My Man Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse

My Man Jeeves (Classic Books Library, Humor) (Jeeves and Wooster) (Jeeves and Wooster Novels) (Unexpurgated Start Publishing LLC) (Books4all) (Yourbooks) (Barnes & Noble Digital Library)

by P.G. Wodehouse

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. Plots involve the usual cast of amiable young clots, choleric millionaires, chorus-girls and vulpine aunts, but towering over them all is the inscrutable figure of Jeeves, manipulating the action from behind the scenes.
Early or not, these stories are masterly examples of Wodehouse's art,turning the most ordinary incidents into golden farce.

Reviewed by clq on

3 of 5 stars

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My Man Jeeves is the first of the short story collections about Bertie Wooster and his man, as it were, Jeeves. Having read a couple of the short stories I thought they seemed very familiar. I resorted to the back cover of the book which informed me that this book contains drafts of stories later re-written for other collections, which would explain that. The book also contains some stories about Reggie Pepper, who the back cover insists is an earlier version of Bertie. The slight change in style between the stories of the two characters is refreshing for a few pages, but the Reggie Pepper stories lack the charm held by the Bertie Wooster stories. With Bertie I always find myself wanting everything to turn out all right. With Reggie I found myself not caring either way.
The Jeeves and Wooster stories themselves are entertaining as always, though a little straightforward by the standard set elsewhere. This book doesn't do justice to quite how good Jeeves and Wooster can be, and should therefore probably be avoided by anyone who has yet to form a first impression. It's still entertaining though, and a quick enough read to be worth it.

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  • Started reading
  • 5 July, 2013: Finished reading
  • 5 July, 2013: Reviewed