Rating: 
Summary: A good laugh, but Plum could do better
Review: This is a pretty early Jeeves & Wooster (not, I think, the very first, as somebody says below) and it suffers a bit from being a rambling collection of episodes tied up with the absolute slimmest of attempts at an overall theme. Broadly speaking, it deals with the repeated encounters between Bertie and the irrepressible Bingo Little, whose amorous misadventures make up most of the book. There's a slight uncertainty about Bertie's diction; Wodehouse is too keen to emphasise Bertie's stupidity, which leads to a certain repetitiveness, and the book lacks the inspired lunatic poetry of later stories. Still, it does contain the classic line about "aunt calling to aunt like mastodons bellowing across the primeval swamp", and it's clearly a test-bed for many later ideas. But if you're a Wodehouse beginner, I'd direct you first to "Joy in the Morning" or the all-time classic "The Code of the Woosters". Wodehouse's genius wasn't just his sense of humour, it's his benignity; you can be a raging left-wing anarchist like me and still find his books a delight, because he has so few prejudices and is capable of being so funny about almost nothing at all. He is amazingly lacking in malice. His books are absolutely not a useful guide to Britain in the 20s, or for that matter Britain at any time - they obey their own internal laws, and you either get it or you don't. That his career lasted from before Henry James' death to a time when Don DeLillo had already published three novels is something I find slightly appalling - but I'm still glad the books are there.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent entertainment
Review: This is the first Jeeves & Wooster story Plum ever wrote. The main characters in this novel are Bertie and his valet Jeeves, a complete gentleman and the first to admit Bertie is a bit of a chump. There's also a wide collection of terrifying aunts, miserly uncles, love-sick friends and unwanted fiances that make the plot really witty. Bertie gets into a bit of a trouble when one of his pals, Bingo Little starts to fall in love with every second girl he lays his eyes on. But the soup gets really thick when Bingo decides to marry one of them and enlists Bertie's help. Luckily, he has the inimitable Jeeves to pull him out of it. Excellent entertainment and a good insight into life in England in the 1920s.
Rating: 
Summary: Funniest Wodehouse
Review: This was my first Wodehouse book, and it remains my favorite. I have read it at least 10 times, and still chuckle audibly when I do so. It never gets stale. Every single chapter is hilarious. If you love humor and love the English language, you will treasure this book!
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