Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves (original) (raw)

Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves
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First published in US: March 22 1963 by Simon & Schuster, New York First published in UK: August 16 1963 by Herbert Jenkins, London Russian translations Ne unyvaj, Dzhivz! by M. Gilinskij: 1997 Derzhim udar, Dzhivs! by I. Shevchenko: 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2011, 2016, 2017, 2017, 2018, 2021 Bertie Wooster would rather run a mile in tight shoes than visit the rural nightmare known as Totleigh Towers. Inhabiting its confines is drippy Madeline, who firmly believes that the stars are God's daisy chain. She is engaged to Bertie's old chum Gussie, but she'll happily settle for Bertie should things go amiss. So when the engagement does falter, Bertie must hope that Jeeves will forget their differences over a certain pink-feathered Alpine hat and once more come to his rescue...
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Characters Bertie Wooster � Engaged to Madeline and then has it broken Jeeves � Dislikes Bertie's blue Alpine hat with the pink feather. Poses as Chief Inspector Witherspoon of Scotland Yard. Dahlia Travers � Bertie's kind aunt Tom Travers � Collector of objects d'art Sir Watkyn Bassett � Tom's rival in collecting Madeline Bassett � Sir Watkyn's daughter engaged to Gussie, then Bertie, and finally to Spode (Stiffy) Stephanie Byng � Sir Watkyn's niece engaged to Stinker Bartholomew � Stiffy's Aberdeen Terrier (Gussie) Augustus Fink-Nottle � Bertie's school chum and newt fancier. First engaged to Madeline, then elopes with Emerald. Roderick Spode, Lord Sidcup � Loves Madeline and finally winds up engaged to her (Stinker) The Rev. Harold P. Pinker � Bertie's Oxford chum who is a curate who plays football Emerald Stoker � Younger sister of Pauline, who is studying painting in London. Becomes Totleigh's cook and elopes with Gussie. Eustace Oates � Constable in Totleigh-in-the-Wold Butterfield � Sir Watkyn's butler Major Plank � Retired explorer who loves Rugby football Mr. Bellamy () Mrs. Bootle* () "Chuffy" Chuffnell* () Pauline Stoker* () Oofy Prosser* (*)
Synopsis Bertie has bought himself a jaunty little Tyrolean hat, and Jeeves dislikes it. Gussie still hasn't married Madeline, so Bertie is still in danger of having to do it himself. The Rev. 'Stinker' Pinker begs Bertie to get Madeline to invite him down to Totleigh as there is something his fianc?e Stiffy Byng wants Bertie to do. (They're not married yet, either. Sir Watkyn hasn't come across with that vicarage for Stinker which would enable them to marry.) And Gussie, on his way to Totleigh, speaks to Bertie of Madeline in a way no fianc? should. 'Madeline makes me sick!' he says and buzzes off.So Bertie, silly ass, decides to go to Totieigh and try to heal the Gussie/Madeline rift; plus Alpine hat, plus Jeeves. Madeline has put Gussie on a meatless diet and he is being fed steak and kidney pie at midnight by the sympathetic young cook - a temp: in fact Emerald, kid sister of that Pauline Stoker, now Lady Chufnell, who had led Bertie such a dance in Thank You, Jeeves. A guest at Totleigh is Roderick Spode, now Lord Sidcup, always keen to break Gussie's neck if he thinks he's not treating his beloved Madeline right. When Spode sees Gussie kissing the cook, he feels that the neck-breaking cannot wait. First to Gussie's rescue is Stinker (who has boxed heavyweight for Oxford. One day someone must count the number of Wodehouse characters, mostly heroes, who have boxed for their universities. I'm sure I could find twenty-five without a small-tooth comb.). He knocks Spode out with a sweet corkscrew left. Then Emerald does it again, with a kitchen basin. Gussie elopes with Emerald. Madeline says she is going to marry Bertie. Spode says, 'Oh no you're not. You're going to marry me!'There has been a sub-plot. What Stiffy had wanted Bertie to come to Totleigh for was to steal a black amber statuette that Sir Watkyn had acquired by apparently dirty-dog methods from Major Brabazon Plank, that explosive explorer who had operated in Uncle Dynamite. Jeeves, pretending to be Chief Inspector Witherspoon of the Yard, rescues Bertie from Plank's threatened knob-kerrie. And he rescues Bertie from imprisonment, by Sir Watkyn, JP, by agreeing to become Sir Watkyn's valet ('psst ... only temporarily, sir'). But Bertie must forfeit that hat. Sir Watkyn's butler is glad to have it to add dash to his courtship of a widow in the village.It's marvellous the way Wodehouse can get the same actors into new imbroglios using the same scenery; and the way innocent Bertie has only to see a noose to stick his fat head into it. It is comforting to know that, in the tea-tent at the school treat at Totleigh, Sir Watkyn received a well-aimed hard-boiled egg on the cheek-bone from an anonymous donor.Source: Richard Usborne. Plum Sauce. A P G Wodehouse Companion.