Gussie Fink-Nottle
Encyclopedia
Augustus "Gussie" Fink-Nottle ('Spink-Bottle' to Bertie
's Aunt Dahlia
) 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
. Described as "a teetotal bachelor with a face like a fish", he wears horn-rimmed spectacles and is a noted newt
fancier.
, where they were schoolmates; growing up, he took up residence in a remote part of Lincolnshire
to pursue his beloved newt
studies. When, in Right Ho, Jeeves
, he first sees Madeline Bassett
, he falls in love with her; too shy to tell her he convinces Bertie to break the news for him. Madeline misunderstands Bertie, thinking that he loves her and is trying to tell her indirectly and when later in the book, she becomes engaged to Gussie, she promises to marry Bertie if ever Gussie leaves her. Consequently, Bertie spends a great deal of time keeping Gussie engaged to Madeline.
A threat to their engagement is the presence of Roderick Spode
, a friend of Madeline's father Sir Watkyn Bassett
. Having loved her in silence for years but convinced of his unsuitability for her, Spode is nonetheless anxious to protect her from heartbreak or wrongdoing by any of her fiancés and eager to beat to a pulp any man who does not treat her properly. Gussie feels Spode's wrath on several occasions. Gussie never actually marries Madeline, instead eloping with the daughter of an American millionaire, Emerald Stoker (who was working as a cook at the Bassett mansion).
The scene in Right Ho, Jeeves in which Gussie, thoroughly inebriated due to Jeeves
and later Bertie Wooster
lacing his orange juice with gin
, as well as his massive drink of whisky, gives a speech at the Market Snodsbury Grammar School is often cited as among the finest vignettes of English
comic literature. The diatribe goes on for several pages and concludes with Gussie hinting darkly at illicit relations between the Headmaster of the Market Snodsbury Grammar School and the mother of the recipient of the prize he is awarding. He had previously hinted that the individual concerned was also well known to the police, much to the discomfort of Bertie Wooster and the amusement of Jeeves. The incident was only concluded by the intervention of the choir singing the National Anthem. Bertie later recalls the event in Jeeves in the Offing, remembering it as "an outstanding exhibition... setting up a mark at which all future orators would shoot in vain."
Max Hastings likened the current Mayor of London Boris Johnson
to Gussie, saying "he developed the persona which has become famous today, a façade resembling that of PG Wodehouse's Gussie Finknottle, allied to wit, charm, brilliance and startling flashes of instability." Significantly, the late Auberon Waugh
made the same comparison about Johnson's predecessor Ken Livingstone
, on the ground that Livingstone is also a newt collector.
Gussie is mentioned in:
Radio actors
Audiobook actors
Bertie Wooster
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...
's 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...
) is a fictional character
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 comic writer 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...
, being a lifelong friend of Jeeves's master Bertie Wooster
Bertie Wooster
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...
and a possible 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....
. Described as "a teetotal bachelor with a face like a fish", he wears horn-rimmed spectacles and is a noted newt
Newt
A newt is an aquatic amphibian of the family Salamandridae, although not all aquatic salamanders are considered newts. Newts are classified in the subfamily Pleurodelinae of the family Salamandridae, and are found in North America, Europe and Asia...
fancier.
Overview
Gussie Fink-Nottle met Bertie Wooster at 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...
, where they were schoolmates; growing up, he took up residence in a remote part of Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
to pursue his beloved newt
Newt
A newt is an aquatic amphibian of the family Salamandridae, although not all aquatic salamanders are considered newts. Newts are classified in the subfamily Pleurodelinae of the family Salamandridae, and are found in North America, Europe and Asia...
studies. When, 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...
, he first sees 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:...
, he falls in love with her; too shy to tell her he convinces Bertie to break the news for him. Madeline misunderstands Bertie, thinking that he loves her and is trying to tell her indirectly and when later in the book, she becomes engaged to Gussie, she promises to marry Bertie if ever Gussie leaves her. Consequently, Bertie spends a great deal of time keeping Gussie engaged to Madeline.
A threat to their engagement is the presence of Roderick Spode
Roderick Spode
Roderick Spode, Bt, 7th Earl of Sidcup, often known as Spode or Lord Sidcup, is a recurring fictional character from the Jeeves novels of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being an "amateur Dictator" and the leader of a fictional fascist group in London called The Black Shorts...
, a friend of Madeline's father Sir Watkyn Bassett
Watkyn Bassett
Sir Watkyn Bassett CBE is a recurring fictional character in the stories of English comic writer P. G. Wodehouse.Bassett is the father of Madeline Bassett, whose mistaken belief that Bertie Wooster wishes to marry her is the basis of a major sub-plot in several stories...
. Having loved her in silence for years but convinced of his unsuitability for her, Spode is nonetheless anxious to protect her from heartbreak or wrongdoing by any of her fiancés and eager to beat to a pulp any man who does not treat her properly. Gussie feels Spode's wrath on several occasions. Gussie never actually marries Madeline, instead eloping with the daughter of an American millionaire, Emerald Stoker (who was working as a cook at the Bassett mansion).
The scene in Right Ho, Jeeves in which Gussie, thoroughly inebriated due to 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...
and later Bertie Wooster
Bertie Wooster
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...
lacing his orange juice with gin
Gin
Gin is a spirit which derives its predominant flavour from juniper berries . Although several different styles of gin have existed since its origins, it is broadly differentiated into two basic legal categories...
, as well as his massive drink of whisky, gives a speech at the Market Snodsbury Grammar School is often cited as among the finest vignettes of English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
comic literature. The diatribe goes on for several pages and concludes with Gussie hinting darkly at illicit relations between the Headmaster of the Market Snodsbury Grammar School and the mother of the recipient of the prize he is awarding. He had previously hinted that the individual concerned was also well known to the police, much to the discomfort of Bertie Wooster and the amusement of Jeeves. The incident was only concluded by the intervention of the choir singing the National Anthem. Bertie later recalls the event in Jeeves in the Offing, remembering it as "an outstanding exhibition... setting up a mark at which all future orators would shoot in vain."
Max Hastings likened the current Mayor of London Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British journalist and Conservative Party politician, who has been the elected Mayor of London since 2008...
to Gussie, saying "he developed the persona which has become famous today, a façade resembling that of PG Wodehouse's Gussie Finknottle, allied to wit, charm, brilliance and startling flashes of instability." Significantly, the late Auberon Waugh
Auberon Waugh
Auberon Alexander Waugh was a British author and journalist, son of the novelist Evelyn Waugh. He was known to his family and friends as Bron Waugh.-Life and career:...
made the same comparison about Johnson's predecessor Ken Livingstone
Ken Livingstone
Kenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone is an English politician who is currently a member of the centrist to centre-left Labour Party...
, on the ground that Livingstone is also a newt collector.
Stories
Gussie is featured in:- Right Ho, JeevesRight Ho, JeevesRight 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...
(1934) – a Jeeves novel - The Code of the WoostersThe Code of the WoostersThe Code of the Woosters is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published on 7 October 1938, in the United Kingdom by Herbert Jenkins, London, and in the United States by Doubleday, Doran, New York...
(1938) – a Jeeves novel - The Mating Season (1949) – a Jeeves novel
- Stiff Upper Lip, JeevesStiff Upper Lip, JeevesStiff Upper Lip, Jeeves is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, published in the United States on March 22, 1963 by Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York, and in the United Kingdom on August 16, 1963 by Herbert Jenkins, London...
(1963) – a Jeeves novel
Gussie is mentioned in:
- Jeeves in the OffingJeeves in the OffingJeeves in the Offing is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on 4 April 1960 by Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York, under the title How Right You Are, Jeeves, and in the United Kingdom on 12 August 1960 by Herbert Jenkins, London....
(1960) – a Jeeves novel (chap. IX)
Actors
Film and TV actors- In the 1990-1993 ITV 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....
:- Richard Garnett, season 1 (episodes 4–5), season 2 (episodes 1–2)
- Richard BraineRichard BraineRichard Braine is a British television actor.One of his most recognisable roles was that of Augustus "Gussie" Fink-Nottle in the ITV television third and fourth series Jeeves and Wooster based on the P. G. Wodehouse novels...
, season 3 (episodes 4–5), season 4 (episode 5)
- James Kall in the 2001 film/TV recording of the musical 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....
Radio actors
Audiobook actors