Bertie Wooster is an English gentleman living in New York, who seems to get himself into all sorts of jams. It’s up to his manservant Jeeves to come up with the plan to save the day from unpleasant houseguests, stingy uncles, broken hearts, and hard-partying aunts.
By : P. G. Wodehouse (1881 - 1975)
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"Leave it to Jeeves" (revised as "The Artistic Career of Corky" in Carry On, Jeeves)
Bertie is in New York. His friend, Bruce "Corky" Corcoran, a struggling artist, relies on an allowance from his rich uncle Alexander Worple, who runs a jute business. Corky introduces his fiancée, Muriel Singer, to Bertie. Corky is afraid that his disagreeable uncle will not approve of her. At Bertie's bidding, Jeeves suggests that, since Mr. Worple wrote a book about birds called "American Birds", Muriel should write "The Children's Book of American Birds" and dedicate it to Mr. Worple, and then send Worple a letter thanking him for his work and asking to meet him. Muriel does not feel she can write a book, so Jeeves proposes they pay a ghostwriter. To help Corky and Muriel, Bertie pays to have the book published and written. Worple replies to Muriel's letter that he would be happy to meet her.
Bertie leaves town for several months to be with friends in the country. He returns to New York and spots Muriel in a restaurant. She has married Alexander Worple. Shocked, Bertie returns to his flat and tells Jeeves, though Jeeves is not surprised, having known this was a possibility. Bertie, uneasy about seeing Corky after this, avoids Corky, but eventually visits Corky after reading in the paper that Muriel and Worple have had a son. Bertie learns that Corky has been commissioned by his uncle to paint a picture of the baby. The situation is terrible for Corky, but he has no choice.
Later, Corky asks Bertie to see the painting. Bertie finds it ugly. Corky believes he has painted the soul of his model. Worple arrives and is appalled by the painting, calling it an extract from a comic supplement. He ends Corky's allowance, leaving Corky distraught. Jeeves, taking inspiration from Worple's comment, believes that the picture could be the foundation for a series of comedic drawings, and suggests the title "The Adventures of Baby Blobbs". Corky cheerfully agrees. The drawings become successful and Corky gives Jeeves a generous reward. Bertie decides to wear a blue suit with a faint red stripe, but Jeeves wants him to wear a brown suit; Bertie agrees to have it Jeeves's way.
Jeeves and the Unbidden Guest
The story takes place in New York. Jeeves wants Bertie to wear the White House Wonder, a hat of the style worn by President Coolidge, though Bertie wears the Broadway Special hat instead. Jeeves also protests Bertie's pink tie, which Bertie wears anyway. Bertie is visited by a friend of his Aunt Agatha, Lady Malvern, and her ladyship's son, Wilmot "Motty", Lord Pershore. Lady Malvern tells Bertie to let Motty, a meek young man who sucks his walking stick, live with him while she tours American prisons for a book she is writing. She says that Motty is a vegetarian, teetotaller, and quiet reader. Troubled, Bertie seeks sympathy from Jeeves, but Jeeves remains distant.
One night, Bertie comes home and sees that Motty is not there. Also, none of Motty's books have been touched. There is a thud on the door, and Jeeves answers it. Motty is lying on the mat outside, moaning and drunk. Bertie and Jeeves carry him to bed. In the morning, Motty, having drunk one of Jeeves's special hangover cures, is cheerful. He intends to make the most of his time in New York. He goes out partying. Bertie tries to chaperone once but cannot keep up with Motty. Bertie is concerned that Lady Malvern and Aunt Agatha will blame him. Then Motty starts bringing noisy friends to Bertie's flat. Bertie is bitten by Rollo, a bull-terrier that Motty won in a raffle. Irritated, Bertie leaves to stay with his friend Rocky Todd in the country. However, Bertie is bored there and returns in a week.
When Bertie returns home, Jeeves tells him that Motty gave Rollo away after Rollo bit him on the leg. Bertie is pleased. Jeeves also mentions that Motty is in prison after assaulting a constable. Bertie, worried, does not want to explain this to Lady Malvern. Jeeves suggests telling her that Motty is visiting Boston. Bertie says this to Lady Malvern when she returns. She asks him how he accounts, then, for her seeing Motty at a prison. She accuses Bertie of leading Motty astray. Jeeves appears, and says Bertie was repeating what Jeeves told him, but that really Motty went to prison voluntarily to do research for Lady Malvern's book. Lady Malvern is touched and apologizes to Bertie.
Grateful, Bertie tells Jeeves to burn the pink tie and get him the White House Wonder hat. Jeeves thanks him. Bertie asks if there is anything else Jeeves would like. Jeeves says fifty dollars, which he owes to Motty. Jeeves had wagered fifty dollars that Motty would not punch a passing policeman, and Motty had won the wager. Bertie gives Jeeves a hundred dollars.
Jeeves and the Hard Boiled Egg
Bertie has grown a moustache, despite disapproval from Jeeves. Bertie's friend Francis "Bicky" Bickersteth comes to Bertie in search of advice. Bertie asks Jeeves to help. Doubtful, Bicky tells Bertie that the manner is private, but Bertie says that Jeeves probably already knows all about it anyway, and indeed he does: Bicky is in a dilemma since his uncle, the miserly Duke of Chiswick, who gives Bicky an allowance on the condition that Bicky improve himself financially, has decided to visit Bicky. Bicky, wishing to remain in New York, has been lying to his uncle about finding a business opportunity in the city.
Jeeves proposes that Bertie lend his flat to Bicky so that Bicky can pretend he owns a nice flat. Jeeves will pretend to be Bicky's valet. Bertie will remain as Bicky's guest, and Chiswick will have the second spare bedroom. After making a fuss over cab fare, Chiswick arrives, meeting Bertie and Jeeves. He is impressed by his nephew's flat. Bertie leaves to a club, meeting Bicky on the way out. Later, Bertie returns, and Jeeves tells him Bicky and his uncle have gone out. Some trouble has arisen: Chiswick, believing Bicky is now successful, is going to cancel his allowance.
Bicky comes up with a plan: starting a chicken-farm. Bertie wants to lend him the money to start one, but Bicky does not borrow money from friends. Jeeves suggests that Bicky could get the money from Americans who would pay to shake hands with His Grace. Jeeves manages to make a deal with a convention of 87 gentlemen from Birdsburg, Missouri; they will each shake Chiswick's hand and pay a total of one hundred and fifty dollars afterward. Bertie will secretly increase that sum to five hundred dollars. Bertie tells Bicky about the convention, and Bicky tells his uncle that some of his pals want to meet him. The gentlemen come, and things go smoothly until the Birdsburg men ask for a guarantee that Chiswick is really a duke, since they are paying money. Chiswick, who did not know about this payoff, rebukes them. The deal is off, and the Birdsburg men leave.
Bicky admits the truth about the Birdsburg men and his financial status. His uncle is furious, and threatens to cut off all money to Bicky. Jeeves, however, suggests that Bicky could sell the story of this encounter with the Birdsburg convention to a newspaper. Chiswick, who has a horror of publicity, is browbeaten into offering Bicky a secretarial job back in London. Bicky negotiates for a high salary of five hundred pounds a year. They leave. Impressed by Jeeves, Bertie tells him to fetch his shaving things and shave off his moustache. Jeeves, deeply moved, thanks him.
Absent Treatment
Reggie Pepper's friend Bobbie Cardew, who was very forgetful at the time when the story takes place, invites Reggie to his home for dinner. Reggie sees that Bobbie's wife Mary is very well dressed. Her manner is strained. The following day, Bobbie sullenly tells Reggie that the previous day was his and Mary's first wedding anniversary. Bobbie's forgetfulness continues to create problems between him and Mary, though he does remember to give Reggie money he owes him, feeling it is important to pay a debt. Reggie says Bobbie should try to remember dates for his wife, but Bobbie does not think dates really matter.
For months, Bobbie continues to forget things despite warnings from Reggie. One day in their club, a distressed Bobbie tells Reggie that Mary has left him. She wrote him a letter saying that she will only return when Bobbie cares enough to remember her birthday, which Bobbie has forgotten. After Reggie and Bobbie discuss other ideas for determining her birthday, Bobbie suggests they search through astrology books that describe the character of people born in certain months to find a description that matches Mary. This plan is unsuccessful, as each character description is applicable to Mary.
Bobbie thinks hard about the problem for weeks, and Reggie observes that Bobbie is becoming more mindful as a result of his efforts. Eventually, Bobbie remembers the show he and Mary saw on her last birthday at the Coliseum, narrowing the search down to six days in May. In the middle of the night, Bobbie calls Reggie, waking him up, and says they saw a matinée, which means the show was on Wednesday or Saturday. Reggie reminds him that there are daily matinées at the Coliseum, which disappoints Bobbie.
Reggie remembers that he had lunch with Bobbie that day, which Bobbie paid for. Bobbie looks in his cheque-book and happily discovers their lunch was on the eighth. Reggie then calls a hotel, and asks to speak to Mrs. Cardew. He tells her that Bobbie has remembered her birthday. Initially excited, she asks if Bobbie has been worried. Proud of their scheme, Reggie replies that Bobbie has been very worried, and is surprised when Mary berates him for letting Bobbie become so concerned. In the end, Reggie notes that he is still Bobbie's friend but is scorned by Mary, despite having acted with the best intentions.
"Helping Freddie" (Reggie Pepper, rewritten as the Jeeves story "Fixing it for Freddie" in Carry On, Jeeves)
Freddie Bullivant, a friend of Bertie's, is upset after Freddie's fiancée, Elizabeth Vickers, broke off their engagement. Bertie is taking a cottage by the sea at Marvis Bay, Dorsetshire, and brings Freddie along to cheer him up. Meanwhile, Jeeves promises to consider Freddie's problem. At Marvis Bay, Freddie is still dejected. One day he sees Elizabeth, who is at Marvis Bay, too. She is cold to him. While walking on the beach, Bertie sees her playing with a young child. Bertie deduces that the child is Elizabeth's cousin. Bertie gets an idea: if he kidnaps the child, then Freddie can return the child to Elizabeth, telling her he found the lost child and essentially saved his life, and Elizabeth will be so grateful that she will renew their engagement.
Bertie brings the kid back to his cottage and explains his scheme to Freddie. Freddie brings the child to Elizabeth, but returns and reports bitterly that Elizabeth doesn't know the child. After asking a sweet-stall man who sees the child often, Bertie learns that the child is from the Kegworthy family living at Ocean Rest. Bertie goes there, and Mr. Kegworthy recognizes his son, calling him Tootles. Kegworthy says the household has the mumps, and they did not know where to put Tootles. He trusts Bertie since he knows Bertie's Aunt Agatha, and asks him to look after Tootles for a few days. Annoyed, Bertie walks away with Tootles. They meet Elizabeth, and she mistakenly thinks Bertie is the child's father. Bertie and Freddie take care of the child, but they struggle. Bertie pays a nurse to help.
Jeeves tells Bertie about a movie he saw. At first Bertie is upset that Jeeves is forgetting his promise, but apologizes after Jeeves explains that the movie gave him an idea: Tootles will say "Kiss Freddie!" to Elizabeth and then Freddie will say something bashful; thus, Elizabeth will be moved to reconcile with him. Jeeves and Bertie train Tootles by giving him sweets when he says "Kiss Freddie!".
However, Elizabeth, on her way to the beach, spots the child and approaches. She offers him sweets, and the child shouts, "Kiss Fweddie!". Freddie comes out and, not knowing Bertie's scheme, fails to say anything. The child continues to shout, until Bertie, defeated, tells Elizabeth she must give the child the sweets. Bertie confesses the plan, and Elizabeth laughs. Bertie sidles away and meets Jeeves, who is just returning from a walk. He tells Jeeves that the plan is over, but is startled when he sees a crowd gathering in front of the cottage. On the porch, Freddie and Elizabeth are embracing. Jeeves observes that things have ended well after all.
"Rallying Round Old George" (Reggie Pepper, rewritten as the Mr. Mulliner story "George and Alfred" in Plum Pie)
At The Angler's Rest pub, the topic of twins arises, and Mr. Mulliner recounts the following story involving his nephews, the identical twins George and Alfred. Alfred is a magician in London professionally known as "The Great Alfredo", while George is a low-ranking scriptwriter in Hollywood, being essentially a yes-man to his boss Jacob Schnellenhamer. Mr. Mulliner befriends Schnellenhamer and sees George on Schnellenhamer's yacht heading to Monte Carlo. George is eager to collect an inheritance left to him by his godmother from his trustee, P. P. Bassinger, in Monaco.
At Monte Carlo, Mr. Mulliner is surprised to see Alfred, who is performing at the Casino. Mr. Mulliner tells Alfred that he is with the filmmaker Schnellenhamer. Alfred leaves for rehearsal before Mr. Mulliner can tell him that George has also come. Later, Schnellenhamer says that Sam Glutz, whom Schnellenhamer came to Monte Carlo to do business with, was mugged and knocked out near the Casino. He was found by a passer-by and taken to a hospital. Sergeant Brichoux of the Monaco police arrives, looking for George Mulliner. George's wallet was found near where Glutz was mugged. Concerned, Mr. Mulliner looks for George.
He finds George, who had been drinking because Bassinger gambled George's inheritance away and ran off to South America. George remarks that he dreamed he had brawled with someone. Mr. Mulliner concludes that George must have mugged Sam Glutz when drunk. He tells George to flee, but George's passport is on the yacht. George cannot get it while the police are around, and he says his uncle would never find it. George resigns himself to his fate, saying of life, "You can't win". Mr. Mulliner, hearing "twin", gets an idea: George will retrieve his passport pretending to be Alfred.
On the yacht, a man claiming to be Alfred shows up and pitches an idea to Schnellenhamer to include a magician in his next film. Mr. Mulliner realizes this is actually Alfred. Alfred goes further into the yacht to get materials to demonstrate his tricks, and then George appears, pretending to be Alfred. Sergeant Brichoux is about to arrest George when a bandaged man, Sam Glutz, approaches. Schnellenhamer tells him that they have the mugger, George, and that he has fired George. However, Sam reveals that George actually saved his life by fending off the mugger. Sam hires George and promises him a large salary. Sam, George and Mr. Mulliner leave to have lunch. Meanwhile, Alfred returns to demonstrate his tricks to Schnellenhamer.
"Doing Clarence a Bit of Good" (Reggie Pepper, rewritten as the Jeeves story "Jeeves Makes an Omelette" in A Few Quick Ones)
Bertie gets a call from his Aunt Dahlia. She is at Marsham Manor, where she is trying to convince the romance novelist Cornelia Fothergill into selling her new novel to Aunt Dahlia's weekly paper, Milady's Boudoir, as a serial. Aunt Dahlia asks Bertie to come help charm Cornelia into lower price, and also do another job. Bertie agrees, not wishing to be barred from the cooking of Aunt Dahlia's superb chef Anatole. With Jeeves, Bertie arrives and meets Cornelia, her husband Everard, and his father Edward. Aunt Dahlia explains to Bertie that Edward, an amateur artist, painted Venus and gave the painting for Everard as a wedding present, but Everard, a professional artist, cannot stand the painting.
Aunt Dahlia shows Bertie one of Everard's paintings, which she claims is better, though Bertie does not see much difference. Cornelia has agreed to lower her price if Edward's painting is removed. Aunt Dahlia wants Bertie to steal and destroy the painting, leaving the window open so that thieves will be blamed. Bertie consults Jeeves, who advises using treacle and brown paper to silently break the window instead. At night, Jeeves breaks the window, and Bertie cuts out the painting with a knife. Bertie brings it to his room.
Following Jeeves's advice, Bertie starts cutting the large painting up and burning it piece by piece. Aunt Dahlia comes to help. All three cut up and burn the painting; Bertie using the knife, Aunt Dahlia scissors, and Jeeves garden shears. When they are nearly finished, Jeeves notices one of the pieces bears the signature "Everard Fothergill".
Bertie thinks the signature says "Edward" but Aunt Dahlia agrees it is "Everard". Bertie goes to check if he got the wrong painting, and bumps into Edward, who regrets giving Everard his painting and is stealing it back. Now Edward's painting is gone, but they have destroyed Everard's painting, which will upset Cornelia. Jeeves suggests that Bertie should be found lying stunned, so that it appears he tried to fend off thieves. Aunt Dahlia proposes hitting Bertie on the head with something, and Jeeves suggests the gong stick. Bertie disapproves and moves to leave, but is knocked out when he turns away. Bertie wakes up in bed with a headache, and is annoyed. Aunt Dahlia tells him that Cornelia was grateful for Bertie's bravery and sold her the serial at a low price. Aunt Dahlia sympathizes with Bertie, but, quoting what Jeeves said after Bertie was knocked out, says that you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs. Bertie tells Jeeves to cut out eggs and lay off omelettes from now on, and Jeeves agrees, adding that he will bear it in mind.
The Aunt and the Sluggard
In New York, Bertie is surprised to be woken by his friend Rockmetteller "Rocky" Todd, who normally lives quietly in the country. Rocky received a letter from his aunt in Illinois and namesake, Miss Isabel Rockmetteller: she will pay Rocky an allowance, on the condition that he live in New York and write to her once a week about his experiences there so she can enjoy the city second-hand. She feels that she is not healthy enough to go to New York herself, though Rocky asserts that she is only being lazy.
Rocky hates the city, but is afraid of defying his aunt and being cut out of her will. Jeeves suggests getting someone else to spend time in New York and write notes for Rocky, who will then uses the notes to write letters to his aunt. Bertie proposes that Jeeves write the notes. Jeeves happily obliges. He writes notes about evenings he spends at clubs with celebrities, and Rocky writes exciting letters, which please his aunt.
Later, Rocky's Aunt Isabel abruptly shows up at Bertie's flat, which she thinks belongs to Rocky. Bertie says he is a friend of Rocky's, but she is clearly annoyed with Bertie's presence. Jeeves sends a telegram to bring Rocky to the flat. Meanwhile, Aunt Isabel plans to stay. She assumes Jeeves is Rocky's valet. Bertie goes to stay in a hotel, where he suffers without Jeeves, while Rocky endures going out to clubs with his aunt. He tells Bertie that the letters were so exciting that she believes she had some kind of faith cure, which allowed her to travel to New York. She ended Rocky's allowance since she is covering both their expenses.
Rocky's aunt starts to brood, and Rocky thinks she is wondering where Rocky's celebrity friends are. He asks Bertie to join them to distract her. Bertie does so, but Aunt Isabel still broods. The three of them return to the flat, where Aunt Isabel confesses that she now feels that the city is a vile place, after she heard the orator Jimmy Mundy speak against the evils of the city. She says that she heard him speak because Jeeves mistakenly brought her to the wrong venue, though she is glad he did. She implores Rocky to live in the country instead. Rocky enthusiastically agrees. The next day, Rocky and his aunt have left, and Bertie is back in his flat. He praises Jeeves. Jeeves advises Bertie to discontinue wearing his green tie and to wear the blue with the red domino pattern instead. Bertie agrees.
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