Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves

1963, 1990 Harper & Row edition
P. G. Wodehouse
Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves
Bought newish for $9.00
Slightly worn paperback
C+

In the real world, it's been 25 years since The Code of the Woosters, but it's only a month or two since that ill-fated visit to Totleigh Towers.  There's a reference to "reefers," but it could still be the 1930s, and a movie Bertie mentions, The Lady Vanishes, did come out in 1938.  But there's no question that the staleness of Wodehouse's 1950s writing continues.  There are some nice turns of phrase here and there, but nothing particularly memorable.  There's a heavy sense of de ja vu, relieved only when Gussie elopes with Pauline Stoker's previously unmentioned sister, causing Roderick Spode to propose to Madeline Bassett, to everyone's joy, Bertie's especially.  Wodehouse has two particularly clumsy passages in the second half of the book, a phone conversation with Aunt Dahlia that's unnecessary, and a "now let me get this straight" recap with Major Plank.

Still, it's Jeeves & Wooster, and that's almost always a pleasant time-passer.  Also, this has my favorite Wodehouse cover, featuring Bertie in his Alpine hat, as Bartholomew the Scottie and Sir Watkyn Bassett glare at him.  (A nice touch is that the statuette Bertie is trying to steal looks like a chocolate version of Sir Watkyn, monocle and all.)

Wodehouse published two more of these novels (plus "Jeeves and the Greasy Bird," which I discussed under The World of Jeeves), so he wasn't quite through with these characters.  In Much Obliged, Jeeves (1971), Madeline's engagement is temporarily broken, so she tries to hitch up with Bertie, who also risks re-engagement to Florence Craye.  Plank returns in Aunts Aren't Gentlemen (1974).  Wodehouse died the following February, at age 93.

The Butler Did It

1956
P. G. Wodehouse
The Butler Did It
C+


This is much better than the first three stories from the collection in that it has a decent plot, and plot twist, about a marriage tontine (bet).  There are again typos, and at least the third character named Bill in the volume, but I wasn't as restless as before.  Hardly classic Wodehouse, but on a level with If I Were You.  The volume averages out to a C, so I won't be keeping it.  Oh, and the title of this story could apply to any of the five stories, since they all contain butlers, although Avenel seems to think Jeeves is a butler, rather than a valet.

Bertie Wooster Sees It Through

1955
P. G. Wodehouse
Bertie Wooster Sees It Through
B-

It's so nice to have Bertie back as narrator that I don't mind that this is one of the weaker stories in the series.  It refers to events in Joy in the Morning (1946), which I'm not sure if I've read, but that book has Aunt Agatha becoming the stepmother of Lady Florence Craye, Bertie's former fiancée who's now betrothed to "Stilton" Cheesewright.  Both Florence and Stilton appear in this novel, as do Aunt Dahlia (who's only been publishing Milady's Boudoir for three years somehow), and Roderick Spode, now Lord Sidcup.  So we're further along in the Wooster chronology, but I'm not sure how much, beyond it's July and Humphrey Bogart is a popular actor.  (1941 maybe?)

Yes, there are typos, including a whole line of narration replaced by a line that also appears later.  The original title of the story was Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit, which fits the story better, but perhaps the publishers of this collection didn't want "Jeeves" in two titles of the five.  For those keep tracking, this is at least the second time that Bertie has grown facial hair that Jeeves has disapproved of.  There's a reference to David Niven's mustache, which almost counts as in-joke, since Niven played Bertie back in 1936. 

Wodehouse has a bit of fun with his own age in his musings on book dedications, telling his friend, "I have rather gone off dedications these last forty years or so," and speaking of how it was "back at the turn of the century."  By this point, Wodehouse was about 74, and he had indeed been publishing since 1902.  He was far from done of course, and there's still one more story in this collection....

The Return of Jeeves

1953
P. G. Wodehouse
The Return of Jeeves
C-

Don't let the title get your hopes up.  Yes, Jeeves returns, but he's working for someone else while Bertie is off getting post-war lessons on taking care of himself, like ironing.  Jeeves's new employer has no patience with Jeeves's literary quotes, or much other appreciation of him.  Again, we get staleness, typos, and warped romance.  (This time, "I'll steal a pendant from the woman I gave it to years ago, even though she thinks it's from one of her late husbands, so I can use it to bet on a race, and then you can marry your girl, who is suspicious of you sneaking out of my woman's room in your pyjamas.")  No mention of Hollywood though.

The Old Reliable

1950
P. G. Wodehouse
The Old Reliable
C-

This is much like Spring Fever, in that it is a bit boring, has lots of typos, mildly satirises Hollywood, and presents a warped view of romance.  The title character is "Aunt Bill," short for Wilhelmina, a down on her luck writer who one, has had a mostly unrequited crush on her sister's brother-in-law for twenty years even though he's scared of marriage; two, encourages her friend Joe to keep proposing to her niece Kay, even though Kay has turned him down fifteen times and he has threatened to break a bottle over Kay's head; and three, slips a Mickey Finn into Joe's drink to make Kay feel sorry for him.  (It works.)  Meanwhile, Bill is ghost-writing her sister's autobiography about being an actress in the silent-movie days.  And there's a red-hot diary by another actress, now dead.  And a butler who knows how to crack safes.  And lots of quotes of Shakespeare by Bill.  And it feels rather stale, all the more so for then almost 70-year-old Wodehouse attempting to be modern.  (At one point he uses "Hedy Lamarr" and "Lily Langtry" in the same sentence.)

Spring Fever

1948, as part of 1983 Avenel edition of P. G. Wodehouse: Five Complete Novels
P. G. Wodehouse
Spring Fever
Original price $15.70, purchase price $9.99
Good condition hardcover
C-

Unlike the '30s Jeeves books, I seldom reread this volume, and this story is a good example of why.  The plots and subplots are kind of boring.  Also, the "hero" likes to jokingly insult and threaten violence to the "heroine."  There are occasional flashes of the Wodehouse wit, and a bit of insight into Hollywood, but it's rather a slog to get to them.  Not exactly terrible, but not something I'd recommend.  The title has little to do with the story, other than it's set in the spring, and the cast is mostly dim-witted, although not feverish.

Also, this novel is riddled with typos, often of the extra-letter-in-a-word variety, I suspect due to Avenel trying to cash in on Wodehouse's name.

The Code of the Woosters

1938, 1975 Penguin edition
P. G. Wodehouse
The Code of the Woosters
Bought used for $1.50, but "for copyright reasons this edition is not for sale in the U.S.A.," so I'm not sure where it came from.
Very worn paperback
B

This is the favourite Jeeves & Wooster novel for Alexander Cockburn and many others, and I'm baffled as to why.  It is good to see Madeline and Gussie and Aunt Dahlia again, as well as to meet "Pop Bassett" and Roderick Spode the dictator, as well as Stiffy and Stinker.  (Probably the funniest nicknamed couple in all of Wodehouse.)  But there are no hilarious moments like in Right Ho, and the plot isn't jaw-dropping.  It's just good solid work, like his short stories.

There's a reference to a plot in the Blandings Castle saga, but I've never been that fond of Wodehouse's other works, so I couldn't tell you about their chronology.  This is set within a year of the summer of Right Ho, Jeeves, and with the "Black Shorts" that would seem to make it 1933 or later.  Wodehouse doesn't get particularly political, but he's certainly as ready to mock fascists as he is to mock communists. 

The cover art for this edition, by Ionicus, is frustrating because it captures a dramatic moment in the story, and yet Bertie has been illustrated as a plump, grey-haired man with pince-nez.  Bertie at this point is in his early 30s and he's always been slender.  He does not wear spectacles, although he does make them out of himself.

Right Ho, Jeeves

1934, 1985 Penguin edition
P. G. Wodehouse
Right Ho, Jeeves
Original price $3.95, purchase price unknown
Very worn paperback
A-

This came out the same year as  Thank You, Jeeves, but it can't be set the same year because it takes place in late July, early August, shortly after the return of Bertie, his Aunt Dahlia, and his cousin Angela from two months in Cannes.  It's set after both "Clustering Round Young Bingo" and "Jeeves and the Yule-Tide Spirit," but since several summers are spoken for, I'll put it in 1932.  Actually, I think the novel is also set after "The Ordeal of Young Tuppy," since I believe that's the one where Tuppy's Pekinese-hat insult first crops up, and I put that short story in 1931.  So, yeah, the summer of 1932.

Whenever it's set, it's a great story, the first Wodehouse I read and in many ways still my favorite.  There is a joke about Uncle Tom (Dahlia's husband) turning black and playing the banjo, but the novel is much less racist than its predecessor.  And it's much funnier, particularly Bertie's turns of phrase.  If I have to narrow it down, I love the plate of well-kicked sandwiches, anything about tigers, and Gussie's drunken prize-giving speech.  The Fry & Laurie television version does justice to these and so much of the book.

Bertie, resenting people's preference of Jeeves's advice to his, takes it upon himself to mend two romances, that between Tuppy & Angela, and that between two new characters.  He of course bungles it, but once again Jeeves saves the day.  The newbies are not the typical couple who pass through and then disappear (e.g. Sippy and Elizabeth), but they actually return to complicate Bertie's life in future novels.  They are two geeks, Gussie Fink-Nottle the newt-fancier and Madeline Bassett the amateur poet.  Madeline thinks Bertie is in love with her, while he thinks she's incredibly soppy.

"'Every time a fairy sheds a tear, a wee bit star is born in the Milky Way.' Have you ever thought that, Mr. Wooster?'"
I never had. Most improbable, I considered, and it didn't seem to me to check up with her statement that the stars were God's daisy chain. I mean, you can't have it both ways.

Add in Anatole the French chef who speaks American and British slang, Uncle Tom griping about paying his taxes, and of course the fuss about Bertie's white mess jacket, and so much else, and, well, it's one of my favorite books by anyone, not just Wodehouse.

Thank You, Jeeves

1934, 1989 Harper & Row edition
P. G. Wodehouse
Thank You, Jeeves
Bought newish for $7.95
Slightly worn paperback
B-

As Wodehouse says, in another of his delightful Prefaces, this is the first Jeeves novel.  It's set in a surprisingly specific time period, July of 1931.  This is clear not only because Bertie says it's July, but because a policeman speaks of crime statistics for 1929 and 1930.  Therefore, the short story "Jeeves and the Greasy Bird" must be Christmastime 1932.

The most obvious way the book is dated, aside from a reference to Janet Gaynor, is the unfortunate and recurring use of the N-word, in reference to minstrels.  Bertie takes up banjo-playing and he hopes to get some tips from the troupe who are performing in Chuffnell Regis.  He and Sir Roderick Glossop both end up in blackface by the end.  Not only is it offensive, but it's not particularly funny.

Other than that, the first full-length Bertie scrape is fairly well-done.  Sir Roderick is gradually denemesised, to be replaced by rich, bullying American J. Washburn Stoker as the scariest of Bertie's prospective fathers-in-law.  Bertie got engaged, offstage, back in April to Stoker's daughter Pauline, but now she wants to team up with his friend Chuffy.  (Real name Marmaduke, which to a late-20th-century person like myself immediately conjures up the image of a not-so-great Dane.)  However, as Jeeves remarks, Bertie is "one of Nature's bachelors."  This doesn't mean that Bertie is gay, although I have a theory that he's closeted to himself.  "The attitude of fellows towards finding girls in their bedroom shortly after midnight varies. Some like it. Some don't. I didn't."


Another odd thing about this book is Brinkley, or rather two odd things.  Jeeves understandably doesn't want to be cooped up in a country cottage with Bertie playing the banjo.  (Harper & Row do awesome covers for their books, and this one, although not strictly matching the text, captures Jeeves's annoyance perfectly.)  So Bertie gets a new man, who has the same name as his aunt's manor.  Mr. Brinkley dislikes Bertie, who for some reason thinks this makes Brinkley a Communist, although there's no textual evidence.

The World of Jeeves

1931, 1989 Harper & Row edition
P. G. Wodehouse
The World of Jeeves
Bought newish for $10.95
Worn paperback with cracking spine
B


If I could count all these short stories separately, Wodehouse would start out with a lot of posts but, while these were originally published from 1919 to 1930 (with two more added for the 1967 edition), these are not the original versions.  I learned this when I checked The Initimable Jeeves out from the library.  There were some of these stories, but one had a character described as "looking like Lillian Gish coming out of a swoon," while the version here has either Marlene Dietrich or Greta Garbo.  It seems that for the '31 edition, references to earlier actresses got changed to either Dietrich or Garbo.  In fact, in one story Lillian Gish is contrasted as a silent-film star to Dietrich and Garbo.  There's a mention or two of Clara Bow, which is more mid-'20s than early '30s but less dated than Gish.


While Wodehouse in his charming introduction recommends reading just three or four of these stories a day, I of course powered through the 600+ pages, and I do think of this collection as having one chronology, although admittedly muddled.  Based on textual clues, here's what I think:


Several of the early stories take place in the same year and even have references to the month, or at least season.  "The Great Sermon Handicap" happens on Sunday, 23 August, while "The Metropolitan Touch" has Bingo's play on Friday, 23 December.  Since it's impossible for one calendar to contain both dates, I'm weighing the latter as more because the twins might be confused about when Sunday is but Bingo has to put out publicity for his play.  23 December fell on a Friday twice in the 1920s-- 1921 and 1927.  Neither date is entirely satisfactory, but I'm going with the latter.


Summer 1926, "Jeeves Takes Charge"
Late April or early May of 1927, "Jeeves in the Springtime"
May or June, "Scoring off Jeeves"
Early summer, "Sir Roderick Comes to Lunch" and "Aunt Agatha Takes the Count"
July, "Comrade Bingo"
August, "The Great Sermon Handicap"
Early September, "The Purity of the Turf"
November and December, "The Metropolitan Touch"
Perhaps late October of 1928, since it's nearly 18 months since "Jeeves in the Springtime," we get the end of Bingo constantly falling in love, as he gets married in "Bingo and the Little Woman."


Not too long after that, we have "Clustering Round Young Bingo," and then "Jeeves and the Impending Doom" sometime after.  Let's say late '28, early '29 tentatively for at least the first of these.  "The Delayed Exit of Claude and Eustace" can't occur too much after "Sir Roderick Comes to Lunch," since Claude and Eustace are sent down from college, and they're about four years younger than Bertie.  Our hero by the way is 24 in "Jeeves Takes Charge," since it's nine years since he was 15.


The stories set in the U.S. have to be bunged in somewhere, so let's say 1929 and '30.  "The Artistic Career of Corky" covers at least a year, and some of the other American adventures could've happened then.


Let's say Bertie returns to England in 1930.  "Without the Option" is supposed to be one year before "The Inferiority Complex of Old Sippy."  And then at the beginning of August, we get "The Love that Purifies" (with all the schoolboy crushes on actresses), this story being the summer after "Impending Doom."  So perhaps "Impending Doom" takes place a couple years after "Clustering Round."


1928 "Clustering Round"
1929 and 1930 American adventures (with a reference to Calvin Coolidge, so it can't be before '23)
1930 "Without the Option" and "Jeeves and the Impending Doom"
1931 "The Inferiority Complex of Old Sippy" and "The Love That Purifies"

Meanwhile, we're introduced to Tuppy Glossop and Bobbie Wickham in "Jeeves and the Yule-Tide Spirit."  Let's say Christmas of 1930.  Months later (1931), comes "Jeeves and the Song of Songs."  Another Yuletide tale is "The Ordeal of Young Tuppy," which refers to Tuesday the 17th, of either November or December.  There is a Tuesday, 17 November for 1931, so that works.

"The Episode of the Dog McIntosh" takes place not only after the American sequence but after "Yule-Tide Spirit," again possibly 1931.  "Jeeves and the Kid Clementina" also happens after "Yule-Tide Spirit," and after the Jeeves-narrated "Bertie Changes His Mind."  It can also be chucked into 1931.

Confusingly, "Jeeves and the Greasy Bird" is set at Christmas one year after the novel Thank You, Jeeves, which came out in 1934.  But this story was written in '66.  ("Jeeves Makes an Omelette" is from '59.)  For now, we'll tentatively say '35 for setting.

"Jeeves and the Old School Chum" takes place in the autumn, a few years after "Clustering Round Bingo," so it could be as early as '31.

There are a few stray stories that don't refer to season or year, but this covers most of the collection.  So, for the most part this book is set 1926 to '31.

Now that that's out of the way, yes, I've read this book a lot.  I discovered Wodehouse in my early 20s, and not long after that, I saw the delightful Fry & Laurie adaptations of Jeeves and Wooster.  (Not 100% faithful in regards to plotting or casting, but faithful to the spirit.)  Wodehouse tells of how reluctant he was to "sell his soul for gold," which made "a blush mantle his cheek" when he "took typewriter in hand" to update his introduction in 1967.  By then he had allowed film and television versions, and "today I should not object very strongly if somebody wanted to do Jeeves on Ice."


If I may state the obvious, Wodehouse is funny.  Born in 1881, he was a young man when Queen Victoria died and, in a different way than E. M. Forster, he gently mocks Victorianism.  In particular, he's got a gift for deflating literary cliches, including cross-pollinating them with then-modern slang.  He lived until 1975 but had long before become frozen in time.  (To get a sense of this span, think of how he ruined one of W.S. Gilbert's jokes at a dinner party, and a young Stephen Fry wrote him a fan letter.)  It's odd to think that this collection came out the year he turned 50, but for Jeeves, as Wodehouse observed in '67, "it would be difficult to think of an end that was less yetter."


It's difficult to see this book in isolation, and I want to give it a higher grade, but that's the problem with frequent readings.  I don't laugh out loud anymore.  I admire certain phrases but I'm long familiar with them.  I don't have any favorite stories, since they all seem about on a level.  I will note that, as with Austen, there are characters that would be annoying in real life but are amusing in print.  (Something Wodehouse didn't manage in If I Were You.)  Interestingly, it's the people that Bertie likes best, like his Aunt Dahlia and some of his friends, that cause him the most trouble.  He thinks Dahlia is much better than Agatha, but she's constantly insulting his intelligence and giving him difficult tasks.  And I don't know why he puts up with Bingo and Tuppy, although it is entertaining to the reader.

Back on the subject of chronology (sorry), it's unclear how long he's known either Bingo or Tuppy.  He claims that he and Bingo were born in the same village within a few days of each other and grew up together, and yet at one point he says they've been friends for 15 years.  Similarly, either he's befriended Tuppy Glossop recently, despite the latter being the nephew of the dreaded Sir Roderick Glossop, or he went to school with Tuppy.  The novels don't exactly clear this up.

If I Were You

1931, 1989 International Polygonics edition
P. G. Wodehouse
If I Were You
Bought newish for $7.95
Slightly worn paperback
C+

In general, I don't care as much for the non-Wooster works of Wodehouse.  The characters tend to be less appealing, and the stories lack Bertie's unique narrative style.  Here, none of the characters held my interest or support.  As the introduction by D. R. Bensen notes, there are two "Deplorable Duos" among the cast, but I didn't find them enjoyably dreadful, and the same goes for Freddie, Slingsby the butler, and Meech the barber.  As for the romantic couple, they seem to confuse him carrying her around the room for wooing.  Also, I know it's just comedy and not a politico-psychological treatise, but I would've liked to have seen how Sid's "socialism" impacted his attitude to his (temporary) elevation to earldom.  Furthermore, the novel reads like a novelisation of a stageplay, with three scenes and a lot of entrances and exits.

I do think that the cover illustration, by Tim Raglin, is perfect, with Sid sizing up a portrait of a medieval ancestor, who in turn looks stunned by this descendant.  And I actually found the parts about barbering interesting.  As for the rest, it's not terrible, but it's definitely not a "lost classic."