Something New (Blandings Castle #1) ★★★★☆

 

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Title: Something New
Series: Blandings Castle #1
Authors: PG Wodehouse
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Humor
Pages: 183
Words: 75K

Synopsis:

From Wikipedia.org

Ashe Marson and his fellow lodger Joan Valentine discover that they both work as writers for the Mammoth Publishing Company. Joan urges Ashe to overcome his discontentment and take a fresh direction in life.

Meanwhile, Freddie Threepwood, younger son of the Earl of Emsworth, is engaged to marry Aline Peters, the daughter of American millionaire J. Preston Peters. Freddie pays a visit to a shady fixer, R. Jones, hoping to recover letters he once sent to a certain chorus girl, feeling they might be used to make a breach of promise case against him. His father later calls on Aline's father to view his collection of scarabs and absent-mindedly puts Mr Peters’ prize exhibit in his pocket. Though Peters suspects the Earl, he cannot confront him for fear of endangering his daughter's marriage.

Aline is being pursued by George Emerson, a Hong Kong police officer, who wishes to marry her. Having befriended Freddie Threepwood, George has been invited to Blandings Castle, the family home, at the same time that Aline and her father are paying a visit. R. Jones finds the address of Freddie's ex-sweetheart, Joan Valentine, who tells him she has long since destroyed any letters she may have had from Freddie. As Jones is leaving, Aline, a former school friend of Joan, arrives on a visit, and the suspicious Jones listens at the door. Hearing that Aline's father is offering £1,000 to anybody who can retrieve his scarab, Joan decides that she will go herself to Blandings, posing as Aline's maid, so as to recover the scarab and scoop the reward. Acting separately, Ashe answers a newspaper advert and is engaged as his valet by Mr. Peters, who is looking for somebody to steal back the scarab during his visit to Blandings.

Ashe informs Joan about this as they both take the train from London. During the trip Joan warns Ashe of the complicated system of etiquette observed among servants of a large house. She hopes this will persuade him to give up his quest and remove himself as her competitor. After their arrival, Ashe is terrified to be interviewed by the butler, Beach, and has to listen to a recital of his troubles with his feet and his stomach. Mr Peters also has stomach trouble and Ashe threatens him with non-cooperation unless he takes some exercise and stops smoking cigars.

At night, Ashe and Joan are both trying to get at the scarab when Lord Emsworth's watchful secretary, Rupert Baxter, nearly catches them. Next morning, Ashe and Joan decide to become allies and, after flipping a coin, agree to take turns at stealing the scarab. Since Aline is following the same reduced diet as her father, George steals downstairs to prepare her a midnight feast and collides with Ashe in the dark hall. They start a noisy fight but escape after the suspicious Baxter trips over them and is found surrounded by food and broken china by the time the lights are turned on. He is blamed for waking everyone and roundly criticised by Lord Emsworth for going in search of food in the middle of the night.

The next night is Joan's turn to make her attempt, but she finds the scarab has already gone. Putting together clues, she and Ashe discover that Freddie needs money to pay R. Jones, who is pretending that Joan is demanding it for the return of his letters. But Freddie is an admirer of the detective tales that Ashe writes and decides to trust him, confessing to the theft and returning the scarab. As Ashe leaves, Lord Emsworth arrives to announce that Aline has eloped on the train to London with George Emerson, who has been recalled to Hong Kong. Freddie is more relieved than hurt at this revelation.

When Ashe returns the scarab, Mr Peters offers to take Ashe back to America as his personal trainer in reward for the improvement in his health. Ashe hesitates long enough to ask Joan to marry him, and she admits she has been grieving at what seems to be the end of their partnership; as a result, a scullery maid looking out of the window has her dull life enriched as she sees them kissing.

My Thoughts:

First things first. The American title is “Something New” while the UK release is titled “Something Fresh”. I can only imagine that thoughts of rotting fish is what prompted the title change by the US publishers.

It's been over a year since I last read a book by Wodehouse. Chris Dolley's Reeves & Worcester series was a nice little interlude and made me realize that my tolerance for Wodehousian humor had returned and thus it was time to return to the master. I was not disappointed.

Unlike the Jeeves and Wooster series, there one was not one (or two really) main characters with one of them being a clueless idiot. While Ashe and Joan are the ostensible main characters, you get just as much input from others that it didn't feel like the story revolved only around them. It was also nice that they weren't blithering idiots but hardworking, smart and dependable people. But have no fear! If blithering idiots is what gets your motor running, Wodehouse does include Freddie. Freddie is an idiot of the Wooster school. Thankfully, his part was rather small, as I find that too much can make it wear very thin, very fast.

There is a tv show based on the Blandings Castle series and I have watched it. It was quite amusing too and I'll probably stick it back on my watch list. Nothing in it touched on this story (there are 12 Blandings books I believe) so I don't know if it takes its storyline from later books or just takes the characters and does its own thing. Either way, it was nice and light, just like this book.

I do recommend this book.

★★★★☆

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The Jeeves Omnibus #5 (Jeeves Omnibus #5.3) ★★★★☆

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot, Librarything & Bookype by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: The Jeeves Omnibus #5
Series: Jeeves Omnibus #5.3
Author: PG Wodehouse
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Humor
Pages: 120
Words: 43K

Synopsis:

A trio of short stories consisting of:

Extricating Young Gussie

Jeeves Makes An Omelette

Jeeves and the Greasy Bird

My Thoughts:

This was a fitting end to the Jeeves and Wooster Omnibus series. While each of the short stories had been published before, they had never been published in one volume.

Nothing spectacular but at the same time I think the short story format works best for the Jeeves and Wooster stories. There's only so much Bertie Wooster one can stomach in one go and short stories allow one to dash in for a bite, then skip out again until one is hungry for another bite. Whereas a novel forces you to sit down at the monstrously huge mahogany table with the Edwardian chairs and dine on each course as they are served to one. That is great if Chef Anatole is doing the cooking, but if it's Chef Boyardee, well, that's a different matter altogether!

I started this Jeeves Omnibus read back in April of 2018 with Thank You, Jeeves. Here I am now, 2 ½ years later, finishing things up. I have loved reading this and looked forward to them each time. Some were definitely better or worse than others but I never regretted my time reading these.

Given the nature of this series, if I ever choose to do a re-read, I suspect I'll only re-read the stories that got 4stars from me. But who knows? Wodehouse tickles my funny bone and very few authors can do that as consistently as he has done.

So let's give 3 cheers for Jeeves and Wooster, give a hearty “What Ho” to their antics and then have some tea to cool ourselves off from all that exertion. Pip, pip, cheerio and God save the Queen, govnah!

★★★★☆

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Aunt's Aren't Gentlemen (Jeeves Omnibus #5.2) ★★★☆½

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Aunt's Aren't Gentlemen
Series: Jeeves Omnibus #5.2
Author: P.G. Wodehouse
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Humor
Pages: 178
Words: 37K

Synopsis:

From Wikipedia

Concerned by pink spots on his chest, Bertie goes to see E. Jimpson Murgatroyd, the Harley Street doctor recommended by his friend Tipton Plimsoll (who himself saw Murgatroyd for spots in Full Moon). On the way, Bertie sees Vanessa Cook, a headstrong girl he once proposed to but no longer wants to marry, leading a protest march. She is with her fiancé Orlo J. Porter, an acquaintance of Bertie's. Orlo and Vanessa are unable to marry since Vanessa's father, the trustee of Orlo's inheritance, refuses to give Orlo his inheritance because Orlo is a communist.

Bertie finds Major Plank (who was told that Bertie is a thief called Alpine Joe in Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves) in the doctor's waiting room, though Plank does not recognize Bertie. Murgatroyd tells Bertie that the spots will go away, but recommends that Bertie get fresh air and exercise in the country. Bertie's Aunt Dahlia is going to Eggesford Hall, the home of her friend Colonel James Briscoe in the town of Maiden Eggesford in Somerset, near the seaside resort of Bridmouth-on-Sea, and gets a cottage called Wee Nooke for Bertie there. Jeeves is disappointed that they must cancel their upcoming trip to New York, but has the consolation that he will see his aunt in Maiden Eggesford.

At Maiden Eggesford, Bertie walks to Eggesford Hall, but goes to Eggesford Court, the home of Vanessa's father Mr. Cook, by mistake. Seeing a black cat with white fur on its chest and nose, Bertie pets it and moves to hold it. Cook sees this and thinks Bertie is stealing the cat. After he threatens Bertie with a hunting crop, Plank, who is Cook's guest, advises Bertie to leave, which he hastily does. Jeeves informs Bertie that Cook's horse Potato Chip and Briscoe's horse Simla will soon compete in a race at Bridmouth-on-Sea, and to perform well, Potato Chip must be near this stray cat that it recently befriended.

Vanessa urges Orlo to demand his inheritance from Cook. When Orlo refuses, she ends the engagement and decides she will marry Bertie. Bertie doesn't want to marry her, but is too polite to turn her down.

Aunt Dahlia has bet on Simla's victory in the race, and arranged for poacher Herbert "Billy" Graham (a joking reference to evangelist Billy Graham) to kidnap the cat to sabotage Potato Chip. Graham brings the cat to Bertie's cottage, but Bertie pays Graham to return the cat to avoid trouble.

After suggesting that Orlo approach Cook about his inheritance after Cook is mellowed by a good dinner, Jeeves goes to visit his aunt, Mrs. Pigott. Plank remembers that Bertie is Alpine Joe, and he and Cook suspect Bertie of stealing the cat. Graham fails to return the cat, so Bertie tries to return it himself. Carrying the cat up to Eggesford Court, Bertie trips and loses it. The cat ultimately goes back to Bertie's cottage.

Orlo is unable to convince Cook to give him his inheritance, yet Vanessa is happy that Orlo confronted her father anyway, and they elope. At his cottage, Bertie is accosted by Cook and Plank, who believe that Vanessa wants to marry Bertie. Bertie hands over a letter from Orlo proving that Orlo and Vanessa eloped. Cook is apologetic to Bertie, until the cat wanders in.

Thinking Bertie stole the cat, Cook and Plank tie him up. Cook brings the cat back to Potato Chip while Plank leaves to fetch the police. Jeeves appears and unties Bertie. Plank returns and initially thinks Jeeves is a policeman called Inspector Witherspoon (from Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves), but Jeeves denies this. Pretending to be Bertie's solicitor, Jeeves convinces Plank that he is mistaken about Bertie, since Bertie, having ample wealth, has no reason to be a thief like Alpine Joe.

Jeeves realized that the stray cat actually belongs to his aunt. Bertie and Jeeves make a deal with Cook to lend him the cat until the race is over and not press charges for tying Bertie up, in exchange for Cook paying Mrs. Pigott a fee and giving Orlo his inheritance.

Bertie and Jeeves go to New York, which Bertie finds much calmer and quieter than Maiden Eggesford. In a letter, Aunt Dahlia's husband Tom Travers writes that the race was awarded to Briscoe's Simla after Cook's cat ran across the racecourse and startled Simla. Bertie is pleased for his aunt. However, he attributes the tranquility of his and Jeeves's stay in New York to their distance from aunts, particularly Aunt Dahlia, who, though genial, has a lax moral code. The trouble with aunts, Bertie tells Jeeves, is that they are not gentlemen.

My Thoughts:

So this was the last published novel by Wodehouse about Jeeves and Wooster. There are another book's worth of short stories, etc, but I'm closing in on the end of the adventures!

While this was just as amusing as some of the other books, I found myself not as amused. I don't know if it was because I'm getting burnt out on Wodehouse's particular brand of humor or if it was life or work or what. I still enjoyed this and I recommend Wodehouse still but you know, at some point things just need to stop or be taken a break from.

Bertie is spineless and that pretty much sums up why everything happens to him. If he'd just make ONE decision his whole life would change. But he can't do that and so he just slides from one situation into another. Makes you feel kind of sorry that such people actually do exist. Without a guardian like Jeeves, someone like Bertie slides right under a bus and dies.

Crap, am I in a melancholic mood or what!?!? Sorry, future me. I hope you are a brighter ray of rainbow unicorn sunshine than me at this moment.

★★★☆½

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Much Obliged, Jeeves (Jeeves Omnibus #5.1) ★★★☆½

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Much Obliged, Jeeves
Series: Jeeves Omnibus #5.1
Author: P.G. Wodehouse
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Humor
Pages: 256
Words: 40K

Synopsis:

From Wikipedia.com

Jeeves types a report of Bertie's latest misadventures for the club book of the Junior Ganymede Club, in which the club's members are required to record information about their employers, to inform those seeking employment about potential employers. Bertie worries that his embarrassing information will fall into the hands of his judgmental Aunt Agatha and asks Jeeves to destroy the pages about him, but Jeeves asserts that the book is secure and refuses to defy the rules of his club.

An old school friend of Bertie's, Ginger Winship, is standing for the House of Commons in a by-election at Market Snodsbury, near the home of Bertie's Aunt Dahlia, Brinkley Court, on the wishes of his strict fiancée. Aunt Dahlia persuades Bertie to come to Brinkley to assist in the canvassing. Before departing, Bertie has drinks with Jeeves at the Junior Ganymede. They discuss how Ginger's chances for election will be hurt if the public learns about his rowdy past (mild by Bertie's standards but potentially offensive to the traditional rural populace of Market Snodsbury). At the club, they see an uncouth ex-valet that Bertie once employed, Bingley, who greets Jeeves in an overly familiar fashion, calling him "Reggie".[4]

At Brinkley, he discovers Ginger's fiancée is the overbearing Florence Craye, who has previously been betrothed to several people, including Bertie. Florence mistakenly believes that Bertie still wants to marry her, and Bertie's personal code prevents him from telling her otherwise. The intimidating Roderick Spode, 8th Earl of Sidcup has come to deliver speeches for Ginger, and he has brought his fiancée, Madeline Bassett. Like Florence, Madeline thinks Bertie wants to marry her and Bertie is too polite to correct her.

Also present is L. P. Runkle, a financier and collector, who is visiting Brinkley to sell a silver porringer worth nine thousand pounds to Bertie's uncle Tom Travers (who has fled Brinkley Court to avoid the guests). Runkle was the employer of the late father of Bertie's friend Tuppy Glossop, and profited from Tuppy's father's invention, leaving little for Tuppy and his father. Dahlia wants to soften up Runkle and get him to pay Tuppy his due so Tuppy can finally marry his fiancée, Angela, Aunt Dahlia's daughter.

Ginger's chances for election (and thus his engagement to Florence) are threatened by Bingley, who has purloined the Junior Ganymede club book. Bingley intends to sell its pages about Ginger to his opponent or to the local newspaper. To prevent this, Jeeves pays Bingley a social visit, taking the opportunity to slip him a Mickey Finn and recover the book.

Surprisingly, this does not please Ginger. After disappointing Florence in his performance at the Council meeting, he no longer wants to marry her, and has fallen in love with his secretary, Magnolia Glendennon. Like Bertie, Ginger is prevented by his personal code from telling a woman he does not want to marry her. To spur Florence to break the engagement, Ginger wants the local newspaper to print the club book's pages about him, but Jeeves is unwilling to part with the book. Meanwhile, Spode is entranced by the reception he is getting at his speeches for Ginger, and thinks of renouncing his title and running for the Commons himself. This upsets Madeline, who wants to become a Countess. Madeline considers marrying Bertie instead of Spode.

Aunt Dahlia, failing to convince Runkle to give Tuppy any money, has stolen the silver porringer he wished to sell to Tom. Bertie tries to return the porringer, but is caught, and hides the object in his bureau drawer. At the candidate debate, Ginger, following Jeeves's advice, endorses his opponent and resigns the race. Havoc ensues between the opposing sides, and those present, including Spode and Florence, are pelted with produce. Florence breaks her engagement with Ginger, and he promptly elopes with Magnolia.

Bingley (in Runkle's employ) discovers the missing porringer in Bertie's drawer, and Runkle accuses Bertie of the theft. While Bertie faces jail time, this has the positive effect of keeping Florence from trying to marry Bertie. Spode realises he would prefer to stay in the produce-free House of Lords and chooses to keep his title. He and Madeline reconcile.

Finally, Jeeves reveals secrets about Runkle written about him by Bingley in the club book, preventing him from pressing charges against Bertie, and also forcing him to give Tuppy his legacy. Noting that Bingley was able to steal the club book, Bertie again asks Jeeves to destroy the eighteen pages that Jeeves wrote about Bertie. Jeeves states that he has already done so.

My Thoughts:

I don't know what it was, but while this was still quite enjoyable, the “zest” seemed not to be there for me. Part of that is because I watched the BBC production with Frye and Laurie and the final episode took a lot of the story from this book, so everything wasn't all shiny and new. I also am wondering if Wodehouse was simply running out of steam for this Dynamic Duo. This is the 13^th book in the series for goodness sake.

There was no chortling on my end. A slightly raised eyebrow and a quirk of the lip were about the limits my expressions of joy and delight while reading this. I felt very Jeeve'ish.

The lesson I learned from this? If there is a movie/tv version of a book, read the bleeding book first so you don't ruin it for yourself with the boobtube version. Once you've read the books, then I HIGHLY recommend the Frye & Laurie rendition of Jeeves & Wooster.

★★★☆½

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Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves (Jeeves Omnibus #4.3) ★★★☆½

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves
Series: Jeeves Omnibus #4.3
Author: P.G. Wodehouse
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Humor
Pages: 240
Words: 45K

Synopsis:

From Wikipedia

Jeeves comes home after serving as a substitute butler at Brinkley Court, the country house of Bertie's Aunt Dahlia. She tells Bertie that Sir Watkyn Bassett was there and was impressed with Jeeves. Additionally, Sir Watkyn bragged about obtaining a black amber statuette to Aunt Dahlia's husband, Tom Travers, who is a rival collector.

Jeeves dislikes Bertie's new blue Alpine hat with a pink feather. Bertie continues to wear the hat, and has lunch with Emerald Stoker, the sister of his friend Pauline Stoker who is on her way to the Bassett household, Totleigh Towers. He then sees Reverend Harold "Stinker" Pinker, who is upset that Sir Watkyn has not given him the vicarage, which Stinker needs to be able to marry Stephanie "Stiffy" Byng, Watkyn Bassett's niece. Stinker tells Bertie that Stiffy wants Bertie to come to Totleigh Towers to do something for her, but knowing that Stiffy often starts trouble, Bertie refuses.

Gussie Fink-Nottle is upset with his fiancée Madeline Bassett, Sir Watkyn's daughter. Jeeves suggests that Bertie go to Totleigh Towers there to heal the rift between Gussie and Madeline, or else Madeline will decide to marry Bertie instead. Though Bertie does not want to marry Madeline, his personal code will not let him turn a girl down. Bertie reluctantly decides to go to Totleigh, saying, “Stiff upper lip, Jeeves, what?”.[2] Jeeves commends his spirit.

At Totleigh Towers, Madeline is touched to see Bertie, thinking he came to see her because he is hopelessly in love with her. Sir Watkyn's friend Roderick Spode, formally Lord Sidcup, loves Madeline but hides his feelings from her. At dinner, Madeline says that her father purchased the black amber statuette from someone named Plank who lives nearby at Hockley-cum-Meston. Stiffy says the statuette is worth one thousand pounds.

Jeeves tells Bertie that Gussie is unhappy with Madeline because she is making him follow a vegetarian diet. The cook has offered to secretly provide Gussie steak-and-kidney pie. The cook is in fact Emerald Stoker, who took the job after losing her allowance betting on a horse. She has fallen for Gussie.

After telling Bertie that Sir Watkyn cheated Plank by paying only five pounds for the statuette, Stiffy orders Bertie to sell it back to Plank for five pounds, or else she will tell Madeline that Gussie has been sneaking meat, and then Madeline would leave him for Bertie. Stiffy takes the statuette and gives it to Bertie. Bertie goes to Hockley-cum-Meston and meets the explorer Major Plank. Plank mentions that he is looking for a prop forward for his Hockley-cum-Meston rugby team.

When Bertie tries to sell the statuette back to him for five pounds, Plank assumes Bertie stole it from Sir Watkyn, and intends to call the police. Jeeves arrives, saying he is Chief Inspector Witherspoon of Scotland Yard. He tells Plank that he is there to arrest Bertie, claiming that Bertie is a criminal known as Alpine Joe. Leading Bertie safely away, Jeeves tells him that Sir Watkyn actually paid the full one thousand pounds for the statuette and had lied to spite Tom Travers. Jeeves returns the statuette to Totleigh Towers.

Spode sees Gussie kissing Emerald, and threatens to harm him for betraying Madeline. When Stinker moves to protect Gussie, Spode hits Stinker. Stinker retaliates, knocking out Spode. Spode regains consciousness, only to be knocked out again by Emerald. Seeing Spode on the ground, Madeline calls Gussie a brute. He defiantly eats a ham sandwich in front of her, and their engagement ends. Gussie and Emerald elope. Sir Watkyn offers Harold Pinker the vicarage, but changes his mind when he finds out that Stinker punched Spode. Meanwhile, Madeline resolves to marry Bertie.

Major Plank, after learning from a telephone call with Inspector Witherspoon that Harold Pinker is a skilled prop forward, comes to the house and gives him the vicarage at Hockley-cum-Meston. Because of this, Stiffy no longer needs the statuette, which she stole a second time to blackmail Sir Watkyn, so she gives it to Jeeves to return it.

Hiding from Plank behind a sofa, Bertie overhears Spode and Jeeves convince Madeline that Bertie did not come to Totleigh Towers for love of her but rather because he wanted to steal the statuette, which Jeeves says he found among Bertie's belongings. Madeline decides not to marry Bertie. Spode proposes to Madeline and she accepts. Bertie is discovered and Sir Watkyn, a justice of the peace, intends to make Bertie spend twenty-eight days in jail. After being arrested by Constable Oates, Bertie spends the night in jail. In the morning, Bertie is released. Sir Watkyn is dropping the charge because Jeeves agreed to work for him. Bertie is shocked, but Jeeves assures him it will only be temporary. After a week or so, he will find a reason to resign and return to Bertie. Moved, Bertie wishes there was something he could do to repay Jeeves. Jeeves asks Bertie to give up the Alpine hat. Bertie agrees

My Thoughts:

By the time I was done with this book I wanted to read another. Light and funny really hit the spot at the moment and if one of something is good, then isn't two of something even better? Thankfully, I DO know better. The humor in these books continues to work for me BECAUSE I know when I've had enough. I am rather proud of myself, to be honest, for not only finding this balance, but sticking to it as well. It is much easier to gorge on chocolate eggs until you're sick and then not eat another for 6 months than to simply eat one chocolate egg every 3-4 weeks for 6 months.

Of course, the problem with reading so many of these books (this IS the twelfth one so far) is that at some point you run out of things to say about the story, especially when the stories all run in similar veins.

But they're still working for me and I'm still smiling at the antics of Bertie Wooster and his superhuman gentleman's gentleman Jeeves! So eat some fish to make your brain bigger, get some spineless friends and have a laugh at your local castle!

★★★☆½

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Jeeves in the Offing (Jeeves Omnibus #4.2) ★★★☆½

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Jeeves in the Offing
Series: Jeeves Omnibus #4.2
Author: P.G. Wodehouse
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Humor
Pages: 200
Words: 41.7K

Synopsis:

From Wikipedia

An old friend Bertie went to preparatory school with, Reginald "Kipper" Herring, is staying with Bertie for a week. Bertie eagerly accepts an invitation from his aunt, Aunt Dahlia, to her home, Brinkley Court, since Jeeves is about to go to Herne Bay on holiday. Aunt Dahlia's husband, Bertie's Uncle Tom, is trying to make a business deal with an American named Homer Cream. While the two of them are in Harrogate, Mr. Cream's wife Adela Cream, an author of mystery stories, and their son Wilbert Cream are staying at Brinkley Court. The mischievous Roberta "Bobbie" Wickham, and Aubrey Upjohn, who was once Bertie and Kipper's oppressive headmaster, will also be there, along with Phyllis Mills. She is Upjohn's stepdaughter and Aunt Dahlia's goddaughter. Upjohn hopes to stand for a local election after giving a speech at the Market Snodsbury grammar school, and Phyllis is typing his speech.

Before going to Brinkley Court, Bertie learns that Kipper, who works for a weekly paper and is vengeful towards Upjohn, wrote a scathing, anonymous review of Upjohn's recently published book. Jeeves tells Bertie that Willie Cream is a notorious troublemaking playboy known as "Broadway Willie". After Jeeves leaves, Bertie sees a jarring announcement in The Times stating that he is engaged to Bobbie.

At Brinkley Court, Bertie finds Wilbert Cream reading poetry to Phyllis. He then finds Bobbie, who assures him that the engagement announcement was merely to scare her mother, who dislikes Bertie, into approving the man Bobbie really wants to marry, Reginald Herring.

While her regular butler Seppings is away on holiday, the psychiatrist Sir Roderick Glossop is working undercover for Aunt Dahlia as a butler named Swordfish. Upjohn is urging his daughter Phyllis to marry Wilbert. Aunt Dahlia does not approve of Willie's reputation, so at her behest, Glossop is there to observe Wilbert's behaviour. Bertie tries to keep Wilbert away from Phyllis. By letter, Jeeves informs Bertie that Willie Cream is a kleptomaniac. Uncle Tom's silver cow-creamer goes missing.

While Bobbie is away, Kipper comes to Brinkley Court. He was engaged to Bobbie, but thinks it is over after seeing the marriage announcement for Bertie and Bobbie. He is relieved when Bertie tells him the announcement was fake. Glossop searches Wilbert Cream's room for the cow-creamer, and bonds with Bertie. Bobbie ends her engagement to Kipper after reading an angry letter he wrote when he first saw the marriage announcement, and proclaims she will marry Bertie. Bertie does not want to marry her, but is prevented by his personal code from turning down any woman, so he drives to Herne Bay to get help from Jeeves. Jeeves agrees to return to Brinkley with Bertie. Bobbie soon forgives Kipper's letter, but Kipper, to spite Bobbie, becomes engaged to Phyllis.

Aunt Dahlia tells Bertie that Wilbert Cream did not steal the cow-creamer. Uncle Tom sold it to him. Meanwhile, Upjohn intends to sue Kipper's paper for libel. While his review was mostly legitimate, a small libellous portion was secretly added by Bobbie. Apologetic, Bobbie reconciles with Kipper. Glossop suggests that Kipper save his job by rescuing Upjohn from drowning. After Bertie and Bobbie fail to push Upjohn in the nearby lake, Bertie and Phyllis's dog Poppet fall in instead. Kipper dives in to help Bertie, mistaking him for Upjohn, and Wilbert dives in to help Phyllis's dog Poppet. Moved, Phyllis gets engaged to Wilbert. This initially upsets Aunt Dahlia, though it turns out that Wilbert is not actually the infamous Broadway Willie: that is his younger brother, Wilfred.

Upjohn becomes aware that Kipper wrote the scathing review and refuses to stay in the same house. Jeeves packs for Upjohn, neglecting to pack Upjohn's typed speech. After receiving the typescript from Jeeves, Bobbie makes Upjohn withdraw his libel suit before she returns it to him.

Thinking Wilbert stole it, Glossop confiscated the cow-creamer. Adela Cream finds the cow-creamer in Glossop's room and thinks he stole it. To prevent a misunderstanding, Glossop has revealed his true occupation. Following Jeeves's advice, Glossop has claimed he had been brought to observe Bertie and had recovered the cow-creamer from Bertie's room. Bertie is upset that the Cream family thinks he is a kleptomaniac, but Jeeves placates Bertie by saying that he has the satisfaction of helping his uncle. Bertie, remembering receiving gifts from Uncle Tom while at prep school, replies, "How right you are, Jeeves!"

My Thoughts:

By this time I have begun to realize that most stories about Jeeves and Wooster follow a loose pattern. Bertie gets ensnared into some imbroglio or other. He makes the situation worse by trying to solve it himself. He asks Jeeves for help. Jeeves apparently makes things worse but in the end reveals that that was just a part of his machinations and everything turns out according to plan.

Sure enough, this had most of those elements. Jeeves plays a VERY small part in this novel while Bertie tries to solve things on his own multiple times (usually he learns after one disastrous attempt) and of course, his attempts are huge failures.

In most of these stories by Wodehouse I tend to find at least one character very annoying. Sometimes it is Bertie Wooster, sometimes it is one of his friends, sometimes it is one of the love interests of his friends and sometimes it is the “villain” of the story. This time around it was the love interest Roberta “Bobby” Wickham. I wanted to take her over my knee and just paddle her for the absolute nonsense she spouted and completely idiotic actions she took. I considered knocking this down to a 3star just because of her, she really annoyed me that much.

Other than her, I enjoyed this quite a bit. I'd read this back in '07 but honestly, I don't remember reading it or any of the details so it was like I read it for the first time all over again. Apparently I also enjoyed it a lot more this time around, as last time I only gave it 2 stars. I'm guessing I had even less empathy for Bobby Wickham back then :-D

★★★☆½

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• Jeeves in the Offing (2007 Review)

Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit (Jeeves Omnibus #4.1) ★★★★☆

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit
Series: Jeeves Omnibus #4.1
Author: P.G. Wodehouse
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Humor
Pages: 304
Words: 49.3K

Synopsis:

From Wikipedia

Bertie has grown a moustache, which Jeeves disapproves of. G. D'Arcy "Stilton" Cheesewright, a fellow member at the Drones Club who has drawn Bertie's name in the annual club darts sweep, becomes jealous when Cheesewright’s fiancée Florence Craye says she loves Bertie's moustache. Florence and Bertie were engaged in the past, and Stilton mistakenly believes Bertie still loves her. Stilton is also jealous of Percy Gorringe, a playwright dramatizing Florence's novel Spindrift.

Disappointed with Stilton after he refuses to grow a moustache, Florence asks Bertie to take her to a night club for research for her next novel. Hoping to talk her into returning to Stilton, Bertie agrees. However, the night club is raided. When Florence tries to run away, Bertie trips a policeman chasing her. Florence escapes and Bertie spends the night in jail before paying a fine of ten pounds. Shortly afterward, Florence and Stilton reconcile when Stilton agrees to grow a moustache.

At her home of Brinkley Court, Aunt Dahlia, Bertie's aunt who runs a magazine called Milady's Boudoir, is trying to sell the paper to the Liverpudlian newspaper magnate Mr. Trotter, who brought along his wife Mrs. Trotter and his stepson, Percy Gorringe. Aunt Dahlia has hired the successful novelist Daphne Dolores Morehead, who is staying at Brinkley, to write a serial for Milady's Boudoir, to make the magazine appear successful to Mr. Trotter. Aunt Dahlia is also trying to win over Mr. Trotter with the magnificent cooking of her French chef, Anatole, though this does not seem to be working.

Florence has also gone to Brinkley Court. Aunt Dahlia tells Bertie to come to Brinkley to cheer up Percy, who is in love with Florence and upset that she is with Stilton. Stilton discovers that Florence and Bertie went to a night club together, and breaks his engagement to her by telegram. He comes to Brinkley Court, seeking revenge on Bertie, who avoids Stilton.

Bertie learns from Aunt Dahlia that she pawned the pearl necklace her husband Tom Travers bought her to pay for the new serial, without telling Tom. She is wearing a fake pearl necklace instead, and fears that Lord Sidcup, a jewellery expert who is coming to see Uncle Tom's silver collection, will reveal the necklace as a fake. Jeeves suggests that Bertie act as a burglar and steal the fake necklace. Bertie attempts to do so but mistakenly enters Florence's bedroom. She is moved to see him and assumes that he is in love with her. When Stilton comes to return her letters, Florence says she will marry Bertie, and Stilton, finding Bertie in Florence's room, becomes aggressive. Bertie saves himself by reminding Stilton about the Drones Club darts sweep: hurting Bertie could cost Stilton fifty-six pounds and ten shillings. Uncle Tom locks Aunt Dahlia's necklace in a safe. In addition, Lord Sidcup is revealed to be the recently elevated Roderick Spode.

After selling his Drones Club darts sweep ticket to Percy Gorringe, Stilton again threatens Bertie. Bertie tries, unsuccessfully, to fend off Stilton with a cosh, though Stilton forgets about Bertie and Florence when he sees Daphne Dolores Morehead and falls for her. Seeing Uncle Tom's safe open, Bertie takes a pearl necklace he sees there. Next he talks to Aunt Dahlia, who says she took the fake necklace from the safe. The necklace Bertie took belongs to Mrs. Trotter. Bertie tries to put back the second necklace, but is unable to do so since Mr. Trotter shuts the safe door.

At breakfast, Aunt Dahlia's butler Seppings presents Mrs. Trotter's pearl necklace on a salver, stating that he found it in Jeeves's room. Though Bertie prepares to confess stealing the necklace to save Jeeves, Jeeves says he planned to find the necklace's owner, since he realized the pearls were fake and assumed the necklace belonged to a housemaid. Spode, or Lord Sidcup, confirms the pearls are fake. Percy admits that he pawned his mother's real pearl necklace to produce the play based on Florence's novel. Florence is touched, and she and Percy get engaged.

Mr. Trotter dislikes Anatole's cooking. However, he feels much better after having one of Jeeves's special drinks, and purchases Milady's Boudoir. Grateful to Jeeves, Bertie agrees to shave off his moustache.

My Thoughts:

Much like authors, I am going to dedicate this review to someone. I've never understood why authors do that, because who cares? I'm doing it because I like poking people for the fun of it :-D Back when I started this Jeeves series, or maybe even before, I talked with Irresponsible Reader on one of his posts and he really doesn't like the humor of Wodehouse. I on the other hand absolutely LOVE the humor in these books. So, HC, here's mud in your eye ;-)

This was a full length novel but surprisingly, to me, I enjoyed the whole thing. It didn't feel overly long or stretched out. The stupid-humor of Bertie Wooster never grated or came across as “too much”. So many mis-happenings and accidents just made me smile.

Now, I never did find myself laughing out loud, as I have in previous books, but I also never groaned. It felt very much like a “Classic Jeeves” story. Besides a short story collection, this felt like a high point.

★★★★☆

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Very Good, Jeeves (Jeeves Omnibus #3.3) ★★★★☆

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Very Good, Jeeves
Series: Jeeves Omnibus #3.3
Author: P.G. Wodehouse
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Humor
Pages: 273
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Another collection of short stories about Bertie Wooster and his fish-fed super-brainy man-servant, Jeeves.

Whether it is potential marital status change for Bertie (who seems to be afraid of said status), or a friend being forced to eat nothing but vegetables because of his wife's friend, or an Aunt forcing Bertie to something he doesn't want to (like pay off a waitress who Bertie's Uncle George wants to marry), Bertie is always in a maelstrom of chaos. Thankfully, with Jeeves guiding the good ship Wooster, the apparently inevitable crash upon the rocks never happens and it is smooth sailing, until the next adventure.

My Thoughts:

The only complaint I have about short story collections is that it is wicked hard to synopsize each and every one. So as I've written before, and I'm sure you may have noticed, I simply don't. Of course, I also have to complain about these omnibus editions, yet again. This book was the 3^rd book published by Wodehouse and yet it is the 9^th book in these collections. It also has no relationship in time to the previous book or two. What phracking idiot curated these anyway? I'd like to make them walk the plank, after I've tied them to the mast and given them a taste of the cat'o'nine tails!

Staying on the nautical theme, this was a boatload of fun. Captain Wodehouse excels in navigating the reader through a funny story that has a beginning, a middle and an end all within 10-40 pages. For the most part, Wodehouse's humor tickles my fancy so even if the particulars of a story doesn't really interest me, the humorous shenanigans do and that keeps me reading. I experienced no doldrums while on this pleasure cruise and what's more, none of the offerings gave me food poisoning or led me to being sick.

Good times!

★★★★☆

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