P.G. Wodehouse Books

Wodehouse's famous Jeeves and Wooster series comes to life wonderfully in this reading of Jeeves Takes Charge. The reader gives character and adds humour to Bertie and Jeeves that makes an outstanding addition to this fabulous collection of stories. Wodehouse's parody is constantly hilarious and the hijinks and faux pas Bertie find himself in get funnier all the time. Highly recommended for both the J&W expert and novice.

If you do not know the Jeeves stories, you are in for a wonderful treat. If you do, your appreciation will grow with the witty reading in this unabridged audio cassette version.

This is a series of short stories that make for nice listening and are just the right length for short car trips. I found myself sitting in front of the store or in my garage several times laughing and smiling as a story wound to a close. I think you will, too.

Bertie Wooster is the narrator, and he is longer on connections and money than brains. Seldom out of bed before late morning, his idea of a busy afternoon is watching the cars go up and down Fifth Avenue from a window in his club. He is English, but is residing in the United States for many of these stories. These stories take place in the early part of the 20th century.

But the hero of every story is Jeeves, his man (valet and butler). Jeeves is one of those brainy chaps who can always find a way. He tries to save Bertie from himself (especially when it comes to unsuitable fiancees and clothes), and always succeeds. Sometimes Bertie feels rebellious and indulges himself anyway in his taste for "far out" clothes or even a mustache. That can put a dent in their relationship, but Bertie always repents and does it Jeeves' way in the end.

Bertie has two redeeming qualities. He loves to help his cronies, who are usually subsisting off some distant aunt or uncle or other. Disaster is always pending should such distant relative stop sending money or write the pal out of the will. In a flap, they come to Bertie for help. He summons Jeeves.

The resulting schemes are always full of hilarious plot complications. Bertie may be off pretending to be someone else while the crony is in jail. Or Bertie may be loaning Jeeves, his apartment, and his clothes to someone else while Bertie unhappily skulks in a hotel room. He does his best to entertain a lot of very conservative people, whom he mostly alienates.

Bertie's other redeeming quality is that he sincerely appreciates Jeeves. To which Jeeves replies, "Thank you, Sir."

This reading beautifully captures the flightiness of Bertie and the subtle nuances in Jeeves. You'll feel like you are in the room as unexpected events intervene, and you can't think of what to do any more than Bertie can. Thank God for Jeeves! The reading also makes wonderful use of the dated language and customs to give the listener a sense of a distance time. They become very charming in this context.

After you finish enjoying these droll tales of witty satire, I suggest you think about all of the places where working together can achieve more. You may not be able to find Jeeves, but you may be able to accomplish more by allying with others whose strengths complement yours and fill in for some of your weaknesses.

Top hole, old chap!

P.S. I was also glad that the recording included a little about P.G. Wodehouse's espousal of the Nazi regime around the time of World War II, for which he became quite unpopular in England. Wodehouse eventually became a naturalized American citizen. The stories do not allude to facist causes or ideas, but even when reading popular fiction it is good to know all about the author's background. Some may wish to boycott the stories on principle, and I can't say I blame anyone who does.

Another masterpiece from P.G. Wodehouse in the Bertie and Jeeves series. This collection of five short stories is wonderfully read by the always entertaining and expressive Alexander Spencer. I can imagine that Wodehouse wrote for a gentleman's ear, so do yourself the honor of listening to this narration.

In one case I can wholeheartedly agree with Tony Blair. In a recent interview he lauded Wodehouse, saying that there is something laugh out loud funny on each page. Hard to know when the next page starts on an audio book, but certainly true here.

From the books and television programs, everyone knows the bumbling well-intentioned Bertie and his super problem solving butler Jeeves. Here both characters are fleshed out a great deal as they go about, spreading sweetness and light. We learn that Jeeves matches wits with the local shrimp on his August vacation, and enjoys the receipt of a gratuity for a job well done, at least to a point. Bertie's endless list of relatives grows longer with each story, as does their penchant for insulting and underestimating him.

In this collection, Jeeves and Bertie take on food Nazis, vicious rugby players, dog girls from the country, elderly gentlemen intent on reining in the excessive behavior of young boys, American soup manufacturers, and oversized advertising posters bearing Bertie's likeness. In all cases, a solution is reached, generally agreeable to the injured, the relations, and perhaps less so, to Bertie.

Get this audiocassette and take along on your next interminable commute or trip to the in-laws.

If you do not know the Jeeves stories, you are in for a wonderful treat. If you do, your appreciation will grow with this witty reading by the marvelous Alexander Spencer of the unabridged audio cassette version of five superb short stories. P.G. Wodehouse conceived of these stories as being in the musical comedy style, and as such they work better when read aloud. Alexander Spencer is the best reader that I have heard of the Jeeves stories.

These stories always make for lots of laughter, and are just the right length for short car trips. Take them along to cut the tedium of traffic during your next day of driving chores.

Bertram (Bertie) Wooster is the narrator in all five stories. Bertie is longer on connections and money than brains. Seldom out of bed before late morning, his idea of a busy day is planning where to take his next vacation. He is an English gentleman, and strives to play the part with the least effort on his part.

But the thinker in every story is Jeeves, his gentleman's gentleman (a combination of valet and butler). Jeeves is one of those brainy chaps who can always find a way. He tries to save Bertie from himself (especially when it comes to unsuitable fiancees and clothes), and always succeeds. In these stories, Jeeves has to extend his reach to bail out Bertie's friends and relatives. And he earns some extra green in the process. Sometimes Bertie wants to make a statement, and indulges himself anyway by creating his own "solutions" and by wearing "far out" clothes. That can put a dent in their relationship, but Bertie always repents and does it Jeeves' way in the end.

Bertie has two redeeming qualities. He loves to help his cronies and family, who are a disaster at romance and handling family stress. How will the species ever be propagated? In a funk, they come to Bertie for help. He usually summons Jeeves.

The resulting schemes are always full of hilarious plot complications. In this case, the complications exceed the normal level in a Jeeves story. Bertie may be trying to convince a friend's wife to get rid of an unsuitable friend. He may be breaking into hotel rooms to rescue his Aunt Agatha's dog. Or he may be pretending to be the cause of an automobile accident caused by his fiancee. In another case, he's trying to bring out the worst in young men. In every other moment, he does his best to entertain a lot of very conservative relatives and other people, whom he mostly alienates. Even his favorite aunt calls him insulting names. What's worse, when he comes up with an idea that may work, everyone assumes that it comes from Jeeves. Bertie just doesn't get any respect except from Jeeves. In these stories, Jeeves' reserve seems to slip more often than usual, so Bertie really feels down.

In each of these stories, Bertie is called upon to execute some very difficult maneuvers without having Jeeves there to buck him up. Now, that's really humbling! The stories have more complications than a Shakespearean romance, as a result.

Bertie's other redeeming quality is that he sincerely appreciates Jeeves in the end. To which Jeeves always replies, "Thank you, Sir." Jeeves has to put up with a lot in these stories before he gets to say his closing line, and you'll appreciate his stiff upper lip. No one else could cosset Bertie and like it the way Jeeves does.

This reading beautifully captures the flightiness of Bertie and the subtle maneuvering and nuances in Jeeves. You'll feel like you are in the room as unexpected events intervene, and you can't think of what to do any more than Bertie can. Thank God for Jeeves! The reading also makes wonderful use of the dated language and customs to give the listener a sense of a distant time. These quaint anachronisms become quite charming in this context.

After you finish enjoying these droll tales of human fallibility, I suggest you think about all of the ways that trying to help others can land you in the soup. Learn from this to look for potential problems before you launch into action. You'll come up with better plans than Bertie does if you do.

Avoid all those rummy spots!

"I have devoured his work repeatedly and voraciously, not merely because he is a great comic writer, but because I think he is arguably the greatest musician of the English language I have ever encountered. He may not have anything to say about Real Life (he would hoot at the very idea) but art practised at that level doesn't have to be *about* anything..."
- Douglas Adams, quoted in Muir's introduction

Only the first 6 Blandings stories in this collection can be found in BLANDINGS CASTLE. (For those unfamiliar with the Earl of Emsworth, there are also several Blandings novels, starting with SOMETHING FRESH).

In the introduction, Muir, who knew Plum (if I may call him so), draws a few comparisons between Plum and Lord Emsworth: both men's lives were run by strong women (Ethel Wodehouse in one case, Emsworth's sister Lady Constance in the other), and they shared "the agony of having to dress up and waste time being social; the disinclination to argue (Plum once tried to arrange with Guy Bolton that should one of them be talked about insultingly the other would not argue but agree, and, if possible, add details)." :) (Muir also quotes a lot of Plum's good lines, which is bound to pep up anybody's writing.)

Lord Emsworth is an elderly, widowed peer devoted to Blandings Castle, his home in Shropshire; his greatest joy is his prize pig, Empress of Blandings, and his greatest trial is his younger son Freddie. As in the Wooster stories, a lot of young people crop up in various states of romantic difficulty. According to Freddie, the family treats Blandings like a Bastille to separate youngsters from unsuitable entanglements (being in Shropshire, it's inconvenient to reach from London).

Emsworth's mind won't stay on anything except important matters, such as whether the roses have greenfly or Whiffles' CARE OF THE PIG. He's not foolish, but it's so hard to get him to concentrate on anything that doesn't interest him that it's usually hard to tell.) His butler has more of a grip than he does, but Beach isn't a Jeeves clone.

"The Custody of the Pumpkin" Blandings has a tyrannical Scottish head gardener, McAllister by name. This story introduces Aggie Donaldson, a young American relation of McAllister's who's just become engaged to Freddie, Emsworth's younger son. Since Emsworth has always dreamed of some eligible girl who'd support Freddie, thus relieving *him* of having to do so, he immediately tries to pressure McAllister into sending Aggie away, leaving 2 problems: 1) Freddie's romantic entanglement, but 2) the bigger problem of Emsworth having sacked his head gardener just before competing in the pumpkin class at the Shrewsbury Show. And Angus McAllister has his pride, of course...

"Lord Emsworth Acts for the Best" - but in this case, his new beard has made him a laughingstock behind his back, to the point where Beach plans to give notice so as to speak his mind. Emsworth, of course, is clueless; he's worried about why Freddie has returned from America 8 months after marrying the daughter of Donaldson's Dog-Biscuits, and sending telegrams that he's in trouble. (Freddie fits right in with Bertie Wooster's crowd, except that he has a job.)

"Pig-hoo-o-o-o-ey!" After Blandings' pig-man got 14 days for being drunk and disorderly on his birthday (that's a good one in itself), the Empress stopped eating, so Emsworth's more worried about the Shropshire Agricultural Show than who his niece Angela wants to marry.

"Company for Gertrude" - another of Emsworth's nieces, sent to Blandings to separate her from an unsuitable young parson. But "Beefy" Bingham was at Oxford with Freddie, and Freddie's back in England, trying to sell dog-biscuits. Unfortunately, Freddie is the last person to know how to impress Emsworth...

"The Go-getter" is Freddie, who's actually a lot like his dad, but about selling dog-biscuits to his aunt Georgiana rather than about Blandings. Even he notices that cousin Gertrude's engagement to Bingham is coming unstuck, now that she's met a BBC tenor staying with Lady Constance - somebody far less promising than Bingham.

"Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend" The 'girl friend' is actually a little girl from London, out for the August Bank Holiday, who wins Emsworth's heart by throwing stones at McAllister, the head gardener - and for her sake, Emsworth might even show a little backbone for once. [Rudyard Kipling considered this one of the most perfect short stories he knew.]

"The Crime Wave at Blandings" Emsworth's little grandson George stalking Blandings with an airgun isn't the problem; the problem is that the *adults* can't be trusted with it after its confiscation. :)

"Birth of a Salesman" Lord Emsworth, attending a wedding in New York, mistakenly chose to stay with Freddie rather than with a female relative with 6 Pekinese dogs. Now that Freddie's finally earning a living rather than sponging on his father, he's gotten uppity about people who neither toil nor spin.

"Sticky Wicket at Blandings" Not only is Freddie at Blandings on another UK sales campaign - so is his uncle Galahad, his father's younger brother. Two generations of no-good younger sons in residence at once. :) Topping it all off, Lady Constance has taken it into her head that Blandings needs a more up-to-date butler than Beach.

If you're making your way through the Blandings cycle, this is a book you need to get. It contains all of the Blandings short stories in one handy volume. Until I found this, I was continually searching libraries for out-of-print short story collections to fill in the gaps between novels. If you want to read them in order, here it is:

1915 Something Fresh
1923 Leave it to Psmith
1924 The Custody of the Pumpkin*
1926 Lord Emsworth Acts for the Best*
1927 Pig-Hoo-o-o-o-ey*
1928 Company for Gertrude*
Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend*
1929 Summer Lightning
1931 The Go-getter*
1933 Heavy Weather
1936 The Crime Wave at Blandings*
1939 Uncle Fred in the Springtime
1947 Full Moon
1950 Birth of a Salesman*
1952 Pigs Have Wings
1961 Service With a Smile
1965 Galahad at Blandings
1966 Sticky Wicket at Blandings*
1969 A Pelican at Blandings
1977 Sunset at Blandings (posthumous)

* Short stories in this collection

Enjoy!

If you've purchased this book and yet already have "A Pelican at Blandings", then you've, essentially, bought the same book twice. The good news is, you can never have too much Wodehouse, as any Bean or Crumpet could tell you.

This is the story wherein Galahad is called to Blandings Castle to help the hapless Lord Emsworth cope with the advent of his newly married sister, the termagant Constance, her charming American friend, Miss Vanessa Polk, and the never-welcome Alaric, Duke of Dunstable. The plot revolves around Alaric's determination to re-sell (at a formidable mark-up) a portrait (the reclining nude alluded to in the title) to a pining American named Trout whose most recent ex-wife resembles the subject of the portrait.

In true Wodehouseian style, sundered hearts are re-united through the aid of the intrepid Gally, in the teeth of Lady Constance and Duke Alaric. If you enjoy Wodehouse and the Blandings series, this is a book for you.

...This book has nothing to do with nudity. The gist of the story is actually about a statue that is lost, and so the way the title can be interpreted is No Nudes is Good News. The content of the book tops all the funny books. The book is hysterical in its own way; the story is very satirical and has many twists and turns. Any one who reads it will enjoy it. :)

P. G. Wodehouse is at his best in "Piccadilly Jim". One or two humorous plotlines simply aren't enough for one of his stories. In this book we have Jimmy Crocker, a playboy of sorts on both sides of the Atlantic he becomes ashamed when his antics may have cost his American father an English Lordship. He decides to take on a different name, because of a girl, and then is forced to pretend to be that person pretending to be himself for the sake of that same girl. His father decides to come to America to be a butler so that he can follow baseball again. There are also kidnapping plots, other people pretending to be someone they aren't, an invention worth stealing, and more; all contained in this one story. If it sounds like it doesn't make sense, then it will when you read this book.

This is a fairly early Wodehouse book, first being published on February 24, 1917 by Dodd, Mean and Company in the U.S., and it was published in May of 1918 in the U.K. by Herbert Jenkins Limited. This book is not part of a series, although the characters Ogden Ford and his mother Nesta were introduced in "The Little Nugget".

Picadilly Jim is the first Wodehouse book I have read and thoroughly enjoyed it.This is not a book that you finish reading in 3 days.You want to take your time and relish the language and the play of words. The story has many layers and each layer is as delightful (if not more) as the previous one.
Cant wait to read another Wodehouse!

I am surprised that the Wodehouse fans out there haven't reviewed this book. According to me this is one of his best works - Sam the sudden has an adorable protagonist Sam , and a host of quirky characters "Hash" the cook/friend , Kay the heroine , "Soapy" and "Dolly" the partners in crime , the cook "Claire Lippet" . The book is set in the suburbs unlike the city or the country as in most of other Wodehouse books. I liked the characters and the dialogues much more than the plot twists. The book is full of outrageously funny situations, but a rather predictable twist at the end. All said and done this one is well worth a read - just to know what "Hash" has to say about love and about Kay's picture.

Probably best known for his Jeeves and Wooster books, P.G. Wodehouse was born in Surrey in 1881. His first book, "The Pothunters", was published in 1902 and he went on to write over 70 novels. He also wrote many short stories, with Jeeves making his first appearance in one of them. This book was first published in 1925 as "Sam the Sudden" in the UK, but as "Sam in the Suburbs" in the US.

The book's hero is Sam Shotter, the nephew of the hugely successful businessman John B. Pynsent. Although from New York, Sam was educated at Wrykyn, in England. (Mike Jackson, Psmith's trusty sidekick, is another former pupil). However, as the book opens, he has been working for his uncle for three months and has succeeded in little more than kissing stenographers, organising high-kicking competitions and generally demoralising the workforce. As a result, Uncle John feels he has no option : Sam is to leave the Pynsent Import and Export Company immediately and take up a position at Lord Tilbury's Mammoth Publishing Company in London. (Lord Tilbury is currently holding negotiations with Sam's uncle and hopes to curry favor with him by 'helping' him with his troublesome nephew). Rather than travelling in luxury with Lord Tilbury on the Mauretania, however, Sam makes the trip to England on the Araminta, a tramp steamer. A close friend of Sam's, Hash Todhunter, is the steamer's pessimistic cook - someone whose company Sam finds a good deal more enjoyable than his future employer. When he finally arrives in London, Sam finds himself a little short on funds. This is largely due to Hash secretly emptying Sam's wallet to back a greyhound at the local dog-track. Luckily, Sam stumbles across Willoughby Braddock, another old Wrykynian. Braddock, despite staying as a guest with a former neighbour, is remarkably drunk and offers to put Sam up for the night. Sam had been on a fishing trip in Canada several months previously and had found a girl's photograph pinned on the wall of a hut he'd taken shelter in. He had, naturally, fallen in love with the girl in the photo. When he discovers the object of his desires, Kay Derrick, lives in the house he is spending the night in, he decides that nothing will stop him winning her heart. The first step in his plan involves renting the empty house next door. Unfortunately, three criminals - Soapy and Dolly Molloy and Chimp Twist - have their eyes on the same house. They believe the proceeds from a former colleagues heist has been hidden in Sam's new home - and they're not about to turn their backs on two million dollars. (They would, however, be quite happy to double-cross each other if it meant they didn't have to split it).

Wodehouse is a very funny author and has a very distinctive style of writing. He isn't afraid to use outrageous twists of fate to make sure that if something can go wrong (or right, depending on your point of view), it will. This was one of the first books by Wodehouse I read, and it remains one of my favorites - I really can't see it failing to raise a smile. As the author himself said : "Sam the Sudden" is darned good.

Wodehouse captures an era that probably never was but many of us wish it had. He does one of his best jobs, capturing Twenties New York at a roar in this neatly done up farce. A true hoot, and you can't beat his use of language. Just like reading a screwball comedy, laughs come often and out loud! The Small Bachelor is not to be missed by any true afficionado of P.G. Wodehouse

The Small Bachelor is the most funny non-Jeeves story I have ever read. I would give five times five stars If I could.

This is the first non Jeeves and Wooster book of Wodehouses's that I've read, and I'm pleased to report that the adventures and exploits of Uncle Fred (aka Lord Ickenham) are just as madcap and droll as those of his more renown duo. As with many of the Jeeves and Wooster stories, the plot revolves around (mis)engagements, misunderstandings, country houses, bonny baby contests, blustering pompous old men, duck ponds, and a constable. However, the difference here is that instead of an idiot (Bertie) getting into sticky situations and being rescued by a genius (Jeeves), we have Uncle Fred, who seems to relish creating havoc and then sorting it all out through a variety of impersonations, good natured lies and blackmail, with general irreverence for one and all. The matchmaking leads to all manner of wacky hi-jinks, and as per usual, Wodehouse's comic timing is impeccable. Of course, the real treat is the language, which sparkles as it amuses. The names are especially good in this one, with Pongo, Bill Oakshot, and Sally Potter leading the way. (Coincidentally, two characters share the names of prominent characters from the Harry Potter saga: constable Harold Potter and Hermonie Bostock.) Uncle Fred is the equal of any Wodehouse character, and look forward to tracking down the rest of his tales.

Wodehouse's books that don't concern Jeeves and Wooster can be a bit hit or miss (or, at least, some of them are so similar that they are pretty much interchangeable). The broad outline of the plot here will seem vaguely familiar to Wodehouse fans, but this book is still definitely among his best. The sharp writing, the softly sarcastic observations, and the jokes are often laugh-out-loud funny. It is a very, very amusing book. Well worth it for Wodehouse fans looking for a few days of quiet pleasure.

Love all of his work & find Books on disc very useful when I travel.

P.G. Wodehouse's best stories are invariably those that involve the butler Jeeves helping the scatterbrained and easy-living Bertie Wooster escape from the fickle hand of fate and his own pranks. Aunts Aren't Gentlemen focuses on Bertie being at the wrong place at the wrong time and being constantly in the soup because of what others do. He valiantly launches forward and needs less help than usual to remain the carefree bachelor about town.

The Cat-nappers starts off innocently enough as Bertie finds himself with disturbing pink spots on his chest. Seeking out a physician's counsel, Bertie gets more than he bargained for when he bumps into Vanessa Cook (who had turned down his marriage proposal the year before) and O.J. (Orlo) Porter (former dorm mate at Oxford who favored left-wing causes) as they lead a protest march that stalls Bertie's car. Porter hops in the car to escape the Bobbies and sells Bertie some life insurance. Porter turns out to be in love with Ms. Cook and is very jealous of anyone who might have an interest in her. At the doctor's office, Bertie runs into Major Plank who had once tried to have Bertie arrested. Fortunately, Plank cannot remember who he is . . . but it's a narrow escape. The doctor tells Bertie the spots will go away, but Bertie's health needs are not being met. He suggests a trip to someplace quiet in the country.

Naturally, Bertie thinks of his Aunt Dahlia and the wonderful meals he always enjoys when he visits her. But she's off visiting elsewhere. She does offer to take a cottage for Bertie so he can visit with her.

Once there, things go badly downhill. Naturally, Bertie does it to himself to some extent. Ignoring Jeeves's advice, he takes a wrong turn and ends up with a nasty scare. From there, the complications build to their humorous conclusion as cat thieves, bettors, lovers, churchmen and angry horsemen blunder about in silly circles that provide much delight to the reader. Naturally, Bertie's always at the wrong place at the wrong time . . . but at the right place at the right time to make us laugh!

One of the special charms of this story is that Bertie tries very hard to do the right thing . . . and finds it exceptionally difficult to do so.

As the book ends, Bertie notes that the problems with the world boil down to the comment that "Aunts Aren't Gentlemen."

Peace is what you carry with you.