Piccadilly Jim by P.G. Wodehouse

Piccadilly Jim is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on February 24, 1917 by Dodd, Mead and Company, New York, and in the United Kingdom in May 1918 by Herbert Jenkins, London. The story had previously appeared in the US in the Saturday Evening Post between 16 September and 11 November 1916.

It does not feature Bertie and Jeeves; instead we get to meet Jimmy Crocker and Ann Chester, besides a whole bunch of people, of course. There is an admirable butler character as well: Bayliss.

Though a fairly early Wodehouse novel, I enjoyed every page of this quick-paced story peppered with fun characters and clever plot twists. At the end of it I can only marvel at Wodehouse's ability to come up with such clean, entertaining stories. No toilet humour, no unnecessary innuendos, just good ol' fun topped with delightful conversations... and some superb turn of the phrase.

What more could a book-loving worm want?!

Here's a glimpse: James Braithwaite Crocker aka Jimmy Crocker has a scandalous reputation on both sides of the Atlantic, due to his some-time playboy ways, over-drinking habits and penchant for getting into scuffles. The combined effects of which fouls up his snooty, social-climbing stepmother, Eugenia van Brunt's plans: of becoming a leading figure in London society and turning her second husband (Jimmy's ordinary baseball-loving father - Bingley Crocker) into Lord Crocker. [Bingley was a snapper-up of whatever small character parts the gods provided.] However, the future baron himself is yet to recover from the spasm of having discovered that fate had placed him, bound and helpless, in a country where they called baseball rounders and played it with a soft ball and a racket. The shocker for him was that: he finally understood how utterly alone he was in an alien land, after having lived a full five years in stiff-upper-lip-country! His better half though, was blissfully oblivious of all such inane matters and instead, doggedly went about lobbying and networking. That Eugenia was making admirable progress can be gauged from the fact that her friends were English, and every year more exclusively of England's aristocracy. She knew the right people, lived in the right square, said the right things and thought the right thoughts.

So, blaming himself for all the mess, Jimmy decides to move to New York... where he was once a newspaperman writing a society column under the byline "Piccadilly Jim". The newspaper though, continued running the column (minus Jimmy), as a 'tribute' to his notoriety. So effective was the column (rather Jimmy's writing) that the lines blurred... making Jimmy synonymous with "Piccadilly Jim". [And that perhaps effectively put an end to any flickering hopes of a career revival as a newspaperman/column writer.]

On his way to New York he meets the refined red-gold haired Ann Chester, whose company he is eager to cultivate. But all his daydreams are dashed when he hears her say that she already hates Jimmy Crocker, besides other things of course. Such as: 'Jimmy Crocker is a worm!' (Which causes Jimmy to spill his cocktail). 'I despise him more than anyone on earth. I hate to think that he's an American.' (Which makes him to drink the few drops that remained in his glass, partly to make sure of them, partly as a restorative... since it is an unnerving thing to be despised by a red-haired girl whose life he has just saved.) 'He's always drinking...' (Which makes him to set down his highball - hurriedly.)  

Stumped, since he is certain he has never met her, he embarks on an elaborate charade and poses as the upright and beloved son (Algernon Bayliss) of his own butler (Bayliss). Someone who is setting out - with his father's blessings - for the new world, where dollar bills grew on trees. [Algernon, though, sounds like the name of some exotic fern, no?]

Once in New York, he gets into yet another elaborate charade: that of posing as "Jimmy Crocker" - in his aunt's house - this time with Ann's collaboration.  

His aunt, Nesta Pett, is quite a formidable character and a staunch rival of (Jimmy's stepmother) Eugenia - in the social-climbing stakes. [Nesta and Eugenia are sisters.]

Here he is introduced to Nesta's toothless-tiger-hidden-dragon of a husband (and Ann's beloved uncle) - Mr. Peter Pett, the well-known financier, and his stepson - the bulging-from-all-sides, carrying-food-in-his-pocket, munching machine and first-class cigarette pincher - the very obnoxious Ogden.

There are several other occupants in this leading eyesore of a house, including some freeloaders with high pretensions of being would-be literary greats, besides an ex-boxer with a crushed proboscis (Jerry Mitchell, now Mr. Pett's physical instructor) and his ladylove - Celestine (Mrs. Pett's maid). There's a barking occupant too, Aida - Mrs. Pett's beloved poodle - who mostly prefers to bark from the shelter of Mrs. Pett's arms and snap at people's heels (when out of it).

There's a new butler by the name Skinner; he's efficient and a great fan of baseball...

Anything more would spoil the fun. So, grab this book and read, re-read, or re-re-re-re-read. :) Each page elicits a smile, a grin, and a giggle or makes you laugh out loud. The story has many layers and each layer is as delightful (if not more) as the previous one.

Sample these: #1. Solvency shone from the closely shaven faces of the men and reflected itself in the dresses of the women.

#2. Men with new religions greeted women with new hats.

This is superb Wodehouse. This is classic Wodehouse. Elegantly written, exquisitely crafted, endlessly amusing, languorously witty, surprisingly wise and funnily funny.

The satire on the stiff-upper-lip stratosphere is unmistakable... and delightful. After five novels and a collection of ten short stories, I thought I'd tasted most of that word-magician par excellence, P.G. Wodehouse's best cooking. Big mistake. If you are a connoisseur of good writing, you'll relish this one. It's not a book that you finish reading in a jiffy or even in a couple of days. Not even in 3/4 days for that matter. You want to take your time and relish the language, the literature and the play of words.

Verdict: This is a book to be savoured slowly. Yum!

The book jacket cover is quite well done; it shows (rather purports to show) old Mr. Bayliss, not in the pink of condition, but striding out gallantly nevertheless - in order to hand back the crisp five-pound note that his 'son' has so generously given him. He succeeds, leaving Jimmy Crocker aka Algernon Bayliss with a lump in his throat.

The production quality of the book is good; I don't recall any editing errors either.

My two pence worth: These Wodehouse novels make a nice add-on to my bookshelf... and also to my blog.

Wodehouse + Random House = great combo, right?

Though I am absolutely clueless about how far the preparation to welcome a certain Penguin into a Random House has come about. But then, since Penguins cannot get into any random house, wonder whether it will be igloo soon? :)

Details of the book: Piccadilly Jim/ Author: P.G. Wodehouse/ Publisher: Arrow, an imprint of Random House/ Binding: Paperback/ Publishing Date: 01/08/2008/ Genre: Classics/ ISBN-10: 978-0-09-951388-9/ ISBN-13: 9780099513889/ Pages: 300/ Price: $19.95

Picture: The book jacket cover of Piccadilly Jim. Courtesy: link.

Something Fresh by P.G. Wodehouse

After the last two literary misadventures, the fiction-loving epicurean in me decided to retreat to the relative safety of Wodehouse's offerings, and so, here I am with my thoughts on Something Fresh.

Nothing to do with fresh fish though, whether salmon or trout or anything else, anything that passes through the stiff upper lip, I mean. Nevertheless, am yet to figure out just how those stiff-upper-lips can make out the difference, since all boiled-salted-peppered stuff tastes the same, no? Umm, maybe there exists an inbuilt mechanism of foodnamelocation, just as bats have echolocation.

Anyway, let me not digress.

Something Fresh is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse. It was first published as a book in the United States, by D. Appleton & Company on September 3, 1915, under the title Something New, having previously appeared under that title as a serial in the Saturday Evening Post between June 26 and August 14, 1915. It was published in the United Kingdom by Methuen & Co. on September 16, 1915.

"The rules governing exercise in London are clearly defined. You may run, if you are running after a hat or an omnibus; you may jump, if you do so with the idea of avoiding a taxi-cab or because you have stepped on a banana-skin. But, if you run because you wish to develop your lungs or jump because jumping is good for the liver, London punishes you with its mockery. It rallies round and points the finger of scorn."

... This bit (on page #10, actually page #4) made me to instantly warm up to this book, since it pretty much mirrors the desi attitude towards exercise and good health. For us: Exercise first becomes Egg, and then turns into Bacon and it's many distant cousins. Bottom line: We would rather waddle around than exercise.

The Storyline: Something Fresh is the first of the much-acclaimed Blandings novels, though there is a minor Wooster character. Here we are introduced to life below and above stairs - each of which is unique.

There is the countryside-loving Clarence Threepwood, 9th Earl of Emsworth, or Lord Emsworth - who loves to potter around his Blandings Castle even when guests are around, since he belongs to the people-like-to-be-left-alone-to-amuse-themselves-when-they-come-to-a-place school of hosts. There's his younger son - the letter-and-poetry-bombarding Freddie Threepwood, the source of all the worry-lines on Lord Emsworth's forehead. Freddie loves to potter around too - but in London. He is the sort that can effortlessly make a millionaire out of a billionaire. 

There's the gentle-natured sympathetic-dieter (read: starving) Aline Peters, daughter of the quick-tempered and insomniac American millionaire, J. Preston Peters. She is forced to diet so that her dear father can keep up his motivation levels (to diet) - and can, therefore, continue to keep the lining of his stomach in good humour.

J. Preston Peters is a formidable man: a self-made millionaire and a workaholic. He is the sort that wants results, and wants them quick. But this single-minded pursuit of results (in the shape of small bits of paper) has given him indigestion followed by a nervous breakdown, thus exemplifying, "... if Winter comes, can Spring be far behind" yet again. Or should it be: ek ke sath ek free - one comes gratis with the other? You decide. Anyway, due to his specialist's insistence, Mr. Peters took to collecting scarabs as a hobby, but his result-oriented nature ensured that he quickly amassed a prodigious collection, the crowning glory of which was a Cheops of the Fourth Dynasty.

There's George Emerson: Second-in-command of the Hong-Kong Police force and a fleeting acquaintance of Freddie. George is the sort that wonders: 'What are the stout children in the bathing-suits supposed to be doing?' [The stout children in question is Cupid.] He has adored Aline since he wore knickerbockers, and is now determined to first un-diet and then rescue her from a bland life @ Blandings Castle... as Mrs. The Honourable Frederick Threepwood. 

Aline in turn finds George too Superman-ish for her taste. (Vive la difference!)

We are also introduced to Ashe Marson and Joan Valentine - young neighbours and fellow-writers.

Ashe Marson: a tall, well-built, fit-looking young man, with a clear eye and a strong chin, is a young writer employed by the Mammoth Publishing Company. He is the creator of the popular "Gridley Quayle" detective novels (under the pseudonym Felix Clovelly.)

Ashe - the son of a Reverend - was sent to Oxford to read for the Church, but ended up excelling at athletics instead: running the mile in four and a half minutes and the half-mile at a correspondingly rapid speed. His researches in the art of long-jumping won him the respect of all. Result: despite securing his Blue for Athletics, and gladdening thousands by winning the mile and the hale-mile two years in succession (against Cambridge at Queen's Club), his academics failed to take off. However, he did manage to obtain a minor degree, enough to enable him to call himself a Bachelor of Arts, and realizing that you can fool some of the people some of the time, he applied for and secured a series of private tutorships. This was followed by newspaper work, after two years of moderate success he got in touch with the Mammoth Publishing Company - an entity that in spite of controlling several important newspapers, a few weekly journals, and a number of other things, did not disdain the pennies of the office-boy and the junior clerk.

Joan Valentine: a young girl with wheat-gold hair and bright blue eyes, Joan went to school with Aline Peters and later lived in Paris. But since five years has been forced to live the hard life: spells in a shop, doing typewriting, on the stage as a governess, and as a lady's maid. Currently she is engaged as editor of Home Gossip - an organ of the Mammoth Publishing Company, and therefore, a colleague of Ashe Martin... though they were unaware of each other.

... Until the day Joan sees him diligently going about his morning Larsen Exercises and is amused by his complicated maneuvers. [Ashe has other onlookers of course, including a cat.]

Later: Joan apologizes, and while talking about this-and-that encourages Ashe to look for better opportunities among the newspaper ads. Needless to say, the feisty and unflappable Joan makes quite an impression on Ashe who comes to regard her as: 'a human correspondence course in Efficiency'.

Joan and Ashe live in the same apartment building.

For the intrigue-angle, a couple of dubious characters: R. Jones, an obese bookmaker, and Rupert Baxter aka 'The Efficient Baxter', Lord Emsworth's very efficient secretary, make their appearance.

There's an assortment of kitchen-maids, scullery-maids, still-room maids, housemaids, nursery-maids, laundry-maids, chauffeurs, footmen, under-butler, pantry-boys, hall-boys, odd man and steward's room footman. Apart from Valet, Butler, head laundry-maid, head-housemaid, housekeeper, and the groom of the chambers, lady's maid, so on and so forth. It's a small wonder then that bureaucracy too sprung forth from this fertile environment and then spread far and wide via cross-pollination, what?

Having met Joan, and wanting to expand his horizons, Ashe scans the newspapers for better opportunities... and lands one too. That of infiltrating Blandings Castle masquerading as Mr. Peters' valet... and stealing er, recovering the coveted scarab (Cheops of the Fourth Dynasty) that Lord Emsworth has unmindfully walked off with.

Meanwhile, Joan too has been engaged by Aline to recover the same scarab, and is therefore, masquerading as her lady's maid - Ms. Simpson. Ashe and Joan find themselves journeying together to Market Blandings Station... in the same second-class compartment of the four-fifteen express that slid softly out of Paddington Station.

Though Joan is aware of Ashe's purpose, Ashe is in the dark about Joan's, and so spends his time trying to diagnose his sensations vis-à-vis Joan. He finally concludes that since they have only met thrice before, his odd impulse to leap across the compartment and kiss Joan was not love. It was merely the natural desire of a good-hearted young man to be decently chummy with his species.

Frankly, it's a relief to note that his quest for a beetle-like scarab has not motivated him to display crab-like movements around Joan, a la Dev Anand.

Later, Ashe and Joan decide to work together as partners. Joan of course likes to win through her own merit and indicates as much to Ashe (in an effort to discourage him from displaying any chivalry).

What happens next? Who gets to recover the coveted scarab? What happens to Aline and Freddie or to Joan and Ashe? Well, do get hold of this book and enjoy all that rests within its pages. It is guaranteed to bring a smile to your lips. Lord Emsworth's rebuke of Baxter is priceless.

And oh, Ashe does manage to almost rid J. Preston Peters off his dyspepsia, by a combination of Larsen Exercises, cold bath, brisk rub down, sharp walk... and reading to him from a cookbook.

Couldn't have gone wrong, could he?

Btw, there's mention of something that happens so often in India: fellows running amuck and kicking up the deuce's own delight. Looks like: our propensity to run amuck has been world-famous for a while now. But ever wonder why we run amuck so much, when no tiger seems to be chasing us? Besides, there are only 1411 of them, poor fellas, and we are a billion plus and counting... Not fair. We must inculcate the take-it-easy-policy as propounded by our original 'Rubberman'. What say?

Verdict: The book jacket cover is well done; the production quality of the book is good; I don't quite recall any editing errors either, so if at all they exist, ignore them.

Ashe Martin has a whiff of Bertie Wooster. A whiff. And Freddie Threepwood has shades of Augustus Fink-Nottle (from Right Ho, Jeeves).

This is my first Blandings novel; it has been a delightful journey.

Sample this: 'Expensive Classical education now bearing belated fruit.'

And here's some more: 'Ah!' he said.

That blessed word, covering everything. He repeated it, pleased at his ready resource.

'A Cheops of the Fourth Dynasty,' said Mr. Peters fervently.

'I beg your pardon?'

'A Cheops! Of the Fourth Dynasty!'

Lord Emsworth began to feel like a hunted stag. He could not go on saying 'Ah!' indefinitely, yet what else was there to say to this curious little beastly sort of a beetle kind of thing?

'Dear me! A Cheops!'

'Of the Fourth Dynasty!'

'Bless my soul! The Fourth Dynasty!'

Feb 14, 1975, P.G. "Plum" Wodehouse, to use his own phrases, "handed in his dinner pail" and "went off to reside with the morning stars."

Details of the book: Something Fresh/ Author: P.G. Wodehouse/ Publisher: Arrow, an imprint of Random House/ Binding: Paperback/ Publishing Date: 01/08/2008/ Genre: Classics/ ISBN-10: 978-0-09-951378-0/ ISBN-13: 9780099513780/ Pages: 260/ Price: $19.95

Picture: The book jacket cover of Something Fresh. Courtesy: link.

The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse

"He spoke with a certain what-is-it in his voice, and I could see that, if not actually disgruntled, he was far from being gruntled, so I tactfully changed the subject."

Words from Bertie to describe Jeeves' reaction re his lack of enthusiasm about going on a Round-The-World cruise. Needless to say, Jeeves has been trying his bestest to get Bertie to go, even procuring some literature from the Travel Bureau... and attempting to give it to him (instead of the morning paper). I mean: right after Bertie has downed one of Jeeves' miraculous 'Worcester Sauce' and has had the top of his skull fly up to the ceiling and back, and right after he has barely retrieved his eyeballs (after they had shot out of their sockets and rebounded from the opposite wall like racquet balls) and replaced them in position.

"... if not actually disgruntled, he was far from being gruntled..."

Classic.

The 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. It was serialized in The Saturday Evening Post (US) from 16 July to 3 September 1938 and in the London Daily Mail from 14 September to 6 October 1938.

This is my fourth full-length novel (after 'Thank You, Jeeves', 'Right Ho, Jeeves' and 'Joy in the Morning') featuring two of Wodehouse's best-known creations, Bertie Wooster and his gentleman's gentleman - the inimitable Jeeves. ['Carry On, Jeeves' consisted of 10 short stories that made for a delicious hors d'oeuvre.]

Actually, it's good that I read 'Right Ho, Jeeves' before venturing into reading this one; 'coz it is a sort of continuation of the Gussie Fink-Nottle and the Madeline Basset saga.

And since the 'Code of the Woosters' is to never let a pal down, Bertie always finds himself totally involved.

Maybe: the Woosters have never heard of PayPal. Or probably think that the considerably high-quality Wooster chickens won't come home to roost - ever. 

Gussie, as you know is Bertie's fish-faced pal and the world's leading authority on newts (and their love life). Here he is conducting an experiment: trying to study the effects of a full moon on newts... and their love life. Apparently: the guy newts wiggle their tails at the gal newts.

Methinks: once Gussie and the proponent of 'stars-are-god's-daisy-chain' (Madeline Basset) are married, they can conduct yet more experiments - together. This time: about the effects of the stars on newts and their love life. They can then spend hours together - gazing lovingly at newts and talking about them.

What a match! Made in heaven, no doubt.

However, in this novel we encounter a much self-assured and confident Gussie: one who is totally unlike his orange-juice guzzling nervous avatar that we encountered in 'Right Ho, Jeeves'. I mean: the one whose orange-juice had to be spiked with lots of gin for him to be able to make a speech in front of some schoolboys and their guardians. Or for him to be able to tell Madeline what he thinks and feels about her.

This new-found self-assurance is courtesy Jeeves' priceless advice, which Gussie follows diligently by first thinking up and then noting down the many character failings of people like the sly Sir Watkyn Bassett and the bulldoggish Roderick Spode - in excruciating detail (in a small, leather-bound notebook).

Unfortunately, while extracting a fly out of (Sir Watkyn's young niece) Stephanie 'Stiffy' Byng's eye, he (unwittingly) drops this precious notebook, which first lands in Stiffy's not-so-safe hands and then finds it's way elsewhere - including lodging itself inside a prized silver 'cow-creamer'. 

Incidentally, Madeline sees Gussie extracting that fly (out of Stiffy Byng's eyes) and then catches him again, this time: when he is innocently searching Stiffy's stocking (while they were adorning her legs!) - for that precious notebook. Result: she instantly calls off their wedding (on both occasions), and decides to 'make Bertie happy' instead.

Bertie manages to keep his composure and pleads Gussie's cause - in all earnestness.

In this novel, there are three covert operations: 1. Operation 'pinch the silver cow-creamer' (or else Uncle Tom loses out on a prized collector's item, or worse: Aunt Dahlia (and by extension Bertie) has to let go of that French culinary maestro Anatole and bid goodbye to his culinary wonders forever.) 2. Operation 'pinch the policeman's helmet' (else Stiffy's wedding plans with Harold 'Stinker' Pinker will come a cropper.) 3. And the most important operation of all: Operation 'to somehow recover a certain leather-covered notebook' (before it falls into the clutches of Sir Watkyn or Roderick Spode.)

And as fate would have it, Bertie finds himself to be a part (rather, at the centre) of all the three operations, thanks to his generous spirit, friendly disposition and gallant, chivalrous nature.

Its another matter though that he has to depend on Jeeves' supreme fish-powered intellect - in order to extricate himself from all sorts of tangle(s) including from being scaffolded, lynched, or engaged (by a sudden quirk of fate).

There is an implied operation too: Bertie's attempts to keep both Madeline and Stiffy at bay and thus safeguard his free-spirited bachelorhood.

Bertie has in fact arrived at Totleigh Towers to achieve a couple of tasks: 1. To swiftly patch up the sudden rupture in the engagement of Gussie and Madeline Bassett. [Gussie has sent him urgent summons.] 2. The recovery of the 'cow-creamer' - which is now being zealously guarded by the hulky Roderick Spode besides a local police constable.

How did Bertie land himself with task # 2?

Well, his (favourite) Aunt Dahlia browbeat him into it. She first sought his help - to dupe an antique dealer into selling an 18th-century 'cow-creamer' - to adorn Uncle Tom's collection. Failing which, he was then asked to show some sleight of hand (and feet) and recover it from right under the nose of Sir Watkyn. [The latter has audaciously duped the good Uncle Tom by employing some underhanded tactics involving lobsters and cold cucumbers; gained possession of the 'cow-creamer' (ahead of Uncle Tom) and then spirited it away to Totleigh Towers. ...And has been diligently guarding it ever since.]

Bertie isn't too keen about taking on the 'responsibility' of recovering that cow-creamer though. However, Aunt Dahlia surmounts all of his vehement protestations by being most un-dahlia-like. She dangles the culinary magic that her French Master-chef Anatole conjures up (and to which Bertie is devoted to) as bait - by threatening to sever his standing invitation to her place (for a meal).

The way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Indeed.

The major characters: apart from Aunt Dahlia, Uncle Tom, Gussie, Madeline (and of course Bertie and Jeeves), we get to meet: Sir Watkyn Bassett, Roderick Spode, Stephanie 'Stiffy' Byng, the Rev. Harold 'Stinker' Pinker, Sir Watkyn's butler - Butterfield, Constable Eustace Oates, Stiffy's dog - Bartholomew, and the mysterious 'Eulalie'.

The scenes are set in Totleigh Towers - owned by Sir Watkyn Bassett (who is now engaged to marry Roderick Spode's aunt.) Harold is the local curate (and an old pal of Bertie's.) Roderick Spode is the leader of a fascist organization called the Saviours of Britain. Bartholomew (the dog) causes Bertie to sail onto the top of a chest of drawers - like an eagle, and Jeeves to climb onto to a cupboard - like a swallow. Even something as innocuous as an umbrella makes its presence felt. However, the mere mention of 'Eulalie' thwarts the big-built and intimidating Spode and stops him on his tracks.

As to: what 'Eulalie' is - do read this delightful book to find out. I won't play the spoiler.

My twopenceworth: The manner in which Stiffy and Bertie give Sir Watkyn apoplexy and much else - reminds me of the Hrishikesh Mukherjee-directed evergreen classic: 'Golmaal'. There: Utpal Dutt's character, Bhavanishankar, has shades of Sir Watkyn; the irreverent Lakshmanprasad - played by Amol Palekar (in a double role) - displays some Bertie-like hues, while Urmila (essayed by Bindiya Goswami) may fit into the role of a desi Stiffy Byng.

Do read this book and then watch the movie - if in doubt.

Even the manner in which Bertie and his Aunt Dahlia first try to thwart Sir Watkyn and Constable Oates' combined attempt to search Bertie's room in their quest to find the elusive police helmet; and then make light of the whole incident (after the butler, Butterfield, arrives with it on a silver platter: having recovered it from the flowerbed right outside Bertie's window) - reminds me of the delightful and much-watched Bangla movie 'Basanto Bilap'.

This Dinen Gupta-directed 1973 classic stars Soumitra Chattopadhyay and Aparna Sen. The rest of the cast comprises of very competent actors like: Sumitra Mukherjee, Kajol Gupta, Sibani Bose, Kanika Majumdar, Amarnath Mukhopadhyay, Gita De, Tarun Kumar, Shyam Laha, Haridhan Mukherjee, Bankim Ghosh, and Bengal's evergreen trio of fun and laughter: Robi Ghosh, Anup Kumar and Chinmoy Roy.

Soumitro (as the boisterous, slightly impish Shyamsundar Bose) works at a bank. His closest friends are: Robi Ghosh, Anup Kumar (as Lalit aka Lalu) and Chinmoy (as Siddhartha aka Sidhu). There is Aparna (as the feisty Anuradha Singha) and friends (Sumitra, Kajol, Sibani and others.)

Do watch the movie to figure out what I mean. Hint: watch out for the morning after the poster-pasting adventure scene, when some people turn up demanding that their ladder and bucket - be returned forthwith; and the boys (Soumitro, Robi, Anup and Chinmoy) are happily asleep after all the previous night's 'hard work'.

[Both - the ladder and the bucket - was lost the previous night, as a collateral to the poster-pasting adventure, thanks to Anup Kumar's comic zeal: which caused him to trip over the sleeping hostel maid. The latter awoke, created a ruckus and endeavoured to catch him. Everyone, including some neighbours wake up too; in the melee Anup and gang barely manage to escape, leaving the ladder behind. They tackle the hostel guard by dumping the gum-filled bucket over his head.]

My verdict: The Code of the Woosters runs through 14 chapters and 286 pages. As usual, it makes for a breezy read. There is a lot of interplay between Jeeves and Bertie, so enjoy! [Do try to read Right Ho, Jeeves before this one, that way you will know the background better.]

The production quality of the book is good, barely any editing errors (one perhaps, if at all).

The book jacket cover is in a (sort of) parrot green and blue combo. PG Wodehouse appears in a lighter shade of purple, The Code of the Woosters appears in black. The effect is muted and rightly so, 'coz it allows for the figure on the cover (with a torn painting adorning his neck) to grab our attention - instantly. It is the one and only Bertie Wooster - without a shadow of doubt. [Actually: he has had a painting smashed on his head, yet not seeing stars! Bertie is superhuman indeed. :)]

Plus: I thought that Jeeves had politely objected to and then ensured that there were no facial hair on Bertie except for eyebrows and eyelashes. But I see a mustache. [Probably Jeeves was on a longish vacation.]

Frankly: the cover reminded me of Tintin and one of his adventures: where there's a painting of Captain Haddock's look-alike ancestor - Sir Francis Haddock (who lived in the reign of Charles the Second.) It is: 'The Secret of The Unicorn' - I think.

In his zeal to demonstrate to Tintin and Snowy the swashbuckling exploits of his illustrious ancestor (vis-à-vis the dreaded pirate - Red Rackham) as animatedly as he could, Captain Haddock downs several bottles of rum and with a cutlass in hand proceeds to enact it all. At the end of it, he takes a tumble and proclaims 'victory' (Red Rackham lies dead! With a yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum !) By then, Sir Francis Haddock's torn portrait has engulfed his happy face.

I really loved reading 'The Code of the Woosters'. Especially because: it gave me an opportunity to venture into Soumitro territory. I am now hoping that at least one of the remaining ones will gift me with an opportunity to write about Gregory Peck too. :)

Santa Claus - are you listening?

Btw, Wodehouse has a fascination for Archimedes and his famous whoop: Eureka. He is also a Charles Dickens fan - with a particular fondness for 'A Tale of Two Cities' (as can be understood from several references to Sidney Carton). Wodehouse is very likely a fan of Tintin and Captain Haddock and by extension, of their Belgian creator: Hergé as well. 

However: Since Jeeves is a sharp legal-eagle minus the briefcase, I would have been most keen to know his views on Fido Dido In retail. After all: the big print giveth and the fine print taketh away. And I would have also loved to know his take on the 'inbhestment' climate in Didi's Poschimbongo apart from the sudden SPoon-Elep'hunt' tango to the tune of 'Kejri Re...' :)

Or about the new species of evolved human discovered @ the Gardens of Eden: Dhonicus Cricketus X-Mas Giftus. 

Details of the book: The Code of the Woosters/ Author: P.G. Wodehouse/ Publisher: Arrow, an imprint of Random House/ Binding: Paperback/ Publishing Date: 01/07/2008/ Genre: Classics/ ISBN-10: 978-0-09-951375-9/ ISBN-13: 9780099513759 / Pages: 296/ Price: $19.95

Picture: The book jacket cover of The Code of the Woosters. Courtesy: link.

Joy in the Morning by P.G. Wodehouse

Yet another novel from the Jeeves canon, Joy in the morning is a joy to read.

Joy in the Morning is a novel by P.G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on August 22, 1946 by Doubleday & Co., New York, and in the United Kingdom on June 2, 1947 by Herbert Jenkins, London. Some later American paperback editions bore the title Jeeves in the Morning.

The title derives from an English translation of Psalms 30:5:

"Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning."

About Jeeves: After having read three novels (Carry On, Jeeves, Thank You, Jeeves and Right Ho, Jeeves) from the Jeeves cannon, I was (understandably) curious to know Jeeves' full-name. ... And soon enough, I found out: Reginald Jeeves. Its got a nice ring to it, what say?

But wait till you hear Bertie's full-name. It is: Bertram Wilberforce "Bertie" Wooster.

Phew! Wonder how he managed with such a tongue-twister of a name when he was knee-high.

It seems: 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 for the rest of his life. [I guess: a horse-loving parent will be a horse-loving parent. Always.]

Lets get back to Jeeves: Created in 1915, Jeeves continued to appear in Wodehouse's work until his final completed novel Aunts Aren't Gentlemen in 1974. He was Wodehouse's most famous character. [No disputes there, what?!] 

In his 1953 semi-autobiographical book (Bring on the Girls!), written with Guy Bolton, Wodehouse suggests that Jeeves was based on an actual butler called Eugene Robinson that Wodehouse employed for research purposes. He recounts a story where Robinson extricated Wodehouse from a real-life predicament. Wodehouse also recounts that he named his Jeeves after Percy Jeeves (1888–1916), a then-popular English cricketer for Warwickshire. Percy Jeeves was killed at the Battle of the Somme (WWI) during the attack on High Wood in July 1916, two months before the first appearance of the eponymous butler who would make his name a household word.

Well, all I can say is that: there probably have been few tributes that has matched or surpassed this one.

The most invaluable nugget contained in the book ("Wodehouse at the Wicket" by P. G. Wodehouse and Murray Hedgcock) traces the origin of the name Jeeves to Percy Jeeves, a Warwickshire professional cricketer known for his impeccable grooming, smart shirts and spotlessly clean flannels. Wodehouse probably saw him take a couple of smooth, effortless catches in a match between Gloucestershire and Warwickshire. The name, the immaculate appearance and the silent efficiency stuck... and the inimitable manservant appeared first in 1916, just weeks after the original Percy Jeeves died in the war in France.

As for the 1915 or 1916 conflict:

Jeeves and Bertie first appeared in "Extricating Young Gussie", a short story published in September 1915, in which Jeeves's character is minor and not fully developed and Bertie's surname appears to be Mannering-Phipps. The first fully recognizable Jeeves and Bertie story was "The Artistic Career of Corky", published in early 1916. As the series progressed, Jeeves assumed the role of Bertie's co-protagonist; indeed, their meeting was told in November 1916 in "Jeeves Takes Charge".

And that should explain Percy Jeeves' influence: the fictional character of Jeeves taking off in such a big way from 1916 onwards.

Frankly: Thank God for Percy Jeeves! Else a lot of our laughs would have remained un-laughed.

Here's why: apparently the Jeeves (of 1915) was originally intended for one-time use with two speaking lines!

Its good that this changed, 'coz no Jeeves, ... no Bertie, as we know him that is; and no Jeeves and Bertie, ... no P.G. Wodehouse - as we know him either. 

[It reminds me of that popular nursery rhyme: For want of a nail the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe the horse was lost. For want of a horse the rider was lost. For want of a rider the battle was lost. For want of a battle the kingdom was lost. And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.]

Ha!

Jeeves has inspired an Internet search engine as well: Ask Jeeves, and is now a generic term in references such as the Oxford English Dictionary too.

Jeeves's first name of Reginald was not revealed for 56 years, until the penultimate novel in the series, Much Obliged, Jeeves (1971), when Bertie hears another valet greet Jeeves with "Hullo, Reggie." The readers may have been surprised to learn Jeeves's first name, but Bertie was stunned by the revelation "that he had a first name" in the first place.

Well, so am I. :)

My twopennyworth: In Joy in the Morning, there is no bothersome banjolele, but Spinoza makes its appearance.

Spinoza is Jeeves' favourite philosopher. He likes to relax with "improving" books such as the complete works of Spinoza, or to read "Dostoyevsky and the great Russians". He finds Nietzsche "fundamentally unsound".

Which means: Wodehouse may have found Spinoza's work invigorating.

As for moi: Spinoza reminds me of a witch's spindle - the type one finds in Fairy Tales ... and pizza. And since neither Spinoza nor Pizza interests me sufficiently, I will quickly opt for the freshly-made ginger bread instead - anytime. :)

Jeeves has an encyclopedic knowledge on everything under the sun and above it as well: philosophy, literature, poetry - especially romantic poetry, science, history, cuisine, psychology, politics, geography; even medicine - remember his legendary and magical concoctions?!

He is perhaps the original Prof. Google, the one that held forth when the creators of the modern 'Google' were invisible and floating in the air.

Incidentally, Satyajit Ray too thought of 'Google' long before 'Google' existed. Google's creators were not yet born when Ray created 'Sidhujyatha' whose formal name is Shiddeshwar Basu. Ray's extremely popular fictional detective character - Feluda - describes him as 'the walking encyclopedia'. While Sidhujatha describes himself thus: 'Sherlock Holmes had an elder brother, Mycroft Holmes. Although he was very lazy, he was really a big brother to Sherlock in intelligence. Even Sherlock often used to pay visits to Mycroft for his help. Similarly, I am the Mycroft to Felu.'

Sidhujyatha lives in Sardar Sankar Road, Lake Market, Calcutta. He is a bibliophile and has an extensive base of general knowledge, current and historical affairs. He is a close friend of Feluda's father, being neighbours in their ancestral village. Feluda's jyatha (uncle - "jyatha" is the endearing word for father's elder brother in Bangla) is said to have a photographic memory and is a vast source of information and comes in handy when Feluda is in need of some. His vast knowledge comes from his collection of varied kinds of newspaper clippings that he has accumulated over the years. The role was played by Harindranath Chattopadhyay in 'Shonar Kella' ('The Golden Fort'), Ajit Bandopadhyay in 'Baksha Rohoshya' ('The Mystery of the Kalka Mail') and by Haradhan Bandopadhyay in 'Kailashe Kelenkari' ('A Killer in Kailash') and 'Gorosthane Sabdhan' ('Caution in the Graveyard').

Harindranath Chattopadhyay was also seen in the Hrishikesh Mukherjee directed classic (and Rajesh Khanna starrer) - 'Bawarchi'. He has by far been the best Sidhujyatha, and it is unlikely that he (or his portrayal) can be bested.

The word 'potential' is a big favourite in Bengal and Bengalis are big on all the unsung geniuses (heroes or otherwise) who could have made it but didn't. The workaholic Ray too reveals a soft corner for the unsung genius; in the way he wrote Sidhujyatha (played brilliantly on screen by Harindranath Chattopadhyay.) When complimented by Felu ("If you had been a detective, we would have been out of work"), Sidhujyatha simply responds: "If I had done a lot of things, a lot of people would have been out of work. So, I don't do anything. I just sit here and keep the windows of my mind open... "

Classic.

[The suffix "da" (short for "Dada") means 'elder brother' in Bangla, and not the lumpen elements of aamchi Mumbai, mind you. "Da" is also a sort of honorific, used to address an older unrelated male. It essentially signifies: respect.]

The storyline: In Joy in the Morning we meet a host of characters, besides Bertie and Jeeves of course. They are: Bertie's formidable Aunt Agatha and her husband Lord Worplesdon aka Uncle Percy (Percival "Percy" Craye); his fetchingly attractive former fiancée and yet another Spinoza-fan, Lady Florence Craye; her impish brother Edwin and her currently oafish and formerly dumb brickish suitor - 'Stilton' Cheesewright aka G. D'Arcy Cheesewright - the possessor of a "beefy frame, pumpkin-shaped head and a face that looked like a slab of pink dough."

Well, I had heard of several Cartwright, but Cheesewright (?) - this is the first.

Stilton is an old chum of Bertie from their days at Eton and Oxford; here he appears as the local bicycle riding copper at Aunt Agatha's rural village - Steeple Bumpleigh. He is also engaged to Florence Craye who was in residence there.

There's also the (almost celebrity) writer George 'Boko' Fittleworth (who's had his photograph in the Tatler) and Zenobia ('Nobby') Hopwood. 

Boko's dress sense is bohemian-unique to say the least; he is never seen without his grey trousers with a patch on the knee. On meeting Boko for the first time, the extremely sartorially-sensitive Jeeves had "winced visibly and tottered off to the kitchen, no doubt to pull himself together with cooking sherry" - as per Bertie.

Boko and Nobby "are planning to leap in among the orange blossoms" - thanks to Cupid's dart, but Uncle Percy is the looming obstacle. 

Bertie, given his charitable disposition and spirit... volunteers to de-obstacle Uncle Percy sufficiently enough for the lovebirds' "leap in among the orange blossoms" to materialize.

However, as usual, fate has something else in store. And our dear ol' Bertie finds himself at the center of some renewed romantic attention from the Spinoza-loving formidable intellectual and the author of 'Spindrift' - Lady Florence Craye. This sets off the proverbial Newton's Third Law of Motion: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction - from Stilton of course, but from a handful of others as well. The impish Edwin too chips in. So what does Bertie do? Well, read the book (or re-read it) - to find that out and enjoy some laughs.

There's some mention of Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright. Funny name. [There's no Dogsmeat though. And no Harry Potter or Fulbright either.]

Much of the action happens in the precincts of Steeple Bumpleigh Hall and Wee Nooke, some of it at the East Wibley Town Hall. A brooch and a Sindbad the Sailor costume too play their respective parts. And so does a 'porpentine'.

Wodehouse is a great fan of Sherlock Holmes (and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle). He is a 'fan' of Agatha Christie, but a fan of Monsieur Poirot. I'm not sure of his opinion about Jane Austen though.

There's a bit about Othello and Romeo, Longfellow and Tennyson. But there is also something about Shakespeare going about stealing ducks, and an old Bacon and Shakespeare gag about Bacon having written Shakespeare's stuff for him and then, possibly because he owed the latter money or it may be from sheer good nature, allowing him to take the credit for it. 

Umm, this must be one of the earliest instances of 'outsourcing' and 'exploitation' or is it free labour or some sort of barter system? [What say you?]

There is something about Cyrano de Bergerac too.

Hmm. Guess Wodehouse is rather ambivalent about Shakespeare.

But he is quite effusive about Sir Walter Scott. 'Coz Young Lochinvar appears a few times.

[Just in case you want to re-read this lovely poem (that most of us read way back in school), here is a link.]

... Wodehouse is undoubtedly a diehard romantic.

Verdict: Joy in the Morning is a single story that runs through 29 chapters and 296 pages. As usual, the chapters are short and make for a breezy read. Like Carry on, Jeeves, Thank You, Jeeves, and Right Ho, Jeeves, this one too is an any-time, all-weather read. There is a reasonable amount of interplay between Jeeves and Bertie here... and what could be better than that?!

The production quality of the book is good; I don't quite recall any editing errors either, so if at all they exist, ignore them.

The book jacket cover is in a (sort of) parrot green and cherry red combo. PG Wodehouse appears in bright cherry red. It shines. Joy in the Morning appears in white. Nice. There is a figure clad in the colourful Sindbad the Sailor costume (whiskers and all) riding a bicycle and pedaling hard. Who do you think it could be?

Details of the book: Joy in the Morning/ Author: P.G. Wodehouse/ Publisher: Arrow, an imprint of Random House/ Binding: Paperback/ Publishing Date: 01/07/2008/ Genre: Classics/ ISBN-10: 978-0-09-951376-6/ ISBN-13: 9780099513766/ Pages: 296/ Price: $19.95

Picture: The book jacket cover of Joy in the Morning. Courtesy: link.