"Jeeves Takes Charge" is a short story by
P. G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeev ...
, and features the young gentleman
Bertie Wooster
Bertram Wilberforce Wooster is a fictional character in the comedic Jeeves stories created by British author P. G. Wodehouse. An amiable English gentleman and one of the "idle rich", Bertie appears alongside his valet, Jeeves, whose intelligenc ...
and his valet
Jeeves
Jeeves (born Reginald Jeeves, nicknamed Reggie) is a fictional character in a series of comedic short stories and novels by English author P. G. Wodehouse. Jeeves is the highly competent valet of a wealthy and idle young Londoner named Bertie W ...
. The story was published in the ''
Saturday Evening Post
''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...
'' in the United States in November 1916, and in ''
The Strand Magazine
''The Strand Magazine'' was a monthly British magazine founded by George Newnes, composed of short fiction and general interest articles. It was published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950, running to 711 issues, though the ...
'' in the United Kingdom in April 1923. The story was also included in the 1925 collection ''
Carry On, Jeeves
''Carry On, Jeeves'' is a collection of ten short stories by P. G. Wodehouse. It was first published in the United Kingdom on 9 October 1925 by Herbert Jenkins, London, and in the United States on 7 October 1927 by George H. Doran, New York.McIlv ...
''.
Bertie meets Jeeves for the first time in this story.
Florence Craye
Lady Florence Craye is a recurring fictional character who appears in P. G. Wodehouse's comedic Jeeves stories and novels. An intellectual and imperious young woman, she is an author who gets engaged at different times to various characters, each ...
, Bertie's fiancée, wants him to destroy his uncle's scandalous memoirs.
Plot
24-year-old Bertie Wooster returns to London from Easeby, his
Uncle Willoughby's home, after firing his valet for stealing. An agency sends him Jeeves, who prepares a drink that cures both Bertie's hangover and his fatigue after trying to read a difficult book titled "Types of Ethical Theory", which his fiancée, Lady Florence Craye, expects him to read. Impressed, Bertie hires Jeeves. Bertie receives a telegram from Florence, who is at Easeby, telling him to return at once. Jeeves wants Bertie to wear a simple brown or blue suit with a hint of quiet twill, but Bertie wears his check suit instead.
At Easeby, Florence tells Bertie that his uncle is writing a memoir called "Recollections of a Long Life". Many of the stories feature Florence's father,
Lord Worplesdon
The following is a list of recurring and notable fictional characters featured in the Jeeves novels and short stories by P. G. Wodehouse.
Anatole
Anatole is a recurring fictional character in the Jeeves stories, being the supremely skilled F ...
. Florence is appalled by the rowdy stories. She tells Bertie to destroy the manuscript. Bertie does not want to upset his uncle, upon whom he is financially dependent, but Florence is adamant. Bertie steals the parcel, and after running into Florence's young brother Edwin, Bertie locks it in a drawer in his room.
Uncle Willoughby tells Bertie that his publishers have not received his manuscript. He fears it has been stolen. Feeling guilty, Bertie tries to take a walk, but overhears Edwin telling Willoughby that he saw Bertie hiding a parcel. Bertie rushes back to his room to move the parcel but finds he has misplaced the key to the locked drawer. Willoughby arrives, and searches. When he reaches the locked drawer, Jeeves appears and provides the key. At first Bertie is angry with Jeeves, but the drawer is empty. After Willoughby leaves, Bertie thanks Jeeves, who moved the parcel.
Later, Willoughby reports that his publishers received his manuscript. Florence is furious with Bertie and ends their engagement. Distressed, Bertie questions Jeeves, who admits sending the parcel to the publishers. He says Florence overestimated the offensiveness of Sir Willoughby's "Recollections". When Jeeves shows no sympathy about the broken engagement, Bertie fires him. Jeeves opines that Bertie would not have been happy with Florence. After sleeping on it, Bertie realizes that Jeeves is right. He rehires Jeeves and allows Jeeves to dispose of the check suit. Jeeves thanks him and says he has already given the suit away to the under-gardener.
Style
Characters in Wodehouse's stories rarely tell conventional jokes, and humour is instead created indirectly through a number of stylistic devices. Bertie Wooster seldom tells a traditional joke, for example, but often uses
pun
A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophonic ...
s, such as when he describes how his valet Meadowes stole his socks: "I was reluctantly compelled to hand the misguided blighter the mitten", and, "directly I found that he was a sock-sneaker I gave him the boot".
In Wodehouse's stories, information is frequently repeated in two or more ways through the use of alternative words, placing concentration on humorous language rather than on a steady flow of new narrative information. For instance, pairs of synonymous words are often used in Bertie's narration and dialogue, as in the following quote from this story: "This infernal kid must somehow be turned out eftsoons or right speedily".
Publication history
![Jeeves Takes Charge illustration 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Jeeves_Takes_Charge_illustration_01.jpg)
Henry Raleigh provided illustrations for the 1916 publication of the story in the ''Saturday Evening Post''. The story was illustrated by
A. Wallis Mills
Arthur Wallis Mills (often abbreviated A. Wallis Mills, as well as A. W. Mills) (1878–1940) was a British artist. As well as traditional art forms, Mills also produced artwork and occasional cartoons for '' Punch Magazine'', ''The Strand Maga ...
in the ''Strand''. In 1980, the story was reprinted in the ''Saturday Evening Post'' with illustrations by Phil Smith.
The story was included in the American edition of the 1939 Wodehouse collection ''The Week-End Wodehouse'', and in the 1958 collection of Wodehouse stories, ''Selected Stories by P. G. Wodehouse''.
Adaptations
The first part of the story, in which Bertie hires Jeeves, was adapted into the TV drama ''
Jeeves and Wooster
''Jeeves and Wooster'' is a British comedy-drama television series adapted by Clive Exton from P. G. Wodehouse's "Jeeves" stories. It aired on the ITV network from 22 April 1990 to 20 June 1993, with the last series nominated for a British ...
'' episode "
Jeeves' Arrival
"Jeeves' Arrival" is the first episode of the first series of the 1990s British comedy television series ''Jeeves and Wooster''. It is also called "In Court after the Boat Race" or "Jeeves Takes Charge". It first aired in the UK on on ITV. The e ...
", the first episode of the first series, which first aired in the UK on 22 April 1990. The rest of the story, concerning Florence and scandalous memoirs, was adapted into "
Sir Watkyn Bassett's Memoirs
"Sir Watkyn Bassett's Memoirs" is the fifth episode of the third series of the 1990s British comedy television series ''Jeeves and Wooster''. It is also called "Hot off the Press". It first aired in the UK on on ITV.
In the US, it was aired as ...
", the fifth episode of the fourth series, which first aired in the UK on 26 April 1992.
There are some differences in plot, including:
* In "Jeeves' Arrival", Jeeves refuses to tell Bertie the ingredients of his preparation, though he names three ingredients in the original story.
* Florence is Sir Watkyn Bassett's niece and Madeline Bassett's cousin in the episode, though this was never stated in the original canon.
* The memoirs belong to Sir Watkyn Bassett; Bertie's Uncle Willoughby does not appear in the episode. In addition to Florence, Madeline also tells Bertie to steal the manuscript.
* Bertie finds Spode trying to steal the manuscript, which contains stories about him that could ruin his political career. At Bassett's behest, Constable Oates uses dynamite to open the safe, and Bassett removes the manuscript and packages it. Then Bertie steals the parcel.
* Edwin is not in the episode; it is Gussie Fink-Nottle who says that he saw Bertie with a parcel.
* Jeeves does not wait until he has been fired to voice his opinion about Florence; before Bertie can fire Jeeves, Bertie overhears Florence being hard on some servants, and decides immediately that Jeeves was right about her. Only afterward does Jeeves talk about how Florence overestimated the dangers of the manuscript as he and Bertie walk off.
References
;Notes
;Sources
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External links
Russian Wodehouse Society Information about ''Carry on, Jeeves'' and the stories which it contains
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeeves Takes Charge
1916 short stories
Short stories by P. G. Wodehouse
Works originally published in The Saturday Evening Post