The Inimitable Jeeves

by P. G. Wodehouse

Overview

Reginald Jeeves, usually referred to as just Jeeves, is a fictional character in a series of comedic short stories and novels by English author P. G. Wodehouse. Jeeves is the highly competent valet of a wealthy and idle young Londoner named Bertie Wooster. First appearing in print in 1915, Jeeves continued to feature in Wodehouse's work until his last completed novel Aunts Aren't Gentlemen in 1974, a span of 60 years.

Both the name "Jeeves" and the character of Jeeves have come to be thought of as the quintessential name and nature of a valet or butler, inspiring many similar characters (as well as the name of the Internet search engine Ask Jeeves, now simply called Ask.com). A "Jeeves" is now a generic term as validated by its entry in the Oxford English Dictionary.[1]

Jeeves is a valet, not a butler; that is, he is responsible for serving an individual, whereas a butler is responsible for a household and manages other servants. On rare occasions he fills in for someone else's butler. According to Bertie Wooster, he "can buttle with the best of them."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781989708378
Publisher:	Binker North
Publication date:	05/30/1923
Pages:	298
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.62(d)

About the Author

P. G. Wodehouse was born in England in 1881 and in 1955 became an American citizen. He published more than ninety books and had a successful career writing lyrics and musicals in collaboration with Jerome Kern, Guy Bolton, and Cole Porter, among others.

Date of Birth:

October 15, 1881

Date of Death:

February 14, 1975

Place of Birth:

Guildford, Surrey, England

Place of Death:

Southampton, New York

Education:

Dulwich College, 1894-1900

Table of Contents

Introduction
A Note on the Text
Jeeves in the Springtime
Aunt Agatha Takes the Count
Scoring Off Jeeves
Sir Rodrick Comes to Lunch
Jeeves and the Chump Cyril
Comrade Bingo
The Great Sermon Handicap
The Purity of the Turf
The Metropolitan Touch
The Delayed Exit of Claude and Eustace
Bingo and the Little Woman

What People are Saying About This

Evelyn Waugh

Wodehouse’s idyllic world can never stale. He will continue to release future generations from captivity that may be more irksome than our own. He has made a world for us to live in and delight in.

Stephen Fry

You don’t analyze such sunlit perfection, you just bask in its warmth and splendor.

Lynne Truss

You should read Wodehouse when you’re well, and when you’re poorly; when you’re travelling, and when you’re not; when you’re feeling clever, and when you’re feeling utterly dim. Wodehouse always lifts your spirits, no matter how high they happen to be already.

Editorial Reviews

Martin Jarvis brings the madcap world of Bertie Wooster and his brilliant valet Jeeves to life with canny comedic timing and wildly varied voices that capture the essence of each of the many characters. In P.G. Wodehouse's classic stories about a gentleman and his gentleman's gentleman, we follow the hapless but lovable Bertie from one misadventure to the next-accidental engagements, calamitous lunches with the terrifying Aunt Agatha, clashes with noted nerve specialists and run-ins with bizarre political parties-each imbroglio neatly put right in the end by the faithful Jeeves. Jarvis perfectly conveys the spirit and sheer joy of these beloved stories in an audio book that will delight both Wodehouse fanatics and newcomers to the author's work. An Overlook hardcover.(Apr.)

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Publishers Weekly

It's getting harder and harder to find mediocre recordings of Wodehouse's "Jeeves" novels, and this new one merely adds to what is already an embarrassment of riches. First published in 1923, this book contains ten loosely connected stories that retain their vigor and hilarity nearly 80 years later. Among the wonderful characters introduced are Bertie's perpetually love-struck pal, Bingo Little, and the latter's eventual bride, Rosie M. Banks, author of such sentimental slops as A Red, Red Summer Rose. Best of all, however, are "The Great Sermon Handicap" and "The Purity of the Turf"--unforgettable tales about unlikely gambling competitions, in which Jeeves--as always--comes out on top. Frederick Davidson's reading of Wodehouse is getting even better--if that's possible--making any library's purchase of this audiobook as near a "cert" as a flutter on the Rev. Heppenstall's sermon on "Brotherly Love."--Kent Rasmussen, Thousand Oaks, CA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

"Oh, how I love Wodehouse! Ever-surprising in his repetitiousness, never failing to delight, always making us safe in his breezy world. It is paradoxical that Wodehouse should give me so much comfort when he also makes me feel how mean and shabby my life is each time I emerge from one of his novels."

The New York Times - Hernan Diaz

• "We Woosters do not lightly forget. At least, we do - some things - appointments, and people's birthdays, and letters to post, and all that - but not an absolutely bally insult like the above."
• "Warm-hearted! I should think he has to wear asbestos vests!"
• "I suppose he must have taken about a nine or something in hats. Shows what a rotten thing it is to let your brain develop too much."

― P.G. Wodehouse, The Inimitable Jeeves

From the Publisher

You should read Wodehouse when you’re well, and when you’re poorly; when you’re travelling, and when you’re not; when you’re feeling clever, and when you’re feeling utterly dim. Wodehouse always lifts your spirits, no matter how high they happen to be already.

Lynne Truss

Wodehouse’s idyllic world can never stale. He will continue to release future generations from captivity that may be more irksome than our own. He has made a world for us to live in and delight in.

Evelyn Waugh

Wodehouse is the funniest writer—that is, the most resourceful and unflagging deliverer of fun—that the human race, a glum crowd, has yet produced.

The New Yorker

You don’t analyze such sunlit perfection, you just bask in its warmth and splendor.

Stephen Fry

Martin Jarvis is enchanting in his portrayal of a full cast of characters in this set of stories featuring protagonist Bertie Wooster, a wealthy, somewhat dim, but well-intentioned young man, and Wooster's butler, Jeeves, who saves the day time and time again when Wooster's ill-advised plans go awry. Jarvis narrates Wooster's character with the right measure of panache and gives Jeeves a delightfully superior air. As Wooster's love-prone friend Bingo Little, Jarvis strikes a tone that sounds somewhat like a weakling, which seems an odd choice, but he still manages to make it work. A versatile narrator, Jarvis brings THE INIMITABLE JEEVES to life with ease. S.E.G. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

JUNE 2009 - AudioFile