lettersregardingjeeves

[lettersregardingjeeves]

Did something happen? I have the last email from October 16 -- was there anything after that? Will Right Ho, Jeeves conclude?

What ho, old chaps, and I really cannot apologize enough. The moderator of this whole affair has been, I'm afraid to say, going through it, and has somewhat fallen off. However, I'm fond of this Substack, and of all the memories that have come from it and the people who have loved it, so I will be doing my best to start it back up within the month!

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Read Very Good Jeeves and found the line

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"The Inferiority Complex of Old Sippy" out of context (there is no context for this)

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Jeeves: “It brings to mind the affair of the animation exposition, whereupon Mister Wooster was of the mind that he might bring home any number of items which, regrettably, did not adhere cohesively with a gentleman’s wardrobe.”

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Bertie if you want the pitter patter of little feet around the establishment you could always just kidnap another child from the beach again

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rockmetteller todd's latest poem

apple blossomed trees / roots with the birds

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"Bertie, you little shit," said Aunt Dahlia cheerfully,

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Bertie vs. Reggie (In Regard to Freddie)

So now that FRED is out, I thought I'd share a little tidbit I found both interesting and a touch tragic. As I mentioned in my little intro, "Fixing It for Freddie" is a rewrite of the older Reggie Pepper story "Helping Freddie", and much of it is word-for-word with Reggie switched out for Bertie, and Jeeves inserted in. But there are a few differences - namely, that Reggie seems an awful lot more attached to Freddie than Bertie ever is. See, when Bertie thinks about the potential effect on Freddie of his helping out a pal, he says this:

What you might call a quiet happiness suffused me, if that’s the word I want. I was very fond of old Freddie, and it was jolly to think that he was shortly about to click once more.

Reggie, however, in the exact same situation, says this:

I don’t know when I’ve felt so happy. I was so fond of dear old Freddie that to know that he was soon going to be his old bright self again made me feel as if somebody had left me about a million pounds.

Bertie's happy for his pal, but it's in a more relaxed, detached sort of way - but Reggie seems to practically stake all his emotions on Freddie feeling better. Which does better explain why Reggie would go so far as to kidnap a toddler (as opposed to Bertie, who has even less excuse), but is also rather sad, given that Freddie is an awful lot crueler to Reggie than he is to Bertie. Compare this, which comes right before the above:

“Well?” said Freddie, when silence had set in. I explained the scheme. After a while it began to strike him. The careworn look faded from his face, and for the first time since his arrival at Marvis Bay he smiled almost happily. “There’s something in this, Bertie.” “It’s the goods.” “I think it will work,” said Freddie.

To this:

“Well?” said Freddie, when silence had set in. I explained the idea. After a while it began to strike him. “You’re not such a fool as you look, sometimes, Reggie,” he said, handsomely. “I’m bound to say this seems pretty good.”

And not to mention how Bertie's musing on childrearing:

“And, after all,” I said, “there’s lots to be argued in favour of having a child about the place, if you know what I mean. Kind of cosy and domestic, what?” Just then the kid upset the milk over Freddie’s trousers, and when he had come back after changing he lacked sparkle.

is met with a far less subdued response in Reggie's tale, with Freddie aggressively shooting down Reggie's good cheer with this (admittedly pretty funny) line:

“And after all,” I said, “there’s lots to be said for having a child about the house, if you know what I mean. Kind of cosy and domestic—what!” Just then the kid upset the milk over Freddie’s trousers, and when he had come back after changing his clothes he began to talk about what a much-maligned man King Herod was. The more he saw of Tootles, he said, the less he wondered at those impulsive views of his on infanticide.

In short, Reggie cares more about Freddie than Bertie does, despite the fact that Freddie is meaner to him... which is just depressing. But unlike with Bertie, there are no recurring characters in Reggie's stories - he has no family, good or bad, and his friends all leave to go off with someone else. Crucially, he also has no Jeeves - the closest we get is his man Wilberforce, who is not as established in his life (Reggie has an entirely different valet in the story "Rallying Around Old George") and gets no lines and no indication of his personality save for taking odd offense to a lack of collaboration when it comes to getting dressed in the morning.

Thus, while Reggie is both more intelligent and a bit more conniving than Bertie, he also comes off as much, much lonelier - a man who clings even to a jerk like Freddie because Freddie, for the time being, may be the only one he has.

[lettersregardingjeeves]

Charles "Biffy" Biffen

BORN TO FORGET

WORLD IS A BLUR

I Am Memory Issues Man

410,757,864,530 FORGOTTEN PRECIOUS MEMORIES

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extremely funny to me seeing people say that Bertie has a heart of gold when his immediate solution to getting Freddie back together with his fiancée was to kidnap a child

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“Well, whose wife was she?”

“Nobody’s. That’s the whole point of the story. I wanted her to be mine, and I lost her.”

“Had a quarrel, you mean?”

“No, I don’t mean we had a quarrel. I mean I literally lost her.”

For the love of all things holy get this man some ADHD medication

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“Bertie, we were at school together. I know you can read.”

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Jeeves & Wooster sketch - Animated

Edit: (Audio: That Mitchell and Webb Sound S5E4 Jeeves & Wooster sketch - https://youtu.be/afAwEOIeWj4?si=vZjmt2UfZHqHlS5n)

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truly it puts you in Bertie’s shoes

Me: *sees a chapter title has Bingo in it* Me: ...I'm not strong enough for this

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This just so happens to be an adaptation of "Scoring Off Jeeves" and "Sir Roderick Comes to Lunch" - both of which are stories you've read in the Substack already! And it's translated by yours truly! Please have a read, it's a great deal of fun!

Chapter 1 of the Please, Jeeves translation is officially out!!

Do you like old British literature? Do you like silly comedies about guys getting into ridiculous situations for petty reasons? Then you will probably enjoy Please, Jeeves, the official manga adaptation of the Jeeves and Wooster stories by P. G. Wodehouse!

A few randomly-selected sample pages for your perusal...

Now go have a look at all of our hard work! We'll bring you the second chapter as soon as we can!

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Even More Millennial Jeeves

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this downright jolly newsletter puts me to mind of interactive fiction games your worthy followers may be remiss to miss. the absolutely topping writer of Tally Ho (and it's not-exactly-sequel Jolly Good: Cakes and Ale) may or may not be contacting Wodehouse via oujia board to write the bally things. with a valet-and-toff premise, 1920s setting, great quantity of overbearing relations, and all the adventure and romance and potential for complete social disgrace due to overcomplicated schemes that anyone could ask for, it's simply bang up the elephant

my apologies in advance if, once shared, you are lost, like me, in all the variations & scenarios &c. that the games allow

yrs affectionately-

As a player of Tally Ho myself, I can assure you that my followers certainly would be remiss to miss it! Topping stuff, and so Jeevesian I even put it on my list of adaptations of Wodehouse! I didn't know about the sequel, however, so I may very well have to add it!