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Everyone, even Augustus the cat, has cause to be obliged to Jeeves when he manages to retrieve the infamous Book, the book kept under lock and key at the Junior Ganymede Club and which lays bare the private lives of three-quarters of the upper classes, and which could prove to be political dynamite at the Market Snodsbury by-election! It once again falls to Bertie Wooster's manservant to save the day.Tags
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Much Obliged, Jeeves is the second Wodehouse book I've read, and while I found it funny, it wasn't the guffaw-out-loud-inspiring piece that Laughing Gas was. I do see vast possibilities for comic situations with Bertram Wooster and his indefatigable butler Jeeves. So, apparently, did Wodehouse, with the profusion of Wooster/Jeeves titles in his repertoire.
The plot seems loose until you get to the end and it all gets tied off neatly. The occasion for the story is Bertie's friend Ginger who is running for the House of Commons. Bertie has been enlisted to help Ginger's campaign by going door to door and telling the voters of Market Snodsbury why they should elect his friend. More than a seat in the House is hanging on this election: show more Ginger is engaged to Bertie's cousin Florence Craye, who has a history of jilting men who fail in some way. If Ginger loses the election, he loses Florence. But halfway through the campaign, losing Florence suddenly becomes desirable. What can Ginger do to sabotage his own campaign?
Bertie inadvertently helps his friend lose the campaign by accidentally canvassing Ginger's opponent, Mrs. McCorkadale. This little problem is in addition to Bertie's other issues, such as his attempts to avoid Madeline Bassett, a woman who was safely engaged to Lord Sidcup until he showed signs of wanting to renounce his title. Madeline announces her intentions to marry Bertie and make him a happy man, in blissful ignorance of the fact that Bertie's happiness is directly proportionate to how far away he can get from her. I loved Bertie's description of Madeline, as a woman who would come down to breakfast every morning, cover her husband's eyes, and say, "guess who?" *giggle*
One of Wodehouse's strongest humor devices is to take lofty sentiments in poetry and apply them to ridiculous situations. He makes special use of Shakespeare and Burke. Jeeves, of course, is the literary expert and frequently corrects Bertie without the shadow of a smirk at the ridiculousness of the poetic application. Ah, for an inscrutable butler who would buttle so tactfully in my house. I think that is what we are missing in the modern lives.
As I said, this is only the second Wodehouse book I've read so I can't compare it very well with the rest of his books, but I enjoyed the read. show less
The plot seems loose until you get to the end and it all gets tied off neatly. The occasion for the story is Bertie's friend Ginger who is running for the House of Commons. Bertie has been enlisted to help Ginger's campaign by going door to door and telling the voters of Market Snodsbury why they should elect his friend. More than a seat in the House is hanging on this election: show more Ginger is engaged to Bertie's cousin Florence Craye, who has a history of jilting men who fail in some way. If Ginger loses the election, he loses Florence. But halfway through the campaign, losing Florence suddenly becomes desirable. What can Ginger do to sabotage his own campaign?
Bertie inadvertently helps his friend lose the campaign by accidentally canvassing Ginger's opponent, Mrs. McCorkadale. This little problem is in addition to Bertie's other issues, such as his attempts to avoid Madeline Bassett, a woman who was safely engaged to Lord Sidcup until he showed signs of wanting to renounce his title. Madeline announces her intentions to marry Bertie and make him a happy man, in blissful ignorance of the fact that Bertie's happiness is directly proportionate to how far away he can get from her. I loved Bertie's description of Madeline, as a woman who would come down to breakfast every morning, cover her husband's eyes, and say, "guess who?" *giggle*
One of Wodehouse's strongest humor devices is to take lofty sentiments in poetry and apply them to ridiculous situations. He makes special use of Shakespeare and Burke. Jeeves, of course, is the literary expert and frequently corrects Bertie without the shadow of a smirk at the ridiculousness of the poetic application. Ah, for an inscrutable butler who would buttle so tactfully in my house. I think that is what we are missing in the modern lives.
As I said, this is only the second Wodehouse book I've read so I can't compare it very well with the rest of his books, but I enjoyed the read. show less
Sigh! Cannons to the left of me, cannons to the right, cannons in front of me volleyed and thundered! What am I to do? Perhaps this would be the propitious time to put down the Tolstoy, reshelf the Flaubert, leave Faulkner for another day, and settle in for a Bertie Wooster novel, the young, befuddled English lad who is helped through life by his intrepid butler Jeeves. With his deft hand with the language and his erudition, author PG Wodehouse is the very writer to set things right. And a note to all of you: I had no idea that this author's last name, Wodehouse (rhymes with Roadhouse?) is actually pronounced Wood House! Yes, the USA and Britain are two countries divided by a common language: do not get me started at a nation with a show more square called Leicester that is pronounced 'Lester!' Impossible! Or, how about Gloucester, rhyming with 'Roster?' And the River Thames? Yes, you guessed: they say 'Tems,' as in Depends (possibly with the adult diaper in mind)? I give up! Instead, I allow Bertie (and his clown car companions Toby Glossop, Catsmeat Potter Pirbright, and Gussie Finknottle ("As for Gussie, many an experienced undertaker would have been deceived by his appearance and started embalming on sight.") to carry the day, as he enters the political realm to help his mate win a hotly contested seat in Parliament. And as I settle in to follow his story, I already have a delicious sense of a disaster in the making! (Or as he views his upcoming fiasco, Bertie is heard to say, "I hadn't the heart to touch my breakfast. I told Jeeves to drink it himself.") A well-played literary choice on my part; now, another 89 novels to go! show less
Really very good fun. The last decade of Wodehouse's career is patchier than the rest, which is unsurprising given he wrote nigh-on 100 books, was pushing 100 years old, and was a half century out of the era he was writing about - not to mention he hadn't lived in England since the 1930s! These factors make for some works that either feel stodgy, archaic, or just plain "quaint". But this is a great little novel, clocking in at 200 pages, and running through a breezy plot that feels rather like a highlight reel of previous Jeeves and Wooster volumes.
True, there's nothing original here; this plot really is everything we've seen before, as if Wodehouse was trying to reunite as many characters as possible in case this was the final novel in show more the series. And there are occasions, I must admit, when gags are tirelessly repeated. Still, Wodehouse's comic voice is in healthy form, with lines that make the reader burst out laughing and none of the odd anachronisms that, although at their best feel like clever attempts to challenge form, often came to seem like the struggles of an author yoked forever to a formula.
The farce isn't quite as heightened or as clockwork-perfect as in the golden era, but you'd be forgiven for thinking this had been written at least 20 years earlier in his life. show less
True, there's nothing original here; this plot really is everything we've seen before, as if Wodehouse was trying to reunite as many characters as possible in case this was the final novel in show more the series. And there are occasions, I must admit, when gags are tirelessly repeated. Still, Wodehouse's comic voice is in healthy form, with lines that make the reader burst out laughing and none of the odd anachronisms that, although at their best feel like clever attempts to challenge form, often came to seem like the struggles of an author yoked forever to a formula.
The farce isn't quite as heightened or as clockwork-perfect as in the golden era, but you'd be forgiven for thinking this had been written at least 20 years earlier in his life. show less
The Wooster and Jeeves books all follow a predictable, but none the less delightful path. Some item offends Jeeves and there is a coolness between Man and Valet. One of Bertie's aunts is involved, either Agatha, a fearsome creature who Does Not Approve of Bertie, or his more easy going aunt Dahlia, whose years riding to the hounds have left her red of face, loud of voice and possessing a vocabulary that would startle a sailor. There are romantical entanglements, often involving Wooster's near escape from an unfortunate engagement, scrapes aplenty, wild misunderstandings and in the end Jeeves and his prodigious brain puts all to right.
In this installment, the offending article is neither an article of clothing, nor a banjolele, but a show more book held by Jeeves's club, the Junior Ganymedes. Bertie is menaced by the threat of engagement to not only Florence Craye, the beautiful but bossy juggernaut, but also Madeline Basset, who believes that every time a fairy blows its nose a baby is born. There is an election in Market Snodsbury to help an old pal win, a misunderstanding involving a silver porringer and hijinks galore. So much the usual.
These books are always fun, insubstantial and silly, but also clever and funny. show less
In this installment, the offending article is neither an article of clothing, nor a banjolele, but a show more book held by Jeeves's club, the Junior Ganymedes. Bertie is menaced by the threat of engagement to not only Florence Craye, the beautiful but bossy juggernaut, but also Madeline Basset, who believes that every time a fairy blows its nose a baby is born. There is an election in Market Snodsbury to help an old pal win, a misunderstanding involving a silver porringer and hijinks galore. So much the usual.
These books are always fun, insubstantial and silly, but also clever and funny. show less
The reviews printed on the cover are true - it is impossible to remain grumpy while reading PG Wodehouse. Jeeves and Wooster are delightful! This was my first time reading them and now I want all the books. I love the way Wodehouse wrote from the first-person perspective of Wooster, the bumbling young aristocrat. It’s endlessly entertaining in its witticisms and snark, as well as cleverly-timed clumsiness. If you need a brain-break from more serious reading, don’t hesitate to reach for Jeeves. You won’t be sorry.
Note: it is first person, so the grammar is informal and conversational. Wodehouse, however, clearly had an impressively extensive vocabulary and sharp wit. The only real fault I found with this book was that it was so short!
Note: it is first person, so the grammar is informal and conversational. Wodehouse, however, clearly had an impressively extensive vocabulary and sharp wit. The only real fault I found with this book was that it was so short!
Every so often, I need a little bit of Jeeves in my life.
It’s nice that Bertie comes along for the ride, but it’s really Jeeves that I need to spend time with. His dry humour and his ability to fix every scrape is like a balm to my soul. When I’ve been reading too much dystopian fiction, too much realistic fiction, or too much non-fiction, spending a little time with Jeeves is like hitting a reset button and making everything great and wonderful again.
I only mourn the facts that (a) he isn’t real, and (b) he’s not my butler.
Jeeves and the Tie that Binds (also known as Much Obliged, Jeeves depending on who publishes it) is one of the later books in the Jeeves and Wooster series. Thankfully, however, you don’t have to read show more these in order. All you really need to know is that Bertie Wooster and his friends get into scrapes… and it is usually up to Jeeves to get them out of trouble. Lots of hijinks happen. Laughter is had by most – often at Bertie’s expense. And you can always count on Jeeves to know how to solve every problem.
At first I wasn’t sure whether I had read this book before or not, but it turns out that I had just seen the episode that was based on this story. There were, however, enough changes made in that episode, that I couldn’t tell exactly how everything turned out.
I have to say, this book ended in quite the most wonderful way, and I don’t mind talking about it since it doesn’t really spoil anything at all. See, the club that Jeeves belongs to (the Junior Ganymede), requires all butlers to write up any events that the person they are working for may be involved in. This is so that, if that person ever needs a new butler, a potential candidate can look that potential employer up and decide if they really want to work for the employer. Most men only have a short entry… Bertie’s however is 18 pages long, and this upsets and worries him – for good reason, as the book can fall into the wrong hands and the information within can be used for bad purposes. At the end of the book, Jeeves destroys the 18 pages about Bertie because he wants to remain permanently in Bertie’s service. Cue the warm and fuzzy feelings!
The Bottom Line
As expected from one of the Jeeves books, this was absolutely wonderful and lovely! Highly recommend this series if you haven’t already read it. show less
It’s nice that Bertie comes along for the ride, but it’s really Jeeves that I need to spend time with. His dry humour and his ability to fix every scrape is like a balm to my soul. When I’ve been reading too much dystopian fiction, too much realistic fiction, or too much non-fiction, spending a little time with Jeeves is like hitting a reset button and making everything great and wonderful again.
I only mourn the facts that (a) he isn’t real, and (b) he’s not my butler.
Jeeves and the Tie that Binds (also known as Much Obliged, Jeeves depending on who publishes it) is one of the later books in the Jeeves and Wooster series. Thankfully, however, you don’t have to read show more these in order. All you really need to know is that Bertie Wooster and his friends get into scrapes… and it is usually up to Jeeves to get them out of trouble. Lots of hijinks happen. Laughter is had by most – often at Bertie’s expense. And you can always count on Jeeves to know how to solve every problem.
At first I wasn’t sure whether I had read this book before or not, but it turns out that I had just seen the episode that was based on this story. There were, however, enough changes made in that episode, that I couldn’t tell exactly how everything turned out.
I have to say, this book ended in quite the most wonderful way, and I don’t mind talking about it since it doesn’t really spoil anything at all. See, the club that Jeeves belongs to (the Junior Ganymede), requires all butlers to write up any events that the person they are working for may be involved in. This is so that, if that person ever needs a new butler, a potential candidate can look that potential employer up and decide if they really want to work for the employer. Most men only have a short entry… Bertie’s however is 18 pages long, and this upsets and worries him – for good reason, as the book can fall into the wrong hands and the information within can be used for bad purposes. At the end of the book, Jeeves destroys the 18 pages about Bertie because he wants to remain permanently in Bertie’s service. Cue the warm and fuzzy feelings!
The Bottom Line
As expected from one of the Jeeves books, this was absolutely wonderful and lovely! Highly recommend this series if you haven’t already read it. show less
Yes, once again I've succumbed to the predictable but dependable joys of P.G. Wodehouse. Jeeves and the Tie That Binds is a very late work in the canon -- Wodehouse was in his nineties when he published it -- but as the picture on the back cover of my edition proves, the author was still capable of bending at the waist and touching the floor with his fingertips. His mind remained similarly nimble, as the tale tells.
Tie That Binds is a virtual remix of the best Jeeves novel, Code of the Woosters. Here we have a country estate, Spode the jackbooted fascist, one of Bertie's colorful aunts, a young beazel whom Bertie has barely escaped marrying, a Wooster pal in need of funds, and a collectible object at risk of theft. The wrinkle here is show more that this time, Jeeves himself may be putting Bertie in the soup. So who's going to get him out of it?
This lark of a book is not so delightful as Code of the Woosters, true, but that's a bit like saying Othello is not as heartbreaking as Lear. The story threads are intricately woven as always, and the language sparkles like champagne in the sun. We should all be so capable of giving pleasure in our nineties. show less
Tie That Binds is a virtual remix of the best Jeeves novel, Code of the Woosters. Here we have a country estate, Spode the jackbooted fascist, one of Bertie's colorful aunts, a young beazel whom Bertie has barely escaped marrying, a Wooster pal in need of funds, and a collectible object at risk of theft. The wrinkle here is show more that this time, Jeeves himself may be putting Bertie in the soup. So who's going to get him out of it?
This lark of a book is not so delightful as Code of the Woosters, true, but that's a bit like saying Othello is not as heartbreaking as Lear. The story threads are intricately woven as always, and the language sparkles like champagne in the sun. We should all be so capable of giving pleasure in our nineties. show less
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P. G. Wodehouse was born in Guildford, United Kingdom on October 15, 1881. After completing school, he spent two years as a banker at the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank in London and then took a job as a sports reporter and columnist for the Globe newspaper. His first novel, The Pothunters, was published in 1902. He wrote over 100 novels and short show more story collections during his lifetime including A Perfect Uncle, Love Among the Chickens, The Swoop, P. Smith in the City, Meet Mr. Milliner, Doctor Sally, Quick Service, The Old Reliable, Uneasy Money, A Damsel in Distress, Jill the Reckless, The Adventures of Sally, A Pelican at Blandings, The Girl in Blue, and Aunts Aren't Gentlemen. His most famous characters, Bertie Wooster and his manservant, Jeeves, appeared in books such as Much Obliged, Jeeves. He also wrote lyrics for musical comedies and worked as screenwriter in Hollywood in the 1930s. In 1939, he bought a villa in Le Touquet on the coast of France. He remained there when World War II started in 1939. The following year, the Germans appropriated the villa, confiscated property, and arrested him. He was detained in various German camps for almost one year before being released in 1941. He went to Berlin and spoke of his experience in five radio talks to be broadcast to America and England. The talks themselves were completely innocuous, but he was charged with treason in England. He was cleared, but settled permanently in the United States. He became a citizen in 1955. He was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1975. He died from a heart attack after a long illness on February 14, 1975 at the age of 93. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- Canonical title
- Much Obliged, Jeeves
- Original title
- Much Obliged, Jeeves
- Alternate titles
- Jeeves and the Tie That Binds
- Original publication date
- 1971-10-15
- People/Characters
- Reginald Jeeves; Bertram Wilberforce Wooster (Bertie); Dahlia Travers; L.P. Runkle; Madeline Bassett; Florence Craye (show all 13); Harold "Ginger" Winship; Roderick Spode, later 7th Earl Sidcup; Anatole; Magnolia Glendennon; Bingley; Seppings; Mrs. McCorkadale
- Important places
- England, UK; Market Snodsbury, Worcestershire, England, UK; Steeple Bumpleigh; Junior Ganymede Club, London, England
- First words
- As I slid into my chair at the breakfast table and started to deal with the toothsome eggs and bacon which Jeeves had given of his plenty, I was conscious of a strange exhilaration, if I've got the word right.
- Quotations
- Again I was compelled to pause and remind myself that an English gentleman does not slosh a sitting redhead, no matter what the provocation. (Bertie Wooster, Chap. 8)
“Don't tell me she wants me to present the prizes at Market Snodbury Grammar School like Gussie?”
He was alluding to a mutual friend of ours name of Gussie Fink-Nottle, who, hounded by the aged relative into undert... (show all)aking this task in the previous summer, had got pickled to the gills and made an outstanding exhibition of himself, setting up a mark at which all future orators would shoot in vain. (Chap. 9)
She greeted me with one of those piercing view-halloos which she had picked up on the hunting field in those days when she had been an energetic chivvier of the British fox. It sounded like a gas explosion and went through ... (show all)me from stem to stern. I've never hunted, myself, but I understand that half the battle is being able to make noises like some jungle animal with dyspepsia, and I believe that Aunt Dahlia in her prime could lift fellow members of the Quorn and Pytchley out of their saddles with a single yip, though separated from them by two plowed fields and a stretch of woodland. (Chap. 12)
Aunt Dahlia's eye, while not in the same class as that of my Aunt Agatha, who is know to devour her young and conduct human sacrifices at the full moon, has lots of authority. (Chap. 12) - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"Yes, I didn't think it was bad myself," I said, and after a bit more kidding back and forth he shimmered out, leaving me to grapple with the problem—call it Problem (e)—of how to get up and have my bath without waking Gus, who had now transferred himself to my Adam's apple.
- Blurbers
- Wallace, David Foster; Buckley, Christopher; Andersen, Kurt; Waugh, Evelyn
- Original language
- English
- Disambiguation notice
- UK title 'Much Obliged, Jeeves', US title 'Jeeves and the Tie That Binds'
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