Jeeves and the King of Clubs: A Novel in Homage to P.G. Wodehouse

Bertie Wooster and his gentleman’s gentleman, Jeeves, venture into spy thriller territory in this impressive homage, authorized by the Wodehouse estate, from Schott (Schott’s Original Miscellany). In The Code of the Woosters (1938), Bertie and Jeeves outwitted fascist demagogue Roderick Spode, leader of the Black Shorts. Now, officials of the British government suspect Spode is in cahoots with hostile foreign powers and enlist Bertie and Jeeves in an effort to thwart his schemes. Along the way, Bertie visits Brinkley Court, where he must impersonate Aunt Dahlia’s chef, Anatole, and Jeeves reveals much new information about the operations of the Junior Ganymede Club, whose members are butlers and valets. Schott comes up with Wodehouse caliber metaphors (“she has a profile that, if not a thousand ships, certainly propelled a punt or two down the Cherwell”) and otherwise expertly channels the master’s voice, but some readers will wish that he had gone deeper into the nature of Spode’s treachery. Nonetheless, this is an essential volume for Wodehouse fans, rounded out with endnotes full of fun historical and literary facts. Agent: Natasha Fairweather, Rogers, Coleridge & White. (Nov.)