F.R.'s Reviews > Thank You, Jeeves

And so we come to the first of Jeeves and Wooster novels.

I wonder how nervous PG Wodehouse was when he sat down to write this book. After all, here he had characters who had proven their worth in short stories, but would the material really stretch far enough for a whole novel? Could he spin out a plot that would sustain such a length? Was there a danger of the whole thing becoming episodic, a series of short stories joined together? Old P.G. always came across as a jovial and sanguine individual, but when he sat down to write this was there some sweat on the old brow? If so he needn’t have worried. ‘Thank you, Jeeves’ is a delight, which shows Wodehouse at the absolute top of his game.

Using the country house formula that he would most definitely make his own, Wodehouse introduces some unfamiliar conflict into the central relationship by having the master and the valet separate over Wooster’s love of banjolele playing. But they’re soon thrown together into a tight locale, with lots of opportunity for Jeeves to pull the young master out of the fire – as they confront an aggressive American millionaire, his flighty daughter, nosey policeman, a psychotic and socialist butler and Sir Roderick Glossop.

The 21st century reader may raise an eyebrow at the stuff with the blackface, but then this is a relic of a different time whilst still being fairly timeless (and if we want to go down that judging everything by modern PC standards route, then this would won’t hold up for long – Wodehouse’s female characters will certainly wilt under scrutiny.) What this book offers is comic situations piled onto comic situations, combined with one of the best prose styles in literature. And all one can do is sit back and enjoy the ride and marvel at how smooth it all is.