Review: The Code of the Woosters

The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My last read of 2022 was one of the best, a classic Jeeves and Wooster story.

I don't own a copy, and found myself both surprised and delighted to discover as I read it that I either hadn't read it before (and just remembered the outline of the incidents from the excellent Wodehouse Playhouse TV version) or had read it maybe once or at the most twice, and a long time ago.

This is the classic story of the Cow Creamer, a thundering MacGuffin (one of two; there's also a notebook) that drives a wonderfully farcical plot. It's a silver cream-jug in the shape of a cow that has been obtained by dubious means by a rival collector, Sir Watkyn Basset, at the expense of Bertie Wooster's Uncle Tom Travers, and Bertie's beloved Aunt Dahlia blackmails him into stealing it from the rival's country house. Meanwhile, he must keep the shaky romance between Gussie Fink-Nottle and Sir Watkyn's daughter Madeline Bassett in good repair, so that Madeline doesn't revert to him as a backup fiancé (being under the misapprehension that he loves her, when in fact he can't stand her at any price), and also attempts, from a mixture of friendship and blackmail on the part of the ruthless and madcap Stephanie "Stiffy" Byng, to fix up her romance with the local curate and obtain the blessing of her uncle, the same Sir Watkyn. Sir Watkyn is himself engaged, to the sister of the objectionable Roderick Spode, a literal Fascist who has ambitions to be a dictator (you could still joke about that in the years between the world wars), and only the resourceful Jeeves is able to stymie this Spode and deliver a happy ending for all concerned, not without considerable inconvenience to Bertie.

It's a strong cast, filled with memorable characters who all have their own clashing agendas, and that, without any necessity to rely on the fortunate coincidence that was Wodehouse's abiding fault in his early novels, naturally drives a satisfyingly convoluted plot.

The Code of the Woosters of the title is that you always help out a friend in need, and also that you can't explain to a woman who is under the false impression that you love her that it's all a mistake. I suspect that the generosity of spirit shown by the first part is one reason that Jeeves sticks around and helps his inept employer out of so many scrapes; it's certainly one reason I enjoy Bertie as a protagonist. He's constantly getting into hot water in pursuit of one or other of these values, along with his desire to continue to enjoy the cooking of Anatole, Aunt Dahlia's exceptional French chef.

Misunderstandings, subterfuges and manipulation abound, and while it would not at all be true to say that a good time is had by all, a wonderful time was certainly had by me.

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