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Bill (Lord) Rowcester was well and truly in the gumbo. With the benefit of hindsight he could see that setting himself up as a Silver Ring bookie might not have been his smartest move ever. Particularly when being down on his dibbs threatens his oncoming nuptials with the sterling Jill Wyvern. Lucky for Bill he had the land-lease of Jeeves. Lucky indeed that the fish-fed mastermind's formidable genius was at liberty to take a header into such teasers as borrowing the stellar Mrs. show more Spottsworth's pendent for an hour or three or overseeing the added ingredients of Abbey's Derby Dinner, to say nothing of his lordship's mauve pajamas. show lessTags
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themulhern Written around the same time, a principal theme of both books is aristocratic penury in England and American affluence.
Member Reviews
Full disclosure: I am a huge fan of P.G. Wodehouse, and four stars is the default rating.
The fact that this one is 3.5 stars tells you it's not among my favorites. For a Jeeves novel especially you'd think it would be higher, but in this case, the matter is susceptible of a ready explanation--no Bertie. This is Sherlock without Watson, eggs without bacon, Hobbes without Calvin. It's also explicitly set in post WWII England, which strips away the Edwardian elegance of most of the series. Lastly, it seems to be out of continuity with the rest of the series.
The source material was a stage play which ended with a wedding for the hero. Since Wodehouse did not want Bertie to get married, he could not be the hero himself. But he wanted it to show more include Jeeves. And so the duo was separated, and the results were less than impressive. This book, essentially a novelization of the play, should be appreciated for what it is--a view into the world of Wodehouse the playwright, not Wodehouse the author.
Recommendation: For Wodehouse fans who are willing to forgive an aside in the history of Jeeves and Wooster. show less
The fact that this one is 3.5 stars tells you it's not among my favorites. For a Jeeves novel especially you'd think it would be higher, but in this case, the matter is susceptible of a ready explanation--no Bertie. This is Sherlock without Watson, eggs without bacon, Hobbes without Calvin. It's also explicitly set in post WWII England, which strips away the Edwardian elegance of most of the series. Lastly, it seems to be out of continuity with the rest of the series.
The source material was a stage play which ended with a wedding for the hero. Since Wodehouse did not want Bertie to get married, he could not be the hero himself. But he wanted it to show more include Jeeves. And so the duo was separated, and the results were less than impressive. This book, essentially a novelization of the play, should be appreciated for what it is--a view into the world of Wodehouse the playwright, not Wodehouse the author.
Recommendation: For Wodehouse fans who are willing to forgive an aside in the history of Jeeves and Wooster. show less
The only Jeeves novel not to feature Bertie, and it's a bit odd. Granted, the Jeeves books only take up about 15% of Wodehouse's literary oeuvre, so there's no reason why I should expect them all to be consistent, yet it's intriguing how much the loss of Bertie's narrative voice really does affect the novel.
Instead, Jeeves is temporarily servant to another man, and this is one of Wodehouse's typical country house comedies of errors. His trademark turns of phrase are as funny as ever, and he shows perhaps a greater analysis of character motivations than we usually see in the Jeeves or Blandings canons, where most of the characters are deliberately farcical.
Still, I must admit it's slightly unusual to read, since this just isn't the show more funniest of Wodehouse's works. It's more a breezy little character piece, but I ultimately don't think that was Wodehouse's greatest strength. It's a confection, and really you shouldn't read too much at once without feeling light-headed. Without Bertie Wooster's narrative voice to distress and bamboozle us, our knowledge that Jeeves will save the day somewhat ruins the low dramatic stakes. (Indeed, some of the business in the book's second act - where Jeeves becomes almost exclusively a classical literature quotation machine - borders on self-parody.)
Not a bad book at all, and indeed things liven up in the third act when Wodehouse really goes out guns a-blazing. Still, a trifle odd! show less
Instead, Jeeves is temporarily servant to another man, and this is one of Wodehouse's typical country house comedies of errors. His trademark turns of phrase are as funny as ever, and he shows perhaps a greater analysis of character motivations than we usually see in the Jeeves or Blandings canons, where most of the characters are deliberately farcical.
Still, I must admit it's slightly unusual to read, since this just isn't the show more funniest of Wodehouse's works. It's more a breezy little character piece, but I ultimately don't think that was Wodehouse's greatest strength. It's a confection, and really you shouldn't read too much at once without feeling light-headed. Without Bertie Wooster's narrative voice to distress and bamboozle us, our knowledge that Jeeves will save the day somewhat ruins the low dramatic stakes. (Indeed, some of the business in the book's second act - where Jeeves becomes almost exclusively a classical literature quotation machine - borders on self-parody.)
Not a bad book at all, and indeed things liven up in the third act when Wodehouse really goes out guns a-blazing. Still, a trifle odd! show less
I am shocked by the number of negative reviews of this book by self-professed Wodehouseans here. So shocked that if I were the great man himself, you'd be likely to see an eyebrow of mine raised at least a sixteenth of an inch in response. Yes, the lack of dear Bertie Wooster's wit and schmoozy charm is unfortunate, but the ad hoc cast old P. G. summoned in Bertie's absence does a good job. I liked Bill "Billiken" Towcester (it seems some editions introduce him as Rowcester as in "rooster"; he is firmly Towcester as in "toaster" in my copy), the big game hunter Beggar, the multiple-surnamed American millionairess, and was even able to tolerate Bill's bozo of a brother-in-law, Sir Roderick, at times. I disagree with anyone writing that show more Jeeves was not himself in this volume; I found him to be well-stocked with his typical traits hyperintelligent cunning and English butlerly sangfroid -- two things that are handy to have in a jam, and this book certainly abounds in satisfyingly resolved jams, as any good Wodehouse should. show less
Nice departure for Wodehouse. In this book he portrays the penury of the post-war British landed aristocracy and contrasts it with the affluence of the American widow for humourous effect. The book is in the third person, as Bertie is temporarily absent from the tale. This frees the author to go into his subject a little more deeply without jarring the reader too much, as a Bertie fallen from affluence would be a very helpless Bertie. Also, Jeeves gets to unleash his quotations and general encyclopedic knowledge yet more freely than in Bertie's company, to a subtly different, but still very humourous effect.
The reading by Nigel Lambert was outstanding. The accent he put on for the American widow was remarkable but pleasing; he manages show more to work an "r" into "applesauce" where I did not expect it. show less
The reading by Nigel Lambert was outstanding. The accent he put on for the American widow was remarkable but pleasing; he manages show more to work an "r" into "applesauce" where I did not expect it. show less
The dust jacket informs me that this is "the only Jeeves story in which Bertie Wooster makes no appearance." Which immediately had me wondering whether such a thing could ever possibly work. But, no, it's still as wonderfully witty and as full of delightful silliness as ever. I might have missed Bertie a little, but that didn't stop me from enjoying it thoroughly.
This instalment in the Jeeves series pales compared to all its predecessors.
Without Bertie Wooster’s appearance and narration, we’re immediately thrust into a different world. Sometimes this sort of move is positive, but only if the new characters and settings match those of the previous novels. Overall, they don’t. Apart from Jeeves, Monica is the only character that I like a lot.
The plot isn’t gripping, and the comedy isn’t as consistent as in previous works, but flashes of brilliance do pop up here and there.
Without Bertie Wooster’s appearance and narration, we’re immediately thrust into a different world. Sometimes this sort of move is positive, but only if the new characters and settings match those of the previous novels. Overall, they don’t. Apart from Jeeves, Monica is the only character that I like a lot.
The plot isn’t gripping, and the comedy isn’t as consistent as in previous works, but flashes of brilliance do pop up here and there.
This is an ultramodern (1950s) episode with Bertie not in the picture. But an old Jeeves still has it in this rollicking post-War story of the usual recipe ingredients: betting, financial issues, marriage, and dolts. Lots and lots of lovable pesky, irritating dolts This one is actually one of my favorites. The script just never gets old.
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Author Information
656+ Works 110,533 Members
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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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Ring for Jeeves
- Original title
- Ring for Jeeves
- Alternate titles
- The Return of Jeeves
- Original publication date
- 1953
- People/Characters
- Bertram Wilberforce Wooster; Reginald Jeeves; William Egerton Ossingham Belfry, ninth Earl of Towcester; Captain Cuthbert Gervase 'Bwana' Brabazon-Biggar; Rosalinda Spottsworth; Lady Monica 'Moke' Carmoyle (show all 8); Sir Roderick 'Rory' Carmoyle; Jill Wyvern
- Important places
- Towcester Abbey; England, UK
- First words
- Towcester Abbey---pronounced Toaster---the seat of William Egerton Ossingham Belfry, ninth Earl of Towcester, is one those stately homes of England which were a lot statelier in the good old days before the moth got at them.
- Quotations
- Shy creatures of the night rustled in the bushes at her side and, to top the whole thing off, somewhere in the woods beyond the river a nightingale began to sing with the full-throated zest of a bird conscious of having had a... (show all) rave notice from the poet Keats and only a couple of nights ago a star spot on the program of the B.B.C.
(p. 107) - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"I say," said Rory, the receiver at his ear, "I've just remembered another one. Which is bigger, Captain Biggar or Mrs. Biggar? Mrs. Biggar, because she became Biggar. Ha, ha. Ha, ha, ha! Meanwhile, I'm trying to get---"
His number came through.
"Oh, hullo," he said. "Harrod's?" - Disambiguation notice
- UK title 'Ring for Jeeves', US title 'The Return of Jeeves'
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