Jeeves

In the stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse, Reginald Jeeves is Bertie Wooster's valet and the namesake of the series of books about him and his employer. He is the quintessential "gentleman's personal gentleman" and is Wodehouse's most famous character.

The Jeeves books

Wodehouse's work is often divided into "series" due to the preponderance of reccurring characters and settings; the stories and novels about Bertie and Jeeves are often called "the Jeeves books".

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The concept which eventually became Jeeves actually preceded Bertie in Wodehouse's mind: he had long considered the idea of a butler – later a valet – who could solve any problem. A character named Reggie Pepper, who was in all respects very much like Bertie but without Jeeves, was the protagonist of four short stories; Wodehouse soon decided to rewrite the Pepper stories, switching Reggie's character to Bertie Wooster and combining him with an ingenious valet. In his autobiographical Bring on the Girls!, Wodehouse suggests that Jeeves was based on an actual butler of his called Robinson, and recounts a story where Robinson extricated Wodehouse from a real-life predicament.

Related Topics:
Reggie Pepper - Bring on the Girls!

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The Jeeves and Wooster canon was written between 1917 and 1974, including Wodehouse's final complete novel, Aunts Aren't Gentlemen. Bertie narrates all the stories but one, "Bertie Changes His Mind", which is narrated by Jeeves himself. The stories are set in three primary locations: in London, where Bertie has a flat and is a member of the raucous Drones Club; at various stately homes in the English countryside, most commonly Totleigh Towers; or in New York City and a few other locations in the U.S. All take place in a timeless world based on an idealized version of England before World War II.

Related Topics:
London - Drones Club - Totleigh Towers - New York City - U.S. - World War II

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Jeeves and Bertie first appeared in "Extricating Young Gussie", published in 1917, though Jeeves only speaks two lines in the story. In the later stories, his part grew until he and Bertie were co-protagonists; indeed, in recent years they have come to be called a comic duo. The Jeeves canon consists of eleven novels and a number of short stories:

Related Topics:
1917 - Comic duo

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• The Man with Two Left Feet (1917) – One story, "Extricating Young Gussie", in a book of thirteen
• My Man Jeeves (1919) – Four stories in a book of eight: "Leave it to Jeeves", "Jeeves and the Unbidden Guest", "Jeeves and the Hard-boiled Egg", and "The Aunt and the Sluggard".
• The Inimitable Jeeves (1923) – Originally a semi-novel with eighteen chapters, it is normally published as eleven short stories: "Jeeves Exerts the Old Cerebellum" with "No Wedding Bells for Bingo", "Aunt Agatha Speaks Her Mind" with "Pearls Mean Tears", "The Pride of the Woosters is Wounded" with "The Hero's Reward", "Introducing Claude and Eustace" with "Sir Roderick Comes To Lunch", "A Letter of Introduction" with "Startling Dressiness of a Lift Attendant", "Comrade Bingo" with "Bingo Has a Bad Goodwood", "The Great Sermon Handicap", "The Purity of the Turf", "The Metropolitan Touch", "The Delayed Exit of Claude and Eustace", and "Bingo and the Little Woman" with "All's Well".
• Carry on Jeeves (1925) – Ten stories: "Jeeves and the Unbidden Guest", "Jeeves and the Hard-boiled Egg", "The Aunt and the Sluggard", "Jeeves Takes Charge", "The Artistic Career of Corky", "The Rummy Affair of Old Biffy", "Without the Option", "Clustering Round Young Bingo", "Fixing it for Freddie", and "Bertie Changes His Mind". The first three are repeated from My Man Jeeves, the second-to-last is a rewritten Reggie Pepper story, and the last is the only story in the canon narrated by Jeeves.
• Very Good Jeeves (1930) – Eleven stories: "Jeeves and the Impending Doom", "The Inferiority Complex of Old Sippy", "Jeeves and the Yule-tide Spirit", "Jeeves and the Song of Songs", "Episode of the Dog McIntosh", "The Spot of Art", "Jeeves and the Kid Clementina", "The Love That Purifies", "Jeeves and the Old School Chum", "The Indian Summer of an Uncle", and "The Ordeal of Young Tuppy".
• Thank you, Jeeves (1934) – The first full-length Jeeves novel
• Right Ho, Jeeves (1934)
• The Code of the Woosters (1938)
• Joy in the Morning (1947)
• The Mating Season (1949)
• Ring for Jeeves (1953) – The only novel in which Jeeves appears without Bertie
• Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit (1954)
• A Few Quick Ones (1959) – "Jeeves Makes an Omelette", a rewrite of a Reggie Pepper story originally from My Man Jeeves
• Jeeves in the Offing (1960)
• Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves (1963)
• Much Obliged, Jeeves (1971)
• Aunts Aren't Gentlemen (1974)