The Return of Jeeves

 

By P. G. Wodehouse

In post-WW II Britain, the landed gentry are finding the new socialism difficult. High taxes are making huge estates too expensive to keep up. One such member of the landed gentry is Bill Towcester (pronounced "toaster"), the ninth Earl of Towcester. All that is left of his estate is Towcester Abbey, a huge old building that is falling to bits.

Bill is so broke he has turned to being a bookie to make ends meet. Disguised with an eyepatch and a fake mustache, Bill travels to the various horse races and accepts gamblers' bets on the outcomes. So far it has worked very well and Bill was able to start spending a little money on the Abbey. 

But then one of the gamblers wins big and Bill doesn't have the cash on him to pay the man. So he runs away, pursued by the man, Captain Biggar. Biggar is a man of the world and a big game hunter who has returned home to Britain for the first time in years.

Bill has a hot prospect who is showing interest in buying his house, Rosalinda Spottsworth, a fabulously wealthy widow with a strongly romantic side. Introduced to Bill by his sister, Monica, Rosalinda is hoping the house is haunted and Bill is hoping she doesn't notice how rundown the place is. Rosalinda, Monica and her husband Rory are all staying at the house.

Too bad for Bill, but Biggar has traced Bill's car to Towcester Abbey and when Rosalinda finds out he is in the house, she asks Monica to invite him to stay because he is a very old friend of hers. Monica agrees, without telling Bill. When Bill finds out that Biggar is actually staying in his house, he can only hope that his bookie disguise will keep Biggar from recognizing him. But the cat is let out of the bag when Monica's dimwit spouse Rory unearths the disguise from a chest in full view of Biggar. 

Meanwhile, Jeeves. Jeeves has been working as Bill's butler while Bertie Wooster is in a reeducation camp for the idle rich. It was Jeeves' idea that Bill become a bookie. Jeeves was actually working as Bill's sidekick in the bookie business, also wearing a disguise similar to Bill's. And now it is Jeeves who must save Bill from Captain Biggar's righteous wrath and at the same time help Bill talk Rosalinda into buying Towcester Abbey and also keep Bill's fiancée Jill from finding about the bookie business as she is anti-gambling. 

This is a fun read, full of jokes and nonsense like this choice example: "'Good heavens,' said Monica, 'bells at Towcester Abbey don't ring. I don't suppose they've worked since Edward the Seventh's days. If Uncle George wished to summon the domestic staff, he just shoved his head back and howled like a prairie wolf.'" 

This book was published in 1953 and by then Wodehouse was in his seventies. But it is just as silly and enjoyable as his earlier works. Wodehouse was a prolific author and probably best known for his short stories and for his most famous creation, Jeeves.