Customer Reviews

My Man Jeeves (1919)

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4 star:		(10)
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1 star:		(3)

 

 

This was the earliest (1919) of Wodehouse's short story collections to mention Jeeves in the title, and these are very early Jeeves/Wooster stories. But only half of the stories in this volume are set in the Wooster household. The other half of these stories feature Reggie Pepper. Pepper can be thought of as a proto-Bertie, but he has no Jeeves-like character around. The Reggie Pepper stories are also similar to the Jeeves/Wooster stories in that they are written in Reggie's voice. Once Wodehouse got rolling with the Jeeves/Wooster stories, he abandoned Reggie Pepper. I think there are only eight Reggie Pepper stories in total, with half of them found in this collection.

A few points are worth noting. The earliest Jeeves/Wooster story is not in this collection. That first story was "Extricating Gussie", which is to be found in the 1917 collection "The Man With Two Left Feet." It is in "Extricating Gussie" that Jeeves and Wooster travel to New York. All the Jeeves/Wooster stories in "My Man Jeeves" are set in New York as well. Another factor to bear in mind is that most of these early stories were later reworked, and appear in "Carry On, Jeeves." The story "Leave it to Jeeves" appears in "Carry On" as "The Artistic Career of Corky", with the first few paragraphs re-written for that version. The stories "Jeeves and the Unbidden Guest" and "Jeeves and The Hard-Boiled Egg" appear in "Carry On" with no obvious alterations. Also, the story "Helping Freddie" appears in "Carry On" as "Fixing it for Freddie", but in that case the story has been changed from a Reggie Pepper vehicle to one featuring Bertie and Jeeves - the plot and much of the language carry directly through this transformation.

In short, three of the four Jeeves/Wooster stories, and one of the Reggie Pepper stories, appear, with varying degrees of alteration, in "Carry On, Jeeves." The only Jeeves/Wooster item in this collection that doesn't appear in "Carry On" is "The Aunt and the Sluggard."

What can I say about P.G. Wodehouse's stories that hasn't already been said? They're brilliant! Delightful! Charming! Pleasant as a post-prandial brandy! It has, however, been said that for full effect these stories must be read aloud. Well, really, I say. Who's got time? What? Martin Jarvis! That's who! The finest audio book reader to ever grace my hi fi! Nobody brings Bertie Wooster and Jeeves to life with the elegance and charm of Mr. Jarvis. His range of voices is surperb! His delivery is spot on, and his love of the material is evident.

You may wonder how I can say his readings surpass even those of Mssrs. Fry and Laurie. The answer is simple. The televised version (which is excellent) cannot contain every syllable, every illiteration Wodehouse penned. The audio version can!

The stories here include two from CARRY ON JEEVES, finishing out that selection, as well as three others. My only complaint, if that can be said, is that the three other stories do not involve The Jeeves/Wooster duo. But who cares? They are wonderful anyway.

This collection is a delight and truly worth adding to your collection- even if you own the books. However, I don't recommend listening to them while driving. You may lose control during a fit of laughter. Vive le Jeeves! Vive le Jarvis! Vive le Wodehouse!

Martin Jarvis' reading of My Man Jeeves runs circles around Jonathan Cecil's reading of *anything* (for more ranting on Cecil, see Psmith: Journalist). He simply embodies the characters of Bertie Wooster, Jeeves, Biffy, Corky, and all the cast (albeit with the same typical attempt at an American accent).

This recording consists of the two stories from the printed Carry On, Jeeves collection that were left out of the CD copy of the Carry On, Jeeves audiobook--one of which has Jeeves himself as the narrator--as well as three stories starring Bertie Wooster's predecessor, Reggie Pepper.

Pepper by himself isn't as funny or touching as the relationship between Jeeves and Wooster, but the predicaments are identical to those that Bertie would find himself getting into. The only difference is that Reggie manages to extricate himself from the troubles, unlike Bertie, who relies on the wiles of his man, Jeeves.

Either of this or Carry On, Jeeves would appeal to the casual Wodehouse fan, and are perfect for long road trips or any other situation where a laugh is needed. Wodehouse exceeds all others in humor and, one assumes, will remain that way for centuries to come.

The Kindle Edition (B000JQUYBA) lacks proper curly quotes and has misplaced newlines. I'd recommend looking elsewhere for a copy put together with more care.

As far as our house is concerned, PG Wodehouse this is the best comic authors ever. It's understandable that Stephen Fry, Douglass Adams, and Hugh Laurie all praise him. In each of his books he brings a smile, a laugh, or even a giggle out loud. This was British comedy before Python, (and while different, the use of wit, satire, etc, makes Wodehouse a master). I used to read this book in university, pretending to listen to some lecture. These great literary treasures need to be discovered again by a new generation. Pass this book to someone who has never heard of Jeeves, Wooster, Psmith, Ukridge, Blandings, or Sally.

The book is set in 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 is 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.

Make any day better with a enthusiastic portion of Wodehouse's light-hearted legendary fun. Enjoy!

Basically it's a simple and easy choice for you, if you like one Wodehouse story you're going to like them all.

In these economically bleak times its good to invest in a book that will bring happiness to all who read it. Enjoy the hilarious works of Wodehouse - perhaps just what you need!

This is a review of the Kindle version. It's very well formatted and has no mistakes that come to mind. There were no table of contents or any introductory material.

Coming to Wodehouse for the first time, the initial stories are exciting to read. Wodehouse uses prototypical 1910s/1920s-era phrases and terms, which give the stories a definite and distinct style. But this becomes wearing after just a couple of chapters. The later stories, fortunately, don't rely on such language as heavily, but neither do they always involve Jeeves, the clearly most compelling and interesting character. And the stories, while generally well-put together, aren't always interesting enough to make up for the times you get tired of the style and don't have Jeeves involved. But the stories are short and self-contained, so it makes for quick reading.

And as a free download, it's well worth getting and reading at least the first few chapters. You may find yourself wanting to devour more Wodehouse, or you may simply find yourself entertained for a while--either way, it's a nice way to expand your horizons!

This is a wonderfully funny audio version of the famous characters created by P. G. Wodehouse. Martin Jarvis has a very good grasp of all the characters and gives each its proper inflexion. If you've never read any of the stories of Wodehouse, this is a great place to start. There are a lot of narrated versions of Wodehouse on the market, and you will be quite happy with this one, though I think the version recorded by Charlton Griffin is so far my favorite. (His voice for Bertie is somehow exactly right.) But I quibble. Jarvis is charming and has just the proper touch of the blasé Englishman. The selection of bubbly stories is quite good.

I was first put onto the comedic genius of early 20th century British author P. G. Wodehouse by a friend of mine. She raved in her reviews and comments about how great the author was. I gave him a try with *The Clicking of Cuthbert*, and I was hooked. The humor was spot on, and it wasn't slap-stick or in your face, as much as subtle humor. It was as hilarious as anything one might read today, but at the same time, the reader has to pay attention to the nuances in language, and the context the humor is in, in order to understand what "jokes" Wodehouse is saying.

I guess a way of explaining it would be to say that Wodehouse used situational comedy. Long, long before Seinfeld or other modern comedians, Wodehouse utilized this type of comedy. Unlike later attempts at this method, his work is clean, truly *funny*, and makes the reader *think* to understand the humor.

While *The Clicking of Cuthbert* was humor about the game of golf, *My Man Jeeves* is humor about various situations that the main character and his friends get into. Despite the title, Jeeves is "a" main character, but not "the" main character. That honor for about half of the stories went to Bertie Wooster. Wooster is a wealthy, aristocratic man from England, who is spending time in New York City, and brings his butler Jeeves with him.

In situation after situation, the characters would get into some scrape, and Jeeves would use his talents and genius to get them out of it. The scrapes ranged from truly problematic situations to the absurd. There would be a hitch, and Jeeves would save the day. The non-Bertie Wooster/Jeeves stories followed much the same formula, but with different characters (who turn out to be friends of Wooster's) trying to come up with plots.

Maybe it was just me, but I found myself enjoying the Bertie Wooster/Jeeves stories more than the other tales. For one thing, Jeeves just tends to be designed as more "brainy" by Wodehouse. His schemes are more elaborate and thus more enjoyable to read. Whether this was a purposeful choice by Wodehouse, or just him doing it unconsciously, I don't know, but it was how I read the stories. It eventually was at the point where I laughed out loud, wondering, along with Wooster, just *why* Jeeves contented himself with being a butler, when he's obviously one of the smartest guys around. Truly a unique character creation there, on Wodehouse's part. :D

The merits of the book, and seemingly most or all of Wodehouse's writings, are numerous. The two to be mentioned here is that the book does humor and camp right. It is an almost intellectual camp, if you will. The author did not take himself or his books *too* seriously, but neither did he engage in pointless humor just for humor's sake. The humor always had a point as part of, or referencing back to some fact in, the story.

The other great strength of the book was the relationship between Wooster and Jeeves. While they are clearly employer and employee, they also appear to be, without a doubt, friends. Sometimes these two roles came into conflict and friction was introduced, while at other times the two roles almost seemingly merged, and only Jeeves' careful observance of protocol and address towards Bertie kept the relationships distinct from each other. This unique friendship between the master and butler added a new and interesting facet to the collection of tales.

I could only say that the problem I had was the length. It was *TOO SHORT*! I will soon be returning to Wodehouse, and especially the tales of Bertie Wooster and his faithful friend and butler, Jeeves. Highly Recommended.

For Wodehouse fans, this collection of short stories is sure to please. Some of these stories have made their way into the TV series 'Jeeves and Wooster' and so the reader will find some of the plotts to be familiar if he or she has watched the film.

Oh Mr. Wodehouse! One of the finest witty wordsmiths who ever picked up a pen. When I need a smile, or a lift, or even a roll on the floor laugh I turn to one of the many wonderful works of Wodehouse.
So many to choose from, and each one is from a different period in PG 'Plum' to his friends - life. While my favorite character is Psmith, how can I not enjoy the mutterings of Ukridge, or long to have my life saved from disasters by the likes of Jeeves.
Stephen Fry wrote 'Without Wodehouse I am not sure I would be a tenth of what I am today...his writings awoke me to the possibilities of language. His rhythms, tropes, tricks and mannerisms are deep within me. But more than that, he taught me something about good nature. It IS enough to be benign, to be gentle, to be funny, to be kind.
As laughter is the best medicine, perhaps we need a good dose of Wodehouse from time to time, and during these bleak winter months, in the dark time of the economy, Wodehouse is just what the Doctor ordered!

I just loved these stories in book form or on TV!