P. G. Wodehouse is one of the greatest comic writers of the 20th century, or really, any century. He wrote more than 90 novels and short story collections, but us Wodehouse enthusiasts are a greedy lot and always wish for more. So renowned author Sebastian Faulks has dared to do the impossible and write a brand new Jeeves & Wooster novel, entitled Jeeves and the Wedding Bells.
Faulks has written a humble preface where he acknowledges how foolish it would be to merely imitate Wodehouse and descend into parody. As a result, he has attempted more of a tribute that follows the Wodehouse template and contains multiple in-jokes and references to delight the seasoned reader, but could also easily serve as an introduction to the clueless Bertie and his gentleman's personal gentleman, Jeeves. The plot is pleasingly convoluted, ingeniously involving a role reversal where Jeeves is pretending to be an aristocrat while Bertie must play the part of his valet, Wilberforce. For once, Bertie glimpses what life is like below stairs, and he is not amused.
In the meantime, there's romantic upheaval for Bertie, who has fallen in love with a woman by the name of Georgina Meadowes. Unfortunately, Georgina is being forced to marry someone else by her imposing uncle, in whose house Bertie and Jeeves are carrying on their little charade. Bertie is also trying to help his friend Peregrine "Woody" Beeching patch things up with his fiance Amelia, who has become convinced that Woody is an irresponsible flirt. Obviously, Bertie's well-meaning machinations go awry, and things must get a lot worse before they're miraculously sorted out by the omniscient Jeeves.
While it's easy to lose yourself in this story and pretend it's a long-lost Wodehouse novel, Faulks has sneakily introduced some jarring elements. There are mentions of the war, a little treatise on Mendelian genetics, and Bertie is subtly forced to acknowledge that there's a whole wide world out there. That is decidedly un-Wodehousian: the whole point of a Wodehouse novel is that time stands still and the characters are larking about in an idyll that seems untouched by reality. In that sense, Faulks has provided a modern update to the classic canon, with an ending that provides an air of finality to Jeeves and Wooster's hysterical adventures.
Jeeves and the Wedding Bells is a delightful piece of fiction that manages to both deconstruct and pay homage to Wodehouse's writing. At times it doesn't feel as polished as the master's works themselves, but it comes awfully close to the mark. Faulks has given us one more chance to indulge in Jeeves' verbosity, Bertie's bumbling, cricket matches, amateur theatrics, accidental drunkenness, quotes from Keats, Spinoza, and the Lady of Shalott. It's a brilliant melange of everything that makes Wodehouse great, and most importantly, it will inspire you to re-read and re-discover the Jeeves and Wooster of yore.
In the meantime, there's romantic upheaval for Bertie, who has fallen in love with a woman by the name of Georgina Meadowes. Unfortunately, Georgina is being forced to marry someone else by her imposing uncle, in whose house Bertie and Jeeves are carrying on their little charade. Bertie is also trying to help his friend Peregrine "Woody" Beeching patch things up with his fiance Amelia, who has become convinced that Woody is an irresponsible flirt. Obviously, Bertie's well-meaning machinations go awry, and things must get a lot worse before they're miraculously sorted out by the omniscient Jeeves.
While it's easy to lose yourself in this story and pretend it's a long-lost Wodehouse novel, Faulks has sneakily introduced some jarring elements. There are mentions of the war, a little treatise on Mendelian genetics, and Bertie is subtly forced to acknowledge that there's a whole wide world out there. That is decidedly un-Wodehousian: the whole point of a Wodehouse novel is that time stands still and the characters are larking about in an idyll that seems untouched by reality. In that sense, Faulks has provided a modern update to the classic canon, with an ending that provides an air of finality to Jeeves and Wooster's hysterical adventures.
Jeeves and the Wedding Bells is a delightful piece of fiction that manages to both deconstruct and pay homage to Wodehouse's writing. At times it doesn't feel as polished as the master's works themselves, but it comes awfully close to the mark. Faulks has given us one more chance to indulge in Jeeves' verbosity, Bertie's bumbling, cricket matches, amateur theatrics, accidental drunkenness, quotes from Keats, Spinoza, and the Lady of Shalott. It's a brilliant melange of everything that makes Wodehouse great, and most importantly, it will inspire you to re-read and re-discover the Jeeves and Wooster of yore.
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