Jeeves and the King of Clubs

January 23, 2023 9:06 PM

Storm clouds loom over Europe. Treason is afoot in the highest social circles. The very security of the nation is in peril. Jeeves, it transpires, has long been an agent of British Intelligence, but now His Majesty's Government must turn to the one man who can help . . . Bertie Wooster.

In this magnificent new homage to P. G. Wodehouse, Ben Schott leads Jeeves and Wooster on an uproarious adventure of espionage through the secret corridors of Whitehall, the sunlit lawns of Brinkley Court, and the private clubs of St James's.

I thought this was just wonderful - light-hearted, witty and utterly charming.

posted by DowBits (5 comments total)

If you say it's good, I'll give it a try! Ten or so years ago, I read an authorized sequel where Bertie actually wants to get married for once, and it wasn't bad, per se, but it was the difference between Splenda and sugar. This sounds more exciting
posted by Countess Elena at 4:09 AM on January 24, 2023 [1 favorite]

I love Wodehouse and was surprised I hadn't heard of this one. But an homage? New Jeeves? Color me intrigued.

(I know it's not the same, but if Connie Willis can honor Jerome K. Jerome, I'll give Ben Schott a chance at P. G. Wodehouse.)
posted by cardioid at 7:59 PM on January 24, 2023

Thanks for the heads up, but I'll pass. I've read over 80 of Wodehouse's books - basically everything except his early school stories - and people trying to pastiche his style always grate with me. I've never yet seen anyone do it successfully, and the bum notes these "tributes" produce are just too painful to let me get past the first few pars.

Far more than the characters or situations, the delight of Wodehouse's books lies in his prose style itself. Attempts to imitate him seldom amount to more than aping a few of his surface tics - and even that without the frictionless elegance that sets his own prose apart.
posted by Paul Slade at 5:12 AM on January 26, 2023

This book made me laugh all the way through. It's a worthy tribute. You can feel the differences but it succeeds on its own merit.
posted by Lookinguppy at 2:38 PM on January 26, 2023

Given that Wodehouse spent WWII in Berlin, there's an interesting subtext to this.
posted by rednikki at 7:33 PM on January 26, 2023