Bertie Wooster
Encyclopedia
Bertram Wilberforce "Bertie" Wooster is a recurring fictional character
in the Jeeves
novels of British
author
P. G. Wodehouse
. An English gentleman, one of the "idle rich" and a member of the Drones Club
, he appears alongside his valet
, Jeeves, whose genius manages to extricate Bertie or one of his friends from numerous awkward situations. As the first-person narrator of ten novels and over 30 short stories, Bertie ranks as one of the most vivid comic creations in popular literature. Bertie’s middle name, “Wilberforce”, is the doing of his father, who won money on a horse named Wilberforce in the Grand National the day before Bertie was born and insisted on Bertie carrying that name (mentioned in Much Obliged, Jeeves
).
Bertie's immediate family: It is established throughout the series that Bertie is an orphan. In the story "Bertie Changes His Mind
" he mentions a sister who has three daughters, referred to by Jeeves as Mrs Scholfield. No other siblings are mentioned.
Bertie's aunts and uncles: Bertie's father is said to have had many siblings. In "Extricating Young Gussie" Bertie's Uncle Cuthbert is described as the "late head of the family". Bertie's Uncle George carries the title of Lord Yaxley.
Other uncles who come into the stories are Henry Wooster, a "looney", whom the family find a considerable embarrassment; and
Willoughby Wooster, upon whom Bertie is initially dependent for financial support, but who apparently passes away during the course of the stories, allowing Bertie to inherit a vast fortune.
Two sisters of Bertie's father play major roles in most of the stories and novels. They are Aunt Dahlia
and Aunt Agatha
.
Bertie's description of the two aunts makes them appear exact opposites, although both criticize him heavily for his aimless life. Aunt Agatha is demeaning and demanding towards Bertie, leaving him quite unhappy about her involvement in his life. Aunt Dahlia is more good natured, but can also be a little demanding. Despite any disagreement he might have towards the plans his aunts have, Bertie feels obligated to follow their whims, often getting in trouble for doing so.
An aunt by marriage, Aunt Julia, the widow of Uncle Cuthbert, appears only in Extricating Young Gussie
but is mentioned by Bertie occasionally. Another aunt by marriage, Aunt Emily, Claude and Eustace's mother, is mentioned in The Inimitable Jeeves
.
Bertie has three uncles-by-marriage throughout the series: Tom Travers, Aunt Dahlia's husband; Spenser Gregson, Aunt Agatha's first husband; and Percy Craye, Earl of Worplesdon, her second.
Bertie's Cousins: Henry's twin sons, Claude and Eustace, play significant roles in several stories, as do Aunt Dahlia's children, Angela and Bonzo Travers, and Aunt Agatha's young son, Thomas Gregson, nicknamed "Thos". The title character of "Extricating Young Gussie" is Bertie's cousin Gussie, son of Aunt Julia and Uncle Cuthbert.
The family title: Bertie's Uncle George is Lord Yaxley, suggesting that he is the eldest living uncle and that Bertie's paternal grandfather likely held the title as well. However, the relative ages of Bertie's father and remaining uncles are unclear, so it is unknown whether Bertie or one of his male cousins would be in line to inherit the title. In "Extricating Young Gussie" Uncle Cuthbert is described as the "late head of the family"; however it is explicitly stated that his son Gussie "has no title."
. Wodehouse himself attended a school by that name, located in Kearsney, Kent; however, the Malvern House which appears in the stories is located in the fictional town of Bramley-on-Sea.
He was further educated at the non-fictional Eton
and at Magdalen College, Oxford
.
Most of Bertie's friends and fellow Drones Club members depicted in the stories attended one or more of these institutions with him. Also, Bertie's former schoolmaster at Malvern House, Aubrey Upjohn
, appears or is mentioned several times.
One detail of Bertie's school life which comes into several stories is his winning of the prize for Scripture Knowledge while at Malvern House. Bertie speaks with pride of this achievement on several occasions; however, in Right Ho, Jeeves
, the character of Gussie Fink-Nottle, while intoxicated, publicly accuses Bertie of having achieved the award through cheating. (Bertie stoutly denies this charge, however, and on the same occasion Gussie makes other completely groundless accusations against other characters.)
Bertie's scriptural knowledge (like most of his mental catalog) often retains at least part of the literal quote, while completely losing the original meaning and context. In one story, Bertie complains about the lavish and constant attentions of a woman in whom he has no interest by referring to her as "old sticketh closer than a brother" in an annoyed fashion. The verse (Proverbs 18:24) that Bertie partially quotes actually is praising the value of close friendship when it refers to a "friend that sticketh closer than a brother".
(in Jeeves Takes Charge
, the second story in terms of publication and the first in the internal timeline of the books), Pauline Stoker, and Bobbie Wickham
. In all of these cases, he rethinks the charms of the holy state and a "lovely profile" upon a closer understanding of the personalities of the girls in question. However, having already received a proposal from him, each assumes in her own way that she has an open invitation to marry Bertie whenever she has a spat with her current fiancé. Madeline Bassett
and Honoria Glossop
are similarly deluded, though in their cases Bertie was attempting to plead the case of a friend (Gussie Fink-Nottle and Bingo Little respectively) but was misinterpreted as confessing his own love. In all of these cases, Bertie feels himself honour-bound (also known as the Code of the Woosters) to agree to the marriage. He often cites his determination to act as a preux chevalier (valiant knight), and observes that "one is either preux or one isn't". In the later stories and novels, Bertie regards engagement solely as a dire situation from which Jeeves must extricate him.
Aunt Agatha is of the opinion that Bertie, whom she believes to be a burden to society in his present state, must marry and carry on the Wooster name; furthermore, he must marry a girl capable of moulding his personality and compensating for his many defects. (Interestingly, though, in the short story Jeeves Takes Charge, Lady Florence Craye tells Bertie that his Aunt Agatha "called you a spineless invertebrate and advised me strongly not to marry you". Aunt Agatha later marries Florence's father Lord Worplesdon, and Florence begins to call Agatha "mother", to Bertie's bemusement, so evidently the two terrifyingly imperious females feel some sort of spiritual kinship.) This prospect mortifies Bertie, not least because it would mean he and Jeeves would have to part ways. He also shares an obvious platonic affection
with his cousin Angela (Aunt Dahlia's daughter), whom he feels protective of during her choppy engagement to Tuppy Glossop.
, a check suit
, purple socks
, white mess jacket, various hat
s or even a moustache
, it is certain that it will be disposed of by the end of the story, sometimes after a period of coolness between the two. In one particular instance, Jeeves goes to the extent of breaking a vase he disliked which had been purchased by Bertie.
Jeeves frequently displays apparent mastery over a vast range of subjects from philosophy (his favourite philosopher is Spinoza) to an encyclopedic knowledge of poetry, science, history, psychology, geography, politics and literature. He is also a 'bit of a whiz' in all matters pertaining to gambling, car maintenance, etiquette and women. However, his most impressive feats are a flawless knowledge of the British aristocracy and making antidotes (esp. for hangovers). His mental prowess is attributed to eating fish, according to Bertie, and the latter often offers the dish to Jeeves.
Among Bertie's many reasons for not wanting to marry are his dislike of children and that all of his fiancées seem to have an aversion to Jeeves, insisting that Bertie dismiss him after their wedding. More importantly Jeeves is disagreeable to the prospect of his master's matrimonial alliance, as any prospective wife would likely dethrone him as the "true master" of the Wooster household. Because of this, he manages to steer Bertie out of every close relationship, sometimes against Bertie's will. Aunt Agatha also disapproves strongly of Jeeves's influence on Bertie, seeing his position as Bertie's "keeper" as further proof of self-insufficiency and unwillingness to take responsibility. Bertie's Aunt Dahlia, on the other hand, is extremely impressed by Jeeves's intelligence and is often party to his clever schemes.
Bertie is known for being incredibly loyal to his friends, willing to do whatever he can to solve their problems. He considers it a duty to be able to help them, saying "when it comes to helping a pal we Woosters have no thought of self." This has led to somewhat of a bad connotation in his life though, as he is regularly volunteered for troublesome tasks — he muses in Jeeves in the Offing that "whenever there is dirty work to be undertaken at the crossroads, the cry that goes around my little circle is always 'Let Wooster do it.'" However, to his credit he never shies away from these tasks or enlisting Jeeves' assistance with them.
Bertie belongs to the Drones Club
, and many of these characters are fellow members and appear in the separate Wodehouse "Drones Club" series of stories. Bertie is also acquainted with Lord Emsworth, another of Wodehouse's best-known characters, and mentions having visited Blandings Castle
.
Bertie also has several adversaries who are constantly suspicious of him and on occasion, threaten him.
Bertie displays a fondness for pre-war slang, peppering his speech with words and phrases such as "What ho!", "pipped", "bally", and so on. He also commonly abbreviates words and phrases, such as "eggs and b." As the years pass, popular references from film and literature would also feature in his narratives.
In additiion to slang, Bertie has some particular linguistic quirks that continue through almost all of his stories. For example, Bertie almost never uses the word "walk" when referring to human bipedal movement. He commonly uses words like "oil", "stagger", and "shimmer", none of which are generally considered common slang for "walk".
and singer. He often plays and sings show tune
s and popular songs of the 1920s and 1930s, including the songs "Nagasaki
", "Puttin' on the Ritz
", "Minnie the Moocher
", and "You Do Something to Me
".
In the fictional biography Jeeves: A Gentleman's Personal Gentleman by Northcote Parkinson, Bertie comes into the title of Lord Yaxley upon the death of his uncle George Wooster, marries Bobbie Wickham and makes Jeeves the landlord of the Angler's Rest pub, which is on the Yaxley estate. Jeeves then supplants Mr Mulliner as the resident expert and storyteller of the pub.
In Alan Moore
's graphic novel The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier
, Bertie appears in the segment "What Ho, Gods of the Abyss?" which comically mixes elements of Wodehouse with H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos
. Bertie blithely recounts the arrival of a Mi-go
to Brinkley Court
and Aunt Dahlia's possession
by Cthulhu
. The Lovecraftian menaces are driven off by Jeeves with the assistance of Mina Murray, Allan Quatermain
, Carnacki
, and Orlando
, but not before Gussie Fink-Nottle's brain is surgically removed (a condition that, in the end, causes no real difference in his behavior). Throughout the events, Bertie remains unaware of the true nature of the goings-on.
have disclosed that when Wodehouse was recommended for a Companion of Honour in 1967, Sir Patrick Dean
, British ambassador in Washington, argued that it "would also give currency to a Bertie Wooster image of the British character, which we are doing our best to eradicate".
Radio actors
Audiobook actors
Audiobooks of many of the Jeeves stories and novels have been recorded by British actors, including Simon Callow
, Jonathan Cecil
, Martin Jarvis, Frederick Davidson
, and Alexander Spencer.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the Jeeves
Jeeves
Reginald Jeeves is a fictional character in the short stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse, being the valet of Bertie Wooster . Created in 1915, Jeeves would continue to appear in Wodehouse's works until his final, completed, novel Aunts Aren't Gentlemen in 1974, making him Wodehouse's most famous...
novels of British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
P. G. Wodehouse
P. G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE was an English humorist, whose body of work includes novels, short stories, plays, poems, song lyrics, and numerous pieces of journalism. He enjoyed enormous popular success during a career that lasted more than seventy years and his many writings continue to be...
. An English gentleman, one of the "idle rich" and a member of the Drones Club
Drones Club
The Drones Club is a recurring fictional location in the stories of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being a gentlemen's club in London. Many of his Jeeves and Blandings Castle stories feature the club or its members....
, he appears alongside his valet
Valet
Valet and varlet are terms for male servants who serve as personal attendants to their employer.- Word origins :In the Middle Ages, the valet de chambre to a ruler was a prestigious appointment for young men...
, Jeeves, whose genius manages to extricate Bertie or one of his friends from numerous awkward situations. As the first-person narrator of ten novels and over 30 short stories, Bertie ranks as one of the most vivid comic creations in popular literature. Bertie’s middle name, “Wilberforce”, is the doing of his father, who won money on a horse named Wilberforce in the Grand National the day before Bertie was born and insisted on Bertie carrying that name (mentioned in Much Obliged, Jeeves
Much Obliged, Jeeves
Much Obliged, Jeeves is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on October 15, 1971 by Barrie & Jenkins, London and in the United States on October 15, 1971 by Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York under the name Jeeves and the Tie that Binds.The two editions have slightly...
).
Family
Bertie's family relationships provide recurring motifs in the stories and novels in which he appears, particularly the relationships with his aunts. Due to the volume of stories and time span over which Wodehouse wrote them, there are a number of inconsistencies and contradictions in the information given about his relatives. "Bertie" and several of his relations appear in the early Wodehouse story "Extricating Young Gussie". In that story the family name is Mannering-Phipps, not Wooster, and the story has never been included in collections of Jeeves and Wooster materials, however the incidents described in "Extricating Young Gussie" are referred to in later stories.Bertie's immediate family: It is established throughout the series that Bertie is an orphan. In the story "Bertie Changes His Mind
Bertie Changes His Mind
This is a Jeeves and Wooster short story collected in the book Carry on Jeeves, published in 1925. This short story tells the reader why Bertie Wooster has such a fear of public speaking, which expanded upon in the novel Right Ho, Jeeves . It is told, in a change, from Jeeves' perspective....
" he mentions a sister who has three daughters, referred to by Jeeves as Mrs Scholfield. No other siblings are mentioned.
Bertie's aunts and uncles: Bertie's father is said to have had many siblings. In "Extricating Young Gussie" Bertie's Uncle Cuthbert is described as the "late head of the family". Bertie's Uncle George carries the title of Lord Yaxley.
Other uncles who come into the stories are Henry Wooster, a "looney", whom the family find a considerable embarrassment; and
Willoughby Wooster, upon whom Bertie is initially dependent for financial support, but who apparently passes away during the course of the stories, allowing Bertie to inherit a vast fortune.
Two sisters of Bertie's father play major roles in most of the stories and novels. They are Aunt Dahlia
Aunt Dahlia
Dahlia Travers is a recurring fictional character in the Jeeves novels of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being best known as Bertie Wooster's bonhomous, red-faced Aunt Dahlia. She is much beloved by her nephew, in contrast with her sister, Bertie's Aunt Agatha...
and Aunt Agatha
Aunt Agatha
Agatha Gregson, née Wooster, later Lady Worplesdon, is a recurring fictional character in the Jeeves stories of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being best known as Aunt Agatha, Bertie Wooster's least favourite aunt, and a counterpoint to her sister, Bertie's Aunt Dahlia...
.
Bertie's description of the two aunts makes them appear exact opposites, although both criticize him heavily for his aimless life. Aunt Agatha is demeaning and demanding towards Bertie, leaving him quite unhappy about her involvement in his life. Aunt Dahlia is more good natured, but can also be a little demanding. Despite any disagreement he might have towards the plans his aunts have, Bertie feels obligated to follow their whims, often getting in trouble for doing so.
An aunt by marriage, Aunt Julia, the widow of Uncle Cuthbert, appears only in Extricating Young Gussie
Extricating Young Gussie
"Extricating Young Gussie" is a short story by British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being the first appearance of two of his most popular characters, the ingenious valet Jeeves and his master Bertie Wooster. It was first published in the U.S. in the 15 September 1915 issue of The Saturday Evening...
but is mentioned by Bertie occasionally. Another aunt by marriage, Aunt Emily, Claude and Eustace's mother, is mentioned in The Inimitable Jeeves
The Inimitable Jeeves
The Inimitable Jeeves is a semi-novel collecting Jeeves stories by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom by Herbert Jenkins, London, on May 17, 1923, and in the United States by George H...
.
Bertie has three uncles-by-marriage throughout the series: Tom Travers, Aunt Dahlia's husband; Spenser Gregson, Aunt Agatha's first husband; and Percy Craye, Earl of Worplesdon, her second.
Bertie's Cousins: Henry's twin sons, Claude and Eustace, play significant roles in several stories, as do Aunt Dahlia's children, Angela and Bonzo Travers, and Aunt Agatha's young son, Thomas Gregson, nicknamed "Thos". The title character of "Extricating Young Gussie" is Bertie's cousin Gussie, son of Aunt Julia and Uncle Cuthbert.
The family title: Bertie's Uncle George is Lord Yaxley, suggesting that he is the eldest living uncle and that Bertie's paternal grandfather likely held the title as well. However, the relative ages of Bertie's father and remaining uncles are unclear, so it is unknown whether Bertie or one of his male cousins would be in line to inherit the title. In "Extricating Young Gussie" Uncle Cuthbert is described as the "late head of the family"; however it is explicitly stated that his son Gussie "has no title."
Education
Bertie's early education took place at the semi-fictional Malvern House Preparatory SchoolMalvern House Preparatory School
Malvern House Preparatory School, at Kearsney, Kent, was a preparatory school which specialised in preparing boys for entry to the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth. The comic writer P. G...
. Wodehouse himself attended a school by that name, located in Kearsney, Kent; however, the Malvern House which appears in the stories is located in the fictional town of Bramley-on-Sea.
He was further educated at the non-fictional Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and at Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million. Magdalen is currently top of the Norrington Table after over half of its 2010 finalists received first-class degrees, a record...
.
Most of Bertie's friends and fellow Drones Club members depicted in the stories attended one or more of these institutions with him. Also, Bertie's former schoolmaster at Malvern House, Aubrey Upjohn
Aubrey Upjohn
The Reverend Aubrey Upjohn is a recurring fictional character from the Jeeves and Drones Club stories of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being the Headmaster at Malvern House Preparatory School during Bertie Wooster's tenure there.-Overview:...
, appears or is mentioned several times.
One detail of Bertie's school life which comes into several stories is his winning of the prize for Scripture Knowledge while at Malvern House. Bertie speaks with pride of this achievement on several occasions; however, in Right Ho, Jeeves
Right Ho, Jeeves
Right Ho, Jeeves is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, the second full-length novel featuring the popular characters Jeeves and Bertie Wooster, after Thank You, Jeeves. It also features a host of other recurring Wodehouse characters, and is mostly set at Brinkley Court, the home of Bertie's Aunt Dahlia...
, the character of Gussie Fink-Nottle, while intoxicated, publicly accuses Bertie of having achieved the award through cheating. (Bertie stoutly denies this charge, however, and on the same occasion Gussie makes other completely groundless accusations against other characters.)
Bertie's scriptural knowledge (like most of his mental catalog) often retains at least part of the literal quote, while completely losing the original meaning and context. In one story, Bertie complains about the lavish and constant attentions of a woman in whom he has no interest by referring to her as "old sticketh closer than a brother" in an annoyed fashion. The verse (Proverbs 18:24) that Bertie partially quotes actually is praising the value of close friendship when it refers to a "friend that sticketh closer than a brother".
Romance
Bertie never marries, but does become engaged in nearly every story and novel. In the early years he is rather given to sudden and short-lived infatuations, under the influence of which he proposes to Florence CrayeFlorence Craye
Lady Florence Craye is a fictional character who appears in P. G. Wodehouse's Jeeves stories and novels. Lady Florence, the daughter of Percy Craye, Earl of Worplesdon and elder sister to Edwin, a nasty little runtish type of lad, is the sometime fiancee of Bertie Wooster...
(in Jeeves Takes Charge
Jeeves Takes Charge
"Jeeves Takes Charge" is a short story written by P. G. Wodehouse. It was first published in the United States in The Saturday Evening Post on November 18, 1916, and in the United Kingdom in the April 1923 edition of Strand Magazine. Its first book publication was in Carry on, Jeeves in 1925...
, the second story in terms of publication and the first in the internal timeline of the books), Pauline Stoker, and Bobbie Wickham
Bobbie Wickham
Roberta "Bobbie" Wickham is a recurring fictional character in the Jeeves and Mr Mulliner stories of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being a troublesome redheaded girl, enamoured of practical jokes which often result in general pandemonium.-Overview:...
. In all of these cases, he rethinks the charms of the holy state and a "lovely profile" upon a closer understanding of the personalities of the girls in question. However, having already received a proposal from him, each assumes in her own way that she has an open invitation to marry Bertie whenever she has a spat with her current fiancé. Madeline Bassett
Madeline Bassett
Madeline Bassett is a recurring character in the Jeeves stories by English comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being one of the young women to whom Bertie Wooster periodically finds himself threateningly engaged.-Overview:...
and Honoria Glossop
Honoria Glossop
Honoria Glossop is a particularly formidable female from the Jeeves stories by P. G. Wodehouse. She is of a rather muscular, sporty temperament, and as such remains unattached...
are similarly deluded, though in their cases Bertie was attempting to plead the case of a friend (Gussie Fink-Nottle and Bingo Little respectively) but was misinterpreted as confessing his own love. In all of these cases, Bertie feels himself honour-bound (also known as the Code of the Woosters) to agree to the marriage. He often cites his determination to act as a preux chevalier (valiant knight), and observes that "one is either preux or one isn't". In the later stories and novels, Bertie regards engagement solely as a dire situation from which Jeeves must extricate him.
Aunt Agatha is of the opinion that Bertie, whom she believes to be a burden to society in his present state, must marry and carry on the Wooster name; furthermore, he must marry a girl capable of moulding his personality and compensating for his many defects. (Interestingly, though, in the short story Jeeves Takes Charge, Lady Florence Craye tells Bertie that his Aunt Agatha "called you a spineless invertebrate and advised me strongly not to marry you". Aunt Agatha later marries Florence's father Lord Worplesdon, and Florence begins to call Agatha "mother", to Bertie's bemusement, so evidently the two terrifyingly imperious females feel some sort of spiritual kinship.) This prospect mortifies Bertie, not least because it would mean he and Jeeves would have to part ways. He also shares an obvious platonic affection
Platonic love
Platonic love is a chaste and strong type of love that is non-sexual.-Amor Platonicus:The term amor platonicus was coined as early as the 15th century by the Florentine scholar Marsilio Ficino. Platonic love in this original sense of the term is examined in Plato's dialogue the Symposium, which has...
with his cousin Angela (Aunt Dahlia's daughter), whom he feels protective of during her choppy engagement to Tuppy Glossop.
Jeeves
When Bertie catches his valet Meadowes stealing his silk socks, he fires him and sends for another from the agency. Jeeves, arriving in Jeeves Takes Charge, mixes Bertie a hangover cure. This comprises an egg yolk, Worcestershire sauce, and red pepper (although Bertie sometimes speculates that there must be more to it). The cure is remarkably effective, and Bertie hires Jeeves immediately. According to the text, Bertie is twenty-four when he hires Jeeves. Thereafter, Bertie cedes much of the control of his life to Jeeves, clashing occasionally on matters of dress and appearance. When Jeeves expresses disapproval of a particular article of Bertie's clothing or grooming, be it a brightly-coloured cummerbundCummerbund
A cummerbund is a broad waist sash, usually pleated, which is often worn with single-breasted dinner jackets . The cummerbund was first adopted by British military officers in colonial India as an alternative to a waistcoat, and later spread to civilian use...
, a check suit
Suit (clothing)
In clothing, a suit is a set of garments made from the same cloth, consisting of at least a jacket and trousers. Lounge suits are the most common style of Western suit, originating in the United Kingdom as country wear...
, purple socks
SOCKS
SOCKS is an Internet protocol that routes network packets between a client and server through a proxy server. SOCKS5 additionally provides authentication so only authorized users may access a server...
, white mess jacket, various hat
Hat
A hat is a head covering. It can be worn for protection against the elements, for ceremonial or religious reasons, for safety, or as a fashion accessory. In the past, hats were an indicator of social status...
s or even a moustache
Moustache
A moustache is facial hair grown on the outer surface of the upper lip. It may or may not be accompanied by a type of beard, a facial hair style grown and cropped to cover most of the lower half of the face.-Etymology:...
, it is certain that it will be disposed of by the end of the story, sometimes after a period of coolness between the two. In one particular instance, Jeeves goes to the extent of breaking a vase he disliked which had been purchased by Bertie.
Jeeves frequently displays apparent mastery over a vast range of subjects from philosophy (his favourite philosopher is Spinoza) to an encyclopedic knowledge of poetry, science, history, psychology, geography, politics and literature. He is also a 'bit of a whiz' in all matters pertaining to gambling, car maintenance, etiquette and women. However, his most impressive feats are a flawless knowledge of the British aristocracy and making antidotes (esp. for hangovers). His mental prowess is attributed to eating fish, according to Bertie, and the latter often offers the dish to Jeeves.
Among Bertie's many reasons for not wanting to marry are his dislike of children and that all of his fiancées seem to have an aversion to Jeeves, insisting that Bertie dismiss him after their wedding. More importantly Jeeves is disagreeable to the prospect of his master's matrimonial alliance, as any prospective wife would likely dethrone him as the "true master" of the Wooster household. Because of this, he manages to steer Bertie out of every close relationship, sometimes against Bertie's will. Aunt Agatha also disapproves strongly of Jeeves's influence on Bertie, seeing his position as Bertie's "keeper" as further proof of self-insufficiency and unwillingness to take responsibility. Bertie's Aunt Dahlia, on the other hand, is extremely impressed by Jeeves's intelligence and is often party to his clever schemes.
Acquaintances
Bertie has several friends who keep popping into his life, mostly for Jeeves' help. A list of those who play major roles are:- Hildebrand "Tuppy" GlossopTuppy GlossopHildebrand "Tuppy" Glossop is a fictional character appearing in some of P. G. Wodehouse Jeeves books. He is a member of the Drones Club and a good friend of Bertie Wooster. In Right Ho, Jeeves, we learn that Tuppy is of Scottish origin.-Relationships:...
, who once challenged Bertie to swing across the pool in the Drones club and "looped back the last ring, thus rendering it necessary for me [Bertie] to drop into the deep end in formal evening costume". He is the cousin of Bertie's sometime fiancée, Honoria Glossop, and is usually engaged to Bertie's cousin Angela. - Augustus "Gussie" Fink-NottleGussie Fink-NottleAugustus "Gussie" Fink-Nottle is a fictional character in the Jeeves novels of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being a lifelong friend of Jeeves's master Bertie Wooster and a possible member of the Drones Club...
, who keeps newts and has a face like a fish. - Oofy ProsserOofy ProsserAlexander Charles "Oofy" Prosser is a recurring fictional character from the stories of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being the millionaire member of the Drones Club and a friend of Jeeves's master Bertie Wooster...
, the Drones Club Millionaire with a pimply face. His wealth apparently exceeds Bertie's, though it can't be by much. - Richard "Bingo" LittleBingo LittleRichard P. "Bingo" Little is a recurring fictional character from the Drones and the Jeeves stories of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being a friend of Jeeves's master Bertie Wooster and a member of the Drones Club.-Overview:...
, who had the penchant of falling in love with every girl he met before finally marrying Rosie M. Banks. - Rev. Harold P. "Stinker" Pinker, CurateCurateA curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
of Totleigh-in-the-Wold. Pinker is consistently clumsy except when playing rugbyRugby unionRugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
as a prop forward. - Freddie Widgeon
- Harold Winship, Stands for Parliament as the Conservative candidate in Market Snodsbury.
- Beefy Bingham, ParsonParsonIn the pre-Reformation church, a parson was the priest of an independent parish church, that is, a parish church not under the control of a larger ecclesiastical or monastic organization...
in the East End - Marmaduke "Chuffy" Chuffnel, the young landowner of Chuffnell Regis, an estate he tries to sell.
- George "Sippy" Sipperly, an author who is arrested for assaulting the police on boat raceThe Boat RaceThe event generally known as "The Boat Race" is a rowing race in England between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club, rowed between competing eights each spring on the River Thames in London. It takes place generally on the last Saturday of March or the first...
night. - Claude "Catsmeat" Potter-PirbrightCatsmeat Potter-PirbrightClaude Cattermole "Catsmeat" Potter-Pirbright is a recurring fictional character from the Jeeves stories of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being a member of the Drones Club and a longtime school friend of Jeeves's master Bertie Wooster...
, an old school friend of Bertie's. - Charles "Biffy" Biffen
- Cyril "Barmy" Fotheringay-Phipps
Bertie is known for being incredibly loyal to his friends, willing to do whatever he can to solve their problems. He considers it a duty to be able to help them, saying "when it comes to helping a pal we Woosters have no thought of self." This has led to somewhat of a bad connotation in his life though, as he is regularly volunteered for troublesome tasks — he muses in Jeeves in the Offing that "whenever there is dirty work to be undertaken at the crossroads, the cry that goes around my little circle is always 'Let Wooster do it.'" However, to his credit he never shies away from these tasks or enlisting Jeeves' assistance with them.
Bertie belongs to the Drones Club
Drones Club
The Drones Club is a recurring fictional location in the stories of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being a gentlemen's club in London. Many of his Jeeves and Blandings Castle stories feature the club or its members....
, and many of these characters are fellow members and appear in the separate Wodehouse "Drones Club" series of stories. Bertie is also acquainted with Lord Emsworth, another of Wodehouse's best-known characters, and mentions having visited Blandings Castle
Blandings Castle
Blandings Castle is a recurring fictional location in the stories of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being the seat of Lord Emsworth , home to many of his family, and setting for numerous tales and adventures, written between 1915 and 1975.The series of stories which take place at the castle,...
.
Bertie also has several adversaries who are constantly suspicious of him and on occasion, threaten him.
Language
With a single exception, all the Bertie Wooster stories are told in the first person by Bertie himself. This perspective allows Wodehouse a comedic paradox: although Bertie himself is, as Jeeves puts it, "mentally negligible", his descriptive style employs a considerable facility with English.Bertie displays a fondness for pre-war slang, peppering his speech with words and phrases such as "What ho!", "pipped", "bally", and so on. He also commonly abbreviates words and phrases, such as "eggs and b." As the years pass, popular references from film and literature would also feature in his narratives.
In additiion to slang, Bertie has some particular linguistic quirks that continue through almost all of his stories. For example, Bertie almost never uses the word "walk" when referring to human bipedal movement. He commonly uses words like "oil", "stagger", and "shimmer", none of which are generally considered common slang for "walk".
Depictions outside the Wodehouse stories
In the Granada Television series Jeeves and Wooster, Bertie is depicted as being a very capable pianistPianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
and singer. He often plays and sings show tune
Show tune
A show tune is a popular song originally written as part of the score of a "show" , especially if the piece in question has become a "standard", more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context...
s and popular songs of the 1920s and 1930s, including the songs "Nagasaki
Nagasaki (song)
"Nagasaki" is a jazz song from 1928 by Harry Warren and Mort Dixon that became a popular Tin Pan Alley hit. The silly, bawdy lyrics have only the vaguest relation to the Japanese port city of Nagasaki...
", "Puttin' on the Ritz
Puttin' on the Ritz
"Puttin' on the Ritz" is a popular song written and published in 1929 by Irving Berlin and introduced by Harry Richman in the musical film Puttin' on the Ritz . The title derives from the slang expression "putting on the Ritz," meaning to dress very fashionably. The expression was inspired by the...
", "Minnie the Moocher
Minnie the Moocher
"Minnie the Moocher" is a jazz song first recorded in 1931 by Cab Calloway and His Orchestra, selling over 1 million copies. "Minnie the Moocher" is most famous for its nonsensical ad libbed lyrics . In performances, Calloway would have the audience participate by repeating each scat phrase in a...
", and "You Do Something to Me
You Do Something to Me
"You Do Something to Me" is a song written by Cole Porter. It is notable in that it was the first number in Porter's first fully integrated-book musical Fifty Million Frenchmen...
".
In the fictional biography Jeeves: A Gentleman's Personal Gentleman by Northcote Parkinson, Bertie comes into the title of Lord Yaxley upon the death of his uncle George Wooster, marries Bobbie Wickham and makes Jeeves the landlord of the Angler's Rest pub, which is on the Yaxley estate. Jeeves then supplants Mr Mulliner as the resident expert and storyteller of the pub.
In Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
's graphic novel The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier is an original graphic novel in the comic book series The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill. It was the last volume of the series to be published by DC Comics. Although the third book to be...
, Bertie appears in the segment "What Ho, Gods of the Abyss?" which comically mixes elements of Wodehouse with H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos
Cthulhu Mythos
The Cthulhu Mythos is a shared fictional universe, based on the work of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft.The term was first coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent of Lovecraft, who used the name of the creature Cthulhu - a central figure in Lovecraft literature and the focus...
. Bertie blithely recounts the arrival of a Mi-go
Mi-go
The Mi-go are a race of extraterrestrials in the Cthulhu Mythos created by H. P. Lovecraft and others. The name was first applied to the creatures in Lovecraft's short story "The Whisperer in Darkness" , taking up a reference to 'What fungi sprout in Yuggoth' in his sonnet cycle Fungi from Yuggoth...
to Brinkley Court
Brinkley Court
Brinkley Court is a recurring fictional location, a country house in the stories of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being the seat of Tom and Dahlia Travers...
and Aunt Dahlia's possession
Demonic possession
Demonic possession is held by many belief systems to be the control of an individual by a malevolent supernatural being. Descriptions of demonic possessions often include erased memories or personalities, convulsions, “fits” and fainting as if one were dying...
by Cthulhu
Cthulhu
Cthulhu is a fictional character that first appeared in the short story "The Call of Cthulhu", published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales in 1928. The character was created by writer H. P...
. The Lovecraftian menaces are driven off by Jeeves with the assistance of Mina Murray, Allan Quatermain
Allan Quatermain
Allan Quatermain is the protagonist of H. Rider Haggard's 1885 novel King Solomon's Mines and its various prequels and sequels. Allan Quatermain was also the title of a book in this sequence.- History :...
, Carnacki
Carnacki
Thomas Carnacki is a fictional supernatural detective created by English fantasy writer William Hope Hodgson. Carnacki was the protagonist of a series of six short stories published between 1910 and 1912 in The Idler magazine and The New Magazine....
, and Orlando
Orlando: A Biography
Orlando: A Biography is an influential novel by Virginia Woolf, first published on 11 October 1928. A semi-biographical novel based in part on the life of Woolf's lover Vita Sackville-West, it is generally considered one of Woolf's most accessible novels...
, but not before Gussie Fink-Nottle's brain is surgically removed (a condition that, in the end, causes no real difference in his behavior). Throughout the events, Bertie remains unaware of the true nature of the goings-on.
Controversy
Bertie's foppish foolishness was not popular with everyone. Papers released by the Public Record OfficePublic Record Office
The Public Record Office of the United Kingdom is one of the three organisations that make up the National Archives...
have disclosed that when Wodehouse was recommended for a Companion of Honour in 1967, Sir Patrick Dean
Patrick Dean
Sir Patrick Henry Dean, GCMG, was Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations from 1960 to 1964 and British Ambassador to the United States from 1965 to 1969....
, British ambassador in Washington, argued that it "would also give currency to a Bertie Wooster image of the British character, which we are doing our best to eradicate".
Actors
Film and TV actors- David NivenDavid NivenJames David Graham Niven , known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in The Pink Panther...
was the only actor to play Bertie in a theatrical film, in Thank You, Jeeves!Thank You, Jeeves!Thank You, Jeeves! is a comedy film starring Arthur Treacher and David Niven.Although the film bears the same title as one of P.G. Wodehouse's novels, and the two leading characters are Jeeves and Bertie Wooster , the screenplay, by Stephen Gross and Joseph Hoffman, bears no similarity to any...
(1935). But this film bore almost no resemblance to Wodehouse's fiction, and portrayed Bertie as a woman chaser, the opposite of the usual situation in the stories. - Ian CarmichaelIan CarmichaelIan Gillett Carmichael, OBE was an English film, stage, television and radio actor.-Early life:Carmichael was born in Hull, in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The son of an optician, he was educated at Scarborough College and Bromsgrove School, before training as an actor at RADA...
played the part of Bertie (opposite Dennis PriceDennis PriceDennis Price was an English actor, remembered for his suave screen roles, particularly Louis Mazzini in Kind Hearts and Coronets, and for his portrayal of the omniscient valet Jeeves in 1960s television adaptations of P. G...
as Jeeves) in the earlier BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
World of Wooster (1965–1967). - Jonathan CecilJonathan CecilJonathan Hugh Gascoyne-Cecil , more commonly known as Jonathan Cecil, was an English theatre, film and television actor.-Early life:...
(who, like Wooster himself, is an Old Etonian) played him in the tribute Thank You, P. G. Wodehouse (1981). - Hugh LaurieHugh LaurieJames Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE , better known as Hugh Laurie , is an English actor, voice artist, comedian, writer, musician, recording artist, and director...
(also an Old Etonian) portrayed Bertie in the early-1990s ITVITVITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
series Jeeves and WoosterJeeves and Wooster-External links:*—An episode guide to the series, including information about which episodes were adapted from which Wodehouse stories.*—Episode guides, screenshots and quotes from the four series....
opposite his long-time comedy partner, Stephen FryStephen FryStephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
, as Jeeves.
Radio actors
- Terry-ThomasTerry-ThomasThomas Terry Hoar Stevens was a distinctive English comic actor, known as Terry-Thomas. He was famous for his portrayal of disreputable members of the upper classes, especially cads and toffs, with the trademark gap in his front teeth, cigarette holder, smoking jacket, and catch-phrases such as...
played Bertie in a dramatisation of "Jeeves Takes Charge" released as a record album in the 1960s. - Richard BriersRichard BriersRichard David Briers, CBE is an English actor whose career has encompassed theatre, television, film and radio.He first came to prominence as George Starling in Marriage Lines in the 1960s, but it was in the following decade when he played Tom Good in the BBC sitcom The Good Life that he became a...
portrayed Bertie in BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
series What Ho, Jeeves! opposite Michael HordernMichael HordernSir Michael Murray Hordern was an English actor, knighted in 1983 for his services to the theatre, which stretched back to before the Second World War.-Personal life:...
as Jeeves. The series ran occasionally from 1973 to 1981. - Simon CadellSimon CadellSimon John Cadell was an English actor.Born in London, he was the grandson of the Scottish character actor Jean Cadell, the brother of the actress Selina Cadell, and the cousin of the actor Guy Siner. He was educated at Bedales School at Petersfield where his close friends included Gyles...
played Bertie opposite David SuchetDavid SuchetDavid Suchet, CBE, is an English actor, known for his work on British television. He is recognised for his RTS- and BPG award-winning performance as Augustus Melmotte in the 2001 British TV mini-drama The Way We Live Now, alongside Matthew Macfadyen and Paloma Baeza, and a 1991 British Academy...
as Jeeves in a BBC radio adaptation of The Code of the Woosters. - Marcus BrigstockeMarcus BrigstockeMarcus Alexander Brigstocke is an English comedian, actor and satirist who has worked extensively in stand-up comedy, television, radio and in 2010-2011 musical theatre. He is particularly associated with the 6.30pm comedy slot on BBC Radio 4, having frequently appeared on several of its shows...
played Bertie in a Radio 4 adaptation of The Code of the Woosters in 2006, with Andrew SachsAndrew SachsAndrew Sachs is a German-born British actor. He made his name on British television and is best known for his portrayals of Manuel in Fawlty Towers, a role for which he was BAFTA-nominated, and Ramsay Clegg in Coronation Street.-Early life:Sachs was born in Berlin, Germany, the son of Katharina , a...
as Jeeves.
Audiobook actors
Audiobooks of many of the Jeeves stories and novels have been recorded by British actors, including Simon Callow
Simon Callow
Simon Phillip Hugh Callow, CBE is an English actor, writer and theatre director. He is also currently a judge on Popstar to Operastar.-Early years:...
, Jonathan Cecil
Jonathan Cecil
Jonathan Hugh Gascoyne-Cecil , more commonly known as Jonathan Cecil, was an English theatre, film and television actor.-Early life:...
, Martin Jarvis, Frederick Davidson
Frederick Davidson
Frederick Harvey Davidson was the 26th Mayor of Winnipeg from 1917 to 1918.He was born in Brockville, Ontario and moved to Western Canada when he was 18 years old...
, and Alexander Spencer.
See also
- Other characters in the Jeeves stories
- By JeevesBy JeevesBy Jeeves, originally Jeeves, is a 1975/1996 musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Alan Ayckbourn, based on the novels of P. G. Wodehouse....
, originally Jeeves, a musical since 1975
External links
- BBC's World of Wooster (March 2007 Archive.org cache) at the BBC Comedy Guide (down )
- ITV's Jeeves and Wooster (March 2007 Archive.org cache) at the BBC Comedy Guide (down )