Product Description

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation starring Michael Hordern as Jeeves and Richard Briers as Bertie Wooster.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #48753 in Books
• Brand: Audio Books
• Published on: 2005-02-21
• Released on: 2005-02-21
• Format: Audiobook
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 3
• Dimensions: .40 pounds
• Binding: Audio CD

Amazon.co.uk Review
With a cast of characters that includes bearded revolutionaries, practical-joking twins, incognito authors, and a pair of confidence tricksters, The Inimitable Jeeves finds our upper-class hero Bertie Wooster in all kinds of hot water. Of particular concern in this collection of short stories--sensitively abridged by Penguin and read by Simon Callow--is Bertie's friend Bingo Little, who falls in love so often that it is impossible to keep track of his romantic entanglements, and who always falls for the most unsuitable women.

Unable to refuse to help a friend, Bertie is placed in one difficult situation after another, always under the watchful eye of his butler. Jeeves constantly works in the background, undermining Bertie's autonomy and moving the narrative in unexpected directions. He often fails to let his employer in on his plots, and a large proportion of his schemes turn out to expose Bertie to ridicule.

Yet Jeeves also ensures that Bertie's life runs smoothly, steering him through the pitfalls which face a rich young man with too much time on his hands. When in one story Bertie overhears Jeeves describing his employer as "not intelligent", he sets out to disprove the butler's assessment. If it is predictable that things do not go according to plan, then it is Wodehouse's brilliant grasp of comedy which makes the manner in which things go wrong so constantly surprising. And, of course, by the end of the tale Jeeves has proved himself both inimitable and indispensable. --John Oates

From the Back Cover
A Jeeves and Wooster collection
A classic collection of stories featuring some of the funniest episodes in the life of Bertie Wooster, gentleman, and Jeeves, his gentleman’s gentleman – in which Bertie's terrifying Aunt Agatha stalks the pages, seeking whom she may devour, while Bertie’s friend Bingo Little falls in love with seven different girls in succession (including the bestselling romantic novelist Rosie M. Banks). And Bertie, with Jeeves’s help, hopes to evade the clutches of the terrifying Honoria Glossop... At its heart is one of Wodehouse’s most delicious stories, ‘The Great Sermon Handicap.’

About the Author
The author of almost a hundred books and the creator of Jeeves, Blandings Castle, Psmith, Ukridge, Uncle Fred and Mr Mulliner, P.G. Wodehouse was born in 1881 and educated at Dulwich College. After two years with the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank he became a full-time writer, contributing to a variety of periodicals. As well as his novels and short stories, he wrote lyrics for musical comedies, and at one stage had five shows running simultaneously on Broadway. At the age of 93, in the New Year's Honours List of 1975, he received a long-overdue Knighthood, only to die on St Valentine's Day some 45 days later.

Customer Reviews

Wodehouse is a timeless treasure
One of the earlier Jeeves and Wooster collections, this is a series of very loosely linked short stories generally following the same template: young, wealthy airhead Wooster or his pal Bingo Little gets in some sticky situation, and it is up to his genius butler Jeeves to devise an ingenious solution to the quandary. Here, the somewhat repetitious misguided amorous ramblings of Bingo make for the lion's share of troubles, although the high spirits of Bertie's cousins Claude and Eustace also make plenty of work for Jeeves. The stories can fairly be compared to contemporary TV sitcoms, as they to reply on recurring (often over the top) characters, a rarefied setting, a single type of humor, and recurring situations. Simply put, if you like one Wooster story (and don't get sick of them), you're going to like them all. Much of this can be explained by Wodehouse's mastery of the language and constant deft turns of phrase, period slang, and comic timing. Those who deride the shallow subject matter and milieu of the Jeeves and Wooster series need to recall the context in which these stories appeared. Only a few years removed from the horrors of World War I-an event barely alluded to in the series, despite the loss of an entire generation of British young men-the stories can be viewed as a bandage of sorts, an attempt to transport the reader to a world far removed from the traumatic recovery from the Great War. Not to mention Wodehouse's clear depiction of the upper classes as wastrels and idiots of the highest order when compared to the street savvy of the servants (as exemplified by Jeeves). Of course, one doesn't read Wodehouse for social commentary or as a salve these days, but for his dry wit and keen command of the written word.

What ho!
Although "The Inimitable Jeeves" is not the first appearance of the famous double act, Jeeves and Wooster, it is the first book to be 'completely' dedicated to them. It was first published in 1923, and was originally known in America as, simply, "Jeeves".

The book is set in the 1920s England and features Wodehouse's best known creations : Bertie Wooster and his valet, Jeeves. Bertie is the book's wealthy, good-natured and rather dim narrator. He's a member of the "idle rich" and, rather than having to work for a living, lives off an allowance provided by his uncle. He spends much of his time in the bar-room of the Drones Club, is fond of the occasional wager and has an appalling dress sense. Luckily, Bertie has Jeeves to look after him. Without Jeeves, Bertie's life would be a mess : he makes an excellent hangover cure, his bets usually win and he's intelligent enough to rescue Bertie from nearly any situation. He disapproves of Bertie's more garish items of clothing, and will - occasionally - take it upon himself to deal with the offending item.

All of the short stories are connected and most of them involve Bertie's friend Bingo Little, who is always falling in love - occasionally while still 'officially' in love with another. It's Bingo who most consistently drops Bertie into trouble : Bingo's schemes generally aim for an increase in his allowance from his Uncle, with the intention of marrying his latest girlfriend. Generally, Bingo's intended is a girl his uncle wouldn't approve of - so he ropes Bertie and Jeeves into helping him out. There are also appearances for Bertie's troublesome cousins, Claude and Eustace, a devious bookmaker called Steggles and Bertie's fearsome Aunt Agatha. Bertie is held in very low esteem by Agatha, but she is determined that Bertie should marry - Bertie's opinion, as far as she is concerned, is irrelevant.

A very easy and enjoyable read.

Hordon and Briers are sensational in the main roles
The Inimitable Jeeves is by far one of the funniest modern classics ever. I like it because it not only focuses on the adventures of Bertie Wooster and Jeeves but that of Bingo Little and the formidable Aunt Agatha. Richard Briers and Michael Hordon are sensational in the main roles and are backed up with a great supporting cast.Briers and Hordon have become the undisputed voices of Jeeves and Wooster and it is hard to imagine the characters with any other reader or narator. I just can't wait to listen to the rest!