VERY GOOD JEEVES (REI

Beginning with a mysterious message and a visit to the dreaded Aunt Agatha, Very Good, Jeeves once again sees Bertie Wooster beset by difficulties that can only be untangled by his faithful butler. Indeed, by the time of this entry in the Jeeves cycle, written in 1930, everyone is seeking the butler’s advice–he is universally recognised as the man to get you out of a spot of bother. When he becomes attached to an unsuitable young woman, Bertie is asked–much to his indignation–“You don’t believe for a moment Jeeves will sanction the match?” Even if Bertie refuses to acknowledge his butler’s influence, it does not escape the attention of those around him. As always, Wodehouse perfectly captures (and exposes to ridicule) the trivial concerns of the idle rich. Poor Bertie finds it impossible to refuse to help a friend-“We Woosters have our code”–and always finds that the solution to the muddle results in his own embarrassment, generally engineered by the discretely manipulative Jeeves. Read by Simon Callow, this audio abridgement offers a lively reading of the source material, which will both enchant Wodehouse’s many fans, and convince newcomers to explore the rest of the author’s extensive oeuvre. –John Oates