Jeeves & Wooster


kiaer.ts

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I suggest starting with The Inimitable Jeeves. It’s a short story collection, but the stories fit together, there’s continuity, so it’s pretty much a novel. If you’ve seen the TV show you’ll find that most of the stories were adapted (maybe 80%), but “The Great Sermon Handicap” wasn’t, and it’s one of the best.

I’m a huge fan, and I say plan on reading them all, but if you must have a single full novel recommendation to start with I say Right Ho, Jeeves, particularly for the drunken prize scene.

Good, but better in the book. Wodehouse’s stories are often like operetta plots, but with his language replacing the music. Rand’s favourite, The Gypsy Princess by Kálmán, is pretty similar to a Wodehouse plot.

BTW don’t start with Extricating Young Gussie, that was literally the first short story written but it’s not quite in the mold (Jeeves plays virtually no role in it). Not that it’s bad, just not representative.

If you’re into audiobooks, Wodehouse is well represented. Seek out Jonathan Cecil’s versions (Audible has them). Jeremy Sinden’s also great, though I haven’t heard him do any of the Jeeves books.

http://www.objectivistliving.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=8460&view=findpost&p=95359

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  • 1 month later...

I would recommend The World of Jeeves, a collection of 34 short stories of Jeeves and Wooster. It starts out with the story “Jeeves Takes Charge,” where Bertie first meets Jeeves, and it goes right on from there. It also contains the story mentioned above, “The Great Sermon Handicap,” but I haven’t gotten to that one yet.

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I bought this volume when I noticed that a local Bangkok bookstore had many Wodehouse books, and I’d like to read the entire Jeeves canon eventually. I first ran into Wodehouse books in my high school library in the 1960s, and I became an addict. I only got to see a couple of the TV episodes with Fry and Laurie, but they were great.

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-Ross Barlow.

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Edited by Ross Barlow
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I think this is another case where, as with Douglas Adams, I prefer to watch, rather than to read the comedy. I did take several titles out of the library, but found them difficult to get into. But then I found the series broadcast by PBS with Fry and Laurie, and have watched the first four episodes and greatly enjoyed three of them so far.

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I found the series broadcast by PBS with Fry and Laurie

I watched the whole series at least twice before ever picking up one of Wodehouse’s books, so my experience is that it's a great introduction. You'll notice the casting change over the course of it, it's not until the third season that they got a Madeline Bassett who was really ideal.

There’s also a series from the 70’s called Wodehouse Playhouse that’s worthwhile, the main problem with it is that it has a laugh track. There’s no overlap with the Jeeves stories, they mostly come from the Mulliner series.

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I found the series broadcast by PBS with Fry and Laurie

I watched the whole series at least twice before ever picking up one of Wodehouse's books, so my experience is that it's a great introduction. You'll notice the casting change over the course of it, it's not until the third season that they got a Madeline Bassett who was really ideal.

There's also a series from the 70's called Wodehouse Playhouse that's worthwhile, the main problem with it is that it has a laugh track. There's no overlap with the Jeeves stories, they mostly come from the Mulliner series.

They have it on netflix and have added to my queue.

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I'm a third of the way through "Carry On, Jeeves," my first:

I would say laugh out loud, shit in your pants funny, but I'm not sure Jeeves would approve. :unsure:

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I'm a third of the way through "Carry On, Jeeves," my first:

Then you’re about due to read Wodehouse’s ingenious adaptation of Proverbs 6-6.

I would say laugh out loud, shit in your pants funny, but I'm not sure Jeeves would approve. :unsure:

Indeed, he may be forced, with great reluctance, to give his notice. Purple socks he can abide, however briefly, but never dare to bring home a banjolele. For the show they switched it to a trombone.

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Wahoooooo!!!!! Can't wait to see who they cast as the Empress!!!!!

Oh dear. Can you imagine doing Porgy and Bess with an all white cast? Well look what they cast as the Empress:

Now maybe I'm going to be too much of a purist for this. Ugh. The 9th Earl is not vague looking enough. Not even close. And too well dressed. Lady Constance seems good, maybe too young looking. Freddie (I assume the guy with the funny hair is him) looks about right too. No freaking way in hell would Beach the Butler ever do some Ragtime dance while playing piano. Not only does he not play piano, but he 'suffers from his feet'! Haven't these people read the books! AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!

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Can you imagine doing Porgy and Bess with an all white cast? Well look what they cast as the Empress:

Aww, the Empress has handed in her dinner pail! I suspect this is the first manifestation of a curse that will plague all future light-complected porco-thespians who attempt to portray "that magnificent animal". It's going to be like signing on to be the drummer for Spinal Tap, you'll see.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-21571581

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Fun Wodehouse fact: His beloved school Dunwich was founded in 1619 by an actor. who provided for the education of "12 poor scholars, by God's Gift."

Other gifted alumni worthy to stand beside Pelham Grenville include Sir Ernest Shackleton and Raymond Chandler.

It's too Dorothy Dunnett for words.

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  • 8 months later...

I just finished up the new 'homage' novel by Sebastian Faulks. It's pretty good. My experience with it followed a predictable course: first chapter I'm surprised how on-key the writing is, second chapter I'm hearing off-notes but not too bad and not accumulating into a negative impression, and by the end I'd decided it was good enough to recommend. After you've read all the originals.

Here's a really cleverly written review by Christopher Buckley:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/01/books/review/jeeves-and-the-wedding-bells-by-sebastian-faulks.html?_r=0

What, ho? A new Jeeves and Wooster novel? Steady on. Your faithful reviewer may not be the brightest bulb in the old marquee, but dash it, isn't this anno dom 2013, and didn't "the Master" yclept Pelham Grenville Wodehouse ("Plum" to his chums) shove off across the old Rio Styx back in 1975?

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