A Fresh Tribute to a Comic Genius
A new collection of short stories celebrating the iconic duo of Jeeves and Wooster has been published, just in time for the Christmas shopping season. Jeeves Again: Twelve Original Stories from the World of PG Wodehouse brings together a dozen new, officially sanctioned tales penned by an array of writers, comedians, and celebrity admirers.
This release serves as a heartfelt homage to PG Wodehouse, the master of British comic writing, and arrives on the 50th anniversary of his death. While authors like Ben Schott and Sebastian Faulks have previously contributed new Jeeves novels, this marks the first major modern foray into the short story format that originally made Wodehouse one of the highest-paid authors of his era.
Capturing the Wodehouse Spirit
The challenge for any writer attempting Wodehouse pastiche is immense. His work was defined by a unique blend of psychological insight, inherent decency in characters like Bertie Wooster, and a gift for observation that never felt forced. Wodehouse presented absurd situations with a straight face, his characters remaining impeccably decorous despite the chaos around them, constrained by social convention.
The new collection largely succeeds in capturing this spirit. The stories are well-constructed, avoiding the pitfall that dooms many modern comedies: dated references to social media. Instead, they focus on the timeless humour that has kept Wodehouse popular with a global, and largely non-white, readership for decades.
Key elements fans will recognise are present in abundance:
- Bertie's signature slang and initialising
- Jeeves's encyclopaedic knowledge and clever quotations
- The classic English farce of manners
Modern Twists on a Classic Formula
The contributors have tastefully explored scenarios beyond Wodehouse's original scope. Frank Skinner ventures into modern London with a cryogenics-gone-wrong premise, while John Finnemore places the characters on Blitz air raid warden duty. Roddy Doyle offers a story set on a Dublin terrace, a departure that is sure to provoke strong reactions.
Among the standout entries is Dominic Sandbrook's inspired piece, written in the form of a university exam paper. It features loving send-ups of figures like Chips Channon and George Orwell, and includes the wonderfully bizarre line: "The day Roderick Spode appeared on Multi-Coloured Swap Shop was the day that British culture died."
Other notable contributions include Andrew Hunter Murray's sparky take on the pomposity of the publishing industry and a touching feminist reworking of the formidable Aunt Agatha by Scarlett Curtis.
Wodehouse himself, who felt out of time after his controversial wartime broadcasts, ultimately aimed for timelessness in his work. This new collection, born from a place of love and respect—as well as a keen commercial eye—ensures his name and unique comic legacy continue to burn brightly for a new generation of readers.
Jeeves Again: Twelve Original Stories from the World of PG Wodehouse is published by Cornerstone priced at £22. To support the Guardian, you can order your copy at guardianbookshop.com.
