The Jeeves Stories
November 9, 2008
I’ve recently begun a fascination with the Jeeves and Wooster stories by Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse. While you’re likely familiar with the notion of Jeeves as a know-it-all, proper English butler, you may not be familiar with its origins.
In fact, Jeeves was born in 1917 along with Bertie Wooster. Jeeves serves as Bertie’s valet (not butler).
The essential concept that drives the Jeeves stories is that the brilliant valet is firmly in control of his rich and foppish young employer’s life. Much of the comic effect derives from the fact that the clueless Bertie Wooster, who narrates most of the stories, is for the most part blissfully unaware of how he is being manipulated. When Bertie gets into one of his scrapes, leading to an unwanted social obligation, legal trouble, or marriage engagement, Jeeves invariably comes up with a subtle plan to save the day, often without Bertie’s knowledge.
To this point, I have made it through a number of stories collected in compendiums and novels. I believe it is best to begin at the earliest stories and read each collection chronologically as themes and references from previous stories find their way to later Wooster-Jeeves “situations”.
Despite being written nearly a century ago, the characters and situations remain entertaining and often hilarious. The pre-World War II English slang is oddly addicting and entertaining all on its own.












