarity is frequent and intense.

"Right Ho, Jeeves," however, is different. The solutions are less elegant, Wooster and Jeeves seem a bit mean-spirited and the language and plotting seem forced. I strongly recommend you read the first two books, chapters in the second of which can easily be taken out of order if desired, and ignore the third. "The Inimitable Jeeves" and "Very Good, Jeeves!" are so wonderful and occasioned so many episodes of embarrassing public laughter or suppression of same that I have had to give the book top marks anyway.

By the way, as I'm not sure what effect my having seen the PBS "Jeeves and Wooster" productions had on my reading of the books, if you haven't seen these you might want to rent a tape before or during your first exposure to the stories in print. The stories can certainly stand alone, but as the settings are so bygone-days and Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry are so perfect in their roles, the video experience could make the imagery even more effective. Wooster's verbal shuffling and conversational mode are unusual outside England of the '20s and '30s, so a cold reading might be a little difficult to "hear" correctly; an hour with a video could make it all go down more easily. And ease of reception, after all, is necessary for humor to do its best.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Joyous Romp Through the English Language, December 9, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Life with Jeeves (A Jeeves and Bertie Compendium) (Paperback)

P.G. Wodehouse is truly a master of the English language. He has a unique ability to have you rolling on the floor with laughter w/ descriptions of even mundane daily activites. His genius lies in his choice of words and ability to make the words flow together. I have never encountered another author that can make me laugh out loud w/ every single page I read. I have read 10 of his novels, 2 books of short stories, and the newly published omnibus, "What Ho!". BTW - this omnibus volume is a great first Wodehouse purchase if you're a bit overwhelmed by the number of his publications; it combines all the best of Wodehouse.