Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves (Jeeves Omnibus #4.3) ★★★☆½

~ Bookstooge

stiffupperlipjeeves (Custom)This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves
Series: Jeeves Omnibus #4.3
Author: P.G. Wodehouse
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Humor
Pages: 240
Words: 45K

 

Synopsis:

From Wikipedia

Jeeves comes home after serving as a substitute butler at Brinkley Court, the country house of Bertie’s Aunt Dahlia. She tells Bertie that Sir Watkyn Bassett was there and was impressed with Jeeves. Additionally, Sir Watkyn bragged about obtaining a black amber statuette to Aunt Dahlia’s husband, Tom Travers, who is a rival collector.

Jeeves dislikes Bertie’s new blue Alpine hat with a pink feather. Bertie continues to wear the hat, and has lunch with Emerald Stoker, the sister of his friend Pauline Stoker who is on her way to the Bassett household, Totleigh Towers. He then sees Reverend Harold “Stinker” Pinker, who is upset that Sir Watkyn has not given him the vicarage, which Stinker needs to be able to marry Stephanie “Stiffy” Byng, Watkyn Bassett’s niece. Stinker tells Bertie that Stiffy wants Bertie to come to Totleigh Towers to do something for her, but knowing that Stiffy often starts trouble, Bertie refuses.

Gussie Fink-Nottle is upset with his fiancée Madeline Bassett, Sir Watkyn’s daughter. Jeeves suggests that Bertie go to Totleigh Towers there to heal the rift between Gussie and Madeline, or else Madeline will decide to marry Bertie instead. Though Bertie does not want to marry Madeline, his personal code will not let him turn a girl down. Bertie reluctantly decides to go to Totleigh, saying, “Stiff upper lip, Jeeves, what?”.[2] Jeeves commends his spirit.

At Totleigh Towers, Madeline is touched to see Bertie, thinking he came to see her because he is hopelessly in love with her. Sir Watkyn’s friend Roderick Spode, formally Lord Sidcup, loves Madeline but hides his feelings from her. At dinner, Madeline says that her father purchased the black amber statuette from someone named Plank who lives nearby at Hockley-cum-Meston. Stiffy says the statuette is worth one thousand pounds.

Jeeves tells Bertie that Gussie is unhappy with Madeline because she is making him follow a vegetarian diet. The cook has offered to secretly provide Gussie steak-and-kidney pie. The cook is in fact Emerald Stoker, who took the job after losing her allowance betting on a horse. She has fallen for Gussie.

After telling Bertie that Sir Watkyn cheated Plank by paying only five pounds for the statuette, Stiffy orders Bertie to sell it back to Plank for five pounds, or else she will tell Madeline that Gussie has been sneaking meat, and then Madeline would leave him for Bertie. Stiffy takes the statuette and gives it to Bertie. Bertie goes to Hockley-cum-Meston and meets the explorer Major Plank. Plank mentions that he is looking for a prop forward for his Hockley-cum-Meston rugby team.

When Bertie tries to sell the statuette back to him for five pounds, Plank assumes Bertie stole it from Sir Watkyn, and intends to call the police. Jeeves arrives, saying he is Chief Inspector Witherspoon of Scotland Yard. He tells Plank that he is there to arrest Bertie, claiming that Bertie is a criminal known as Alpine Joe. Leading Bertie safely away, Jeeves tells him that Sir Watkyn actually paid the full one thousand pounds for the statuette and had lied to spite Tom Travers. Jeeves returns the statuette to Totleigh Towers.

Spode sees Gussie kissing Emerald, and threatens to harm him for betraying Madeline. When Stinker moves to protect Gussie, Spode hits Stinker. Stinker retaliates, knocking out Spode. Spode regains consciousness, only to be knocked out again by Emerald. Seeing Spode on the ground, Madeline calls Gussie a brute. He defiantly eats a ham sandwich in front of her, and their engagement ends. Gussie and Emerald elope. Sir Watkyn offers Harold Pinker the vicarage, but changes his mind when he finds out that Stinker punched Spode. Meanwhile, Madeline resolves to marry Bertie.

Major Plank, after learning from a telephone call with Inspector Witherspoon that Harold Pinker is a skilled prop forward, comes to the house and gives him the vicarage at Hockley-cum-Meston. Because of this, Stiffy no longer needs the statuette, which she stole a second time to blackmail Sir Watkyn, so she gives it to Jeeves to return it.

Hiding from Plank behind a sofa, Bertie overhears Spode and Jeeves convince Madeline that Bertie did not come to Totleigh Towers for love of her but rather because he wanted to steal the statuette, which Jeeves says he found among Bertie’s belongings. Madeline decides not to marry Bertie. Spode proposes to Madeline and she accepts. Bertie is discovered and Sir Watkyn, a justice of the peace, intends to make Bertie spend twenty-eight days in jail. After being arrested by Constable Oates, Bertie spends the night in jail. In the morning, Bertie is released. Sir Watkyn is dropping the charge because Jeeves agreed to work for him. Bertie is shocked, but Jeeves assures him it will only be temporary. After a week or so, he will find a reason to resign and return to Bertie. Moved, Bertie wishes there was something he could do to repay Jeeves. Jeeves asks Bertie to give up the Alpine hat. Bertie agrees.

 

My Thoughts:

By the time I was done with this book I wanted to read another. Light and funny really hit the spot at the moment and if one of something is good, then isn’t two of something even better? Thankfully, I DO know better. The humor in these books continues to work for me BECAUSE I know when I’ve had enough. I am rather proud of myself, to be honest, for not only finding this balance, but sticking to it as well. It is much easier to gorge on chocolate eggs until you’re sick and then not eat another for 6 months than to simply eat one chocolate egg every 3-4 weeks for 6 months.

Of course, the problem with reading so many of these books (this IS the twelfth one so far) is that at some point you run out of things to say about the story, especially when the stories all run in similar veins.

But they’re still working for me and I’m still smiling at the antics of Bertie Wooster and his superhuman gentleman’s gentleman Jeeves! So eat some fish to make your brain bigger, get some spineless friends and have a laugh at your local castle!

★★★☆½

 

bookstooge (Custom)

 

37 thoughts on “Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves (Jeeves Omnibus #4.3) ★★★☆½”

    1. I know, right? How many times can you say “This was a good book” differently and interestingly? There are times I just want to shake people and say “Read this book, period!”. Somehow I don’t think that approach would work very well though 😀

      Liked by 1 person

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        1. I’ll join you in that Non-Marshmallow club I only like the tiny ones in hot cocoa. When I make smores, I tend to leave out the marshmallow and graham crackers 😉

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          1. Graham crackers are good, but I like to eat my s’mores separated too. (And by that I mean eat the crackers and the chocolate, and then toast the marshmallow for an excuse to sit by the fire and watch the flames.)

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  7. Hahaha! If I had not read some previous Jeeves books, I would have been completely lost and skipped the summary in your review. As it is, though I have never read this one, I know these characters like my own family and was laughing all the way through the summary.

    “Spode regains consciousness, only to be knocked out again by Emerald.”
    “He defiantly eats a ham sandwich in front of her.”

    And, it just baffles me that Bertie would rather sacrifice his entire future than be a little bit rude to Madeline. “I mean, you can’t tell a girl that there’s been a misunderstanding and you don’t want to marry her after all.” *facepalm*

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    1. It’s that Gentlemen’s Code of Honor taken to the extreme for humor’s sake. But that is why I can only take these in small doses 😀

      Have you watched the bbc tv show with Fry and Laurie? I just finshed the 4 seasons and it was a real hoot…

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  8. I finally can relate to your reviews, having finished my first Jeeves a few weeks back 🙂 and yes, I totally get your slight addiction to it, it’s a really feel-good type of stories! Jeeves is incomparable – especially when it comes to the amount of patience he has for Bertie! 🤣

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      1. I’m definitely going to read another, and we’ll see what I’ll think then 😉 The humor suits me indeed, but the stories are quite similar to one another so I imagine it would be easy to overdose 😅

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        1. Yep, overdose and then burnout is very easy with these. 6 weeks to 2 months is a good time between for me but obviously you need to find your own little cycle. Or not, if you’re one of those strange people who reads books at random or because “they feel like it” 😉

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  9. “Of course, the problem with reading so many of these books (this IS the twelfth one so far) is that at some point you run out of things to say about the story, especially when the stories all run in similar veins.”

    I’ve read maybe 6 of the stories and I can already see that. 12 of the books? Wow. The fact that you’re able to say this much is commendable.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Which book is that?

      I’m on the lookout for something else light and fluffy as between life, reading Gulag Archipelago and Martin’s “Complete dreamsong”, things are bleak looking.

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    1. I am finding that Wodehouse hits that light and humorous note perfectly for me. I’ve got 3 more Jeeves books, then I have 10 or 12 of Wodehouse’s Blandings Castle books, so I should be set for a couple of years. Thankfully. Not sure what I’ll do after that 😀

      The search for the perfect fluffy series goes on. Good luck!

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