Tag Archives: Wodehouse in Exile

Jeeves JOY IN THE MORNING by P.G. Wodehouse – 20 Books of Summer 2023

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I must admit that my 20 Books of Summer list has turned out to be something of a work of fiction. Jeeves  Joy in the Morning certainly didn’t appear on it, but I thought it might distract me from all of the rain we’ve been having in this so called summer. It sort of did.

The setting is Steeple Bumpleigh where Bertie Wooster’s Aunt Agatha lives with her second husband Lord Worplesdon and his daughter Florence and schoolboy son Edwin who is described as a pestilential stripling and a Boy Scout.  It’s really Florence that worries Bertie most though as he had been engaged to her previously and he doesn’t want her to think he’s interested in her again. She is in fact now engaged to ‘Stilton’ Cheesewright and he’s sure that Bertie is after her again.

It’s another romance which is in trouble though. Bertie’s friend Zenobia (Nobby) is engaged to another of his friends Boko, an aspiring artist. Boko is about to go to Hollywood where a glittering career seems likely, but Nobby’s guardian is Lord Worplesdon and he’s refusing to give her permission to marry Boko. Of course Jeeves sorts everything out. This book is seen as one of his best but for me it didn’t quite hit the spot, I suspect that had more to do with my mood at the time of reading it than anything else.

This is the book that Wodehouse was working on when the Germans walked across his lawn in the south of France where he had refused to leave for the safety of England, he believed that the Germans wouldn’t invade France it seems! It ended up with him being interned and his reputation in tatters as he was seen to have been working for the Germans via radio programmes. I think he was sort of conned into doing it, but you can imagine that he was probably terrified so would have agreed to anything.

If you’re interested in Wodehouse you should try to see Wodehouse in Exile. I enjoyed it anyway.

 

 

 

 

 

Right Ho, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse

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I turned to P.G. Wodehouse when I very quickly decided to give up trying to read something heavier, I just wasn’t in the mood for reading something I had to concentrate on. I already had Right Ho, Jeeves on my Kindle, if you want to have a go at it you can get it free here.

You know what’s coming, which of course is part of their charm. Bertie Wooster has been in the south of France, spending a lot of time with his cousin Angela. On his return to Blighty, Bertie pays a visit to Angela’s mother, his Aunt Dahlia. A couple of Bertie’s friends are included in the house party, Augustus Fink-Nottle and (gosh I’ve forgotten the other chap’s name, that’s Kindles for you! ) are both in need of help. Their love lives are not going well and Bertie is determined to sort them out. He advises them on how to win the hearts of their girls, you can imagine how well that goes!

Jeeves does his best to rein in his young master but of course Bertie thinks he knows best.

The BBC recently aired Wodehouse in Exile, with Tim Pigott-Smith playing the part of Wodehouse and Zoe Wanamaker as his wife. It was really well done and if you are interested in Wodehouse I think you’ll enjoy it.

I hadn’t realised that Wodehouse had neglected to leave his home in Le Touquet, France before the Nazis got there in 1940. The upshot of which is that he was sent to a prison camp, but when the Germans realised that he was a famous author they decided get him to broadcast talks on the radio which could be interpreted as being pro-Nazi.

It makes you think that Wodehouse himself resembled Wooster far more than Jeeves – how he could have been stupid enough to get himself into such a situation, and not even realise it, beggars belief – but he did. Anyway, you can view the programme below if you’re interested. I hope people outside the UK are able to view this too, but it might be blocked.