Jeeves & Wooster

The double-act of Bertie Wooster and his faithful, omniscient butler Jeeves is the greatest comic pairing in literature. Millions of fans worldwide have laughed at the travails of bumbling Bertie and delighted at the felicitous solutions devised by Jeeves to extricate his master from 'the soup'. In this story Bertie Wooster finds himself on a losing streak and lands himself at the mercy of his aunts, Dahlia and Agatha, and only Jeeves is capable of extricating him from disaster.

In this story Bertie is our narrator, and we become part of the early 20th century life in titled Britain through entering his social circle. Most of what happens to him is unexpected to him and to us, and is hilariously funny. This is a story where Bertie tries his hand at singing.

Pelham Grenville Wodehouse (1881 1975), a native of Guildford, England, was probably the greatest writer of comedy in the 20th century. With each passing year, his work continues to grow in popularity. Jeeves, the omniscient, highly competent valet, and Bertie Wooster, the upper-class, feather-brained gadabout, are his two most famous creations. His stories are generally characterized by intricate plots dealing with human foibles and complex, romantic entanglements.

Jeeves stays his hand. Yes, that's right. Even though a particularly well-upholstered friend of Aunt Agatha chucks her bleary-eyed milk sot of a son, Bertie, for a month. Jeeves refuses to rally to the cause. Of course if Bertie would simply throw out the offensive tie and hat, things might be smoothed over soon enough. But Bertie, just this once, has decided to be firm.

This selection of hilarious short stories takes the habitually clueless Bertie Wooster to New York. Thankfully, his faithful butler, Jeeves, is along to straighten out the wickets when they get a bit sticky, don't you know. Selections include "Leave It To Jeeves", "Extricating Young Gussie", "Jeeves Takes Charge", "Jeeves and the Hard-Boiled Egg", "Jeeves and the Unbidden Guest", "Jeeves and the Chump Cyril", and "The Aunt and the Sluggard".

The ubiquitous butler, Jeeves, comes to the rescue of his new master, Bertie Wooster, from a fate worse than death, so they say. And in the second tale, poor Bertie is summarily dispatched to New York, by an overbearing aunt, to extract his cousin from an amorous affair with a vaudeville artiste! How absolutely dreadful! Jeeves’ managing of affairs offers such wonderful amusing stories that make us laugh and enjoy his ingenuity to the fullest.

As usual, Bertie and Jeeves are in a feud over wardrobe selections. Bertie's Aunt Agatha is hanging over him like a dark shadow, and there is a friend in need - in this case, Cyril.

Aunt Agatha breaks her icy silence and asks Bertie to look after a fellow Englishman, Cyril, who is visiting in New York. She only has one stipulation: keep Cyril off the American stage. But by the time Bertie gets the imperiling word, Cyril lands a part in a musical comedy. And with Jeeves turning a bit of a cold shoulder after a bust up over some purple socks, what's a Wooster to do?

Containing drafts of stories later rewritten for other collections (including Carry On, Jeeves), My Man Jeeves offers a fascinating insight into the genesis of comic literature’s most celebrated double-act. All the stories are set in New York, four of them featuring Jeeves and Wooster themselves; the rest concerning Reggie Pepper, an earlier version of Bertie.

There were times when Bertie Wooster, the fictional narrator of these stories, was thought of as being at least a trifle feather-brained. However, he had a valet who seemed to know everything about everything. These are among more than 300 short stories written by a man who began a short-lived career in banking after his college days. However, it didn’t take long for P. G. Wodehouse to decide he didn’t like that kind of job, and he began writing in whatever spare time he had.

Wodehouse introduces us once again to the "wonder butler" Jeeves, who, as usual is able to solve any and all of Bertie Wooster's endless problems with ease and finesse. And he also introduces us to a character not dissimilar to Bertie . . . by name of Reggie. Such fun to follow Jeeves in the hijinks!

First published in the UK in May 1919, My Man Jeeves is a compilation of short stories by P. G. Wodehouse. Of the eight stories in the set, half presents the famous characters Jeeves and Bertie Wooster, whereas the others concern Reggie Pepper, an early prototype for Wooster.

 My Man Jeeves, first published in 1919, introduced the world to affable, indolent Bertie Wooster and his precise, capable valet, Jeeves. Some of the finest examples of humorous writing found in English literature are woven around the relationship between these two men of very different classes and temperaments. Where Bertie is impetuous and feeble, Jeeves is coolheaded and poised.  

My Man Jeeves, first published in 1919, introduced the world to affable, indolent Bertie Wooster and his precise, capable valet, Jeeves. Some of the finest examples of humorous writing found in English literature are woven around the relationship between these two men of very different classes and temperaments. Where Bertie is impetuous and feeble, Jeeves is coolheaded and poised.

“I have the honour to offer up to you, thanks to the good people of Audible, a selection of some of my very favourite Wodehouse. If these stories are new to you I hope it will be the beginning of a lifelong pleasure, if some or all are familiar I hope you will welcome them like old friends.” (Stephen Fry). Audible Studios presents this brand new performance by Stephen Fry of some of his favourite Jeeves stories from P.G. Wodehouse, with an exclusive introduction.