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Jeeves (born Reginald Jeeves, nicknamed ReggieMuch Obliged Jeeves, Chapter 4.) is a fictional character in a series of comedic short stories and novels by the English author P. G. Wodehouse. Jeeves is the highly competent valet of a wealthy and idle young Londoner named Bertie Wooster. First appearing in print in 1915, Jeeves continued to feature in Wodehouse's work until his last completed novel, Aunts Aren't Gentlemen, in 1974.
Both the name "Jeeves" and the character of Jeeves have come to be thought of as the quintessential name and nature of a manservant, inspiring many similar characters as well as the name of an Internet search engine, Ask Jeeves, and a financial-technology company. TechCrunch: Jeeves raises $57m" 2 September 2021 A "Jeeves" is now a generic term, according to the Oxford English Dictionary.
Jeeves is a valet, not a butler; that is, he is responsible for serving an individual, whereas a butler is responsible for a household and manages other servants. On rare occasions he does fill in for someone else's butler. According to Bertie Wooster, he "can with the best of them".
In his 1953 semi-autobiographical book written with Guy Bolton, Bring on the Girls!, Wodehouse suggested that the Jeeves character was inspired by an actual butler named Eugene Robinson whom Wodehouse employed for research purposes. Wodehouse described Robinson as a "walking Encyclopaedia Britannica". However, Robinson worked at Wodehouse's house in Norfolk Street where Wodehouse did not live until 1927, long after Jeeves had been created.
Wodehouse named his Jeeves after Percy Jeeves (1888–1916), a popular English cricketer for Warwickshire. Wodehouse witnessed Percy Jeeves bowling at Cheltenham Cricket Festival in 1913. Percy Jeeves was killed at the Battle of the Somme in July 1916, less than a year after the first appearance of the Wodehouse character who would make his name a household word."The most invaluable nugget contained in the book ''Wodehouse traces the origin of the name Jeeves to Percy Jeeves, a Warwickshire professional cricketer known for his impeccable grooming, smart shirts and spotlessly clean flannels. Wodehouse probably saw him take a couple of smooth, effortless catches in a match between Gloucestershire and Warwickshire. The name, the immaculate appearance and silent efficiency stuck and the inimitable manservant appeared first in 1916, just weeks after the original Percy Jeeves died in the war in France."
In a letter written in 1965, Wodehouse wrote that he had read Harry Leon Wilson's Ruggles of Red Gap when it was first published as a magazine serial in 1914 and it influenced the creation of Jeeves.Thompson (1992), p. 121. Ruggles of Red Gap is a comedic novel about an English valet who is won by an American from an English earl in a poker game. In the letter, Wodehouse wrote, "I felt that an English valet would never have been so docile about being handed over to an American in payment of a poker debt. I thought he had missed the chap's dignity. I think it was then that the idea of Jeeves came into my mind." (2026). 9780750959643, The History Press. ISBN 9780750959643
The development of Jeeves and Bertie was influenced by Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, according to Richard Usborne; Sherlock Holmes and Jeeves are "the great brains" while Dr. Watson and Bertie are "the awed companion-narrators, bungling things if they try to solve the problems themselves".Usborne (2003), Plum Sauce: A P G Wodehouse Companion, pp. 58–59. Jeeves and Bertie have been described as comic versions of Holmes and Watson. (2026). 9781461661276, Cooper Square Press. ISBN 9781461661276 Wodehouse directly compares Jeeves and Bertie to Holmes and Watson in some of the Jeeves stories, such as in Aunts Aren't Gentlemen.Thompson (1992), pp. 112–114.
Jeeves has an uncle, Charlie Silversmith, who is butler at Deverill Hall. Silversmith dandled Jeeves on his knee frequently when Jeeves was very young and, when Jeeves is an adult, they write regularly to each other.Wodehouse (2008) 1949, The Mating Season, chapter 8, p. 86.Wodehouse (2008) (1971), Much Obliged, Jeeves, chapter 1, p. 10 and chapter 15, p. 161. Charlie Silversmith's daughter Queenie Silversmith is Jeeves's cousin. Jeeves also mentions his late uncle Cyril in Right Ho, Jeeves. His niece Mabel is engaged to Bertie Wooster's friend Charles "Biffy" Biffen. His cousin Egbert is a constable and plays a role in the short story "Without the Option".Garrison (1991), pp. 96–98.
Jeeves has three placid aunts, in contrast to Bertie Wooster's aunts.Wodehouse (2008) (1971), Much Obliged, Jeeves, chapter 12, p. 126. Aunt Emily is interested in psychical research, and another aunt, Mrs. Pigott, owns a cat in Maiden Eggesford; this cat plays a major role in Aunts Aren't Gentlemen. Jeeves occasionally refers to an aunt without naming her, including one who read Oliver Wendell Holmes to him when he was young.Ring & Jaggard (1999), p. 131. In Right Ho, Jeeves, he mentions his Aunt Annie, though she was widely disliked.Wodehouse (2008) 1934, Right Ho, Jeeves, chapter 23, p. 288.
Shortly before entering Bertie's service, Jeeves was employed by Lord Frederick Ranelagh, who was swindled in Monte Carlo.Wodehouse (2008) 1923, The Inimitable Jeeves, chapter 4, p. 46. Jeeves previously worked for Lord Worplesdon, resigning after nearly a year because of Worplesdon's eccentric choice of evening dress.Wodehouse (2008) 1925, Carry On, Jeeves, chapter 1, p. 13. Jeeves later helps Lord Worplesdon in Joy in the Morning. Other former employers include Mr. Digby Thistleton (later Lord Bridgnorth), who sold hair tonic;Wodehouse (2008) 1925, Carry On, Jeeves, chapter 2, pp. 56–57 and chapter 4, p. 93. Mr. Montague-Todd, a financier who is in the second year of a prison term when Jeeves mentions him;Wodehouse (2008) 1925, Carry On, Jeeves, chapter 10, p. 268. and Lord Brancaster, who gave port wine-soaked seedcake to his pet parrot.Wodehouse (2008) 1934, Right Ho, Jeeves, chapter 14, pp. 153–154.
Jeeves becomes Bertie Wooster's valet. However, his tenure with Bertie Wooster has occasional lapses during the stories; at these times, Jeeves finds work elsewhere. Jeeves works for Lord Chuffnell for a week in Thank You, Jeeves, after giving notice because of Bertie Wooster's unwillingness to give up the banjolele, and is briefly employed by J. Washburn Stoker in the same novel. In Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves, he serves as substitute butler for Bertie's Aunt Dahlia, and later enters Sir Watkyn Bassett's employment for a short time as part of a scheme to help Bertie. Jeeves is Lord Rowcester's butler for the length of Ring for Jeeves.Cawthorne (2013), pp. 173–174.
While working for Bertie Wooster, he occasionally pretends to be the valet of one of Bertie's friends as part of some scheme, though he is still actually Bertie's valet. He pretends to be the valet of Bicky Bickersteth in "Jeeves and the Hard-boiled Egg", Rocky Todd in "The Aunt and the Sluggard", and Gussie Fink-Nottle when Gussie masquerades as Bertie Wooster in The Mating Season.Cawthorne (2013), p. 174. Jeeves acts as a bookmaker's clerk in Ring for Jeeves, disguising himself for the role with a check suit and walrus moustache.Ring & Jaggard (1999), p. 137. In the play Come On, Jeeves, which has mostly the same plot as Ring for Jeeves, it is mentioned that Jeeves changed his appearance as a bookmaker's clerk, though in the play, Jeeves also impersonates a medieval ghost named Lady Agatha, wearing makeup and women's medieval clothing to complete the disguise. He pretends to be a broker's man in "Jeeves and the Greasy Bird" and Bertie's solicitor in Aunts Aren't Gentlemen. In one instance, he pretends to be Bertie Wooster in a telephone conversation with playwright Percy Gorringe.Wodehouse (2008) 1954, Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit, chapter 3, pp. 36–37. In Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves, he assumes an alias, calling himself Chief Inspector Witherspoon of Scotland Yard. This alias is also mentioned in Aunts Aren't Gentlemen.
Jeeves is a member of the Junior Ganymede Club, a London club for butlers and valets.
Bertie and Jeeves experience a variety of adventures in numerous short stories and novels. Aside from changes in his employment status, some events occur that are particularly noteworthy for Jeeves. Jeeves gets engaged twice in "Jeeves in the Springtime", though he never talks about these fiancées afterwards, and it appears that he does not become engaged again.Usborne (2003), p. 91. In the only story Jeeves narrates, "Bertie Changes His Mind", he opposes Bertie's decision to live with his nieces. Jeeves and Bertie visit Deverill Hall, where Jeeves's Uncle Charlie is employed as butler, in The Mating Season.
In the novel Ring for Jeeves, which is set after World War II, Jeeves temporarily works as Lord Rowcester's butler while Bertie is sent to a school where the idle rich learn to fend for themselves. This is the only story in which Jeeves appears without Bertie Wooster. The novel was adapted from the play Come On, Jeeves.
Jeeves's first name was not revealed until the penultimate novel, Much Obliged, Jeeves. Bertie Wooster learns Jeeves's name when he hears another valet greet Jeeves with "Hullo, Reggie." The readers may have been surprised to learn Jeeves's first name, but Bertie was stunned by the revelation "that he had a first name" in the first place.Wodehouse (2008) 1971, Much Obliged, Jeeves, chapter 4, p. 38. "'Hullo, Reggie,' he said, and I froze in my chair, stunned by the revelation that Jeeves's first name was Reginald. It had never occurred to me before that he had a first name" (Bertie about Bingley greeting Jeeves).In the 1937 film Step Lively, Jeeves, Jeeves, portrayed by Arthur Treacher, states his first name to be Rupert. However, Wodehouse had nothing to do with the script of that film, and Treacher's Jeeves character is so unlike Wodehouse's Jeeves that the viewer could easily believe him to be a different Jeeves altogether. In the club book of Jeeves's club, the Junior Ganymede, all members must record the foibles of their employers to forewarn other butlers and valets. Bertie wants Jeeves to destroy his section. Jeeves is initially reluctant to defy his club's rules, but he eventually does destroy the pages for Bertie by the end of Much Obliged, Jeeves.
Jeeves last appears in Aunts Aren't Gentlemen, in which Jeeves and Bertie head to the rural village of Maiden Eggesford, though Jeeves wants to go to New York. He and Bertie visit New York at the end of the story.
In the reference work Wodehouse in Woostershire by Wodehouse scholars Geoffrey Jaggard and Tony Ring, it is speculated using information provided in the Jeeves canon that Bertie's age ranges from approximately 24 to 29 over the stories, and that Jeeves is roughly ten years older than Bertie, giving an age range of 35 to 40.Ring & Jaggard (1999), pp. 124–126. This happens to agree with a personal letter Wodehouse wrote in 1961 to scholar Robert A. Hall Jr., in which Wodehouse, explaining that his characters did not age with real life time, gave an approximate age for Jeeves:
Keggs in A Damsel in Distress is supposed to be the same man who appears in Something Fishy, but does it pan out all right? It doesn't if you go by when the books were written. The Damsel was published in 1919 and the Butler in 1957. But I always ignore real life time. After all, Jeeves—first heard of at the age presumably of about thirty-five in 1916—would now be around eighty-five, counting the real years.Hall (1974), pp. 16 and 19. Jeeves's first appearance was in "Extricating Young Gussie", which was published in 1915 the US. However, multiple Wodehouse reference books say that Jeeves first appeared in 1916, possibly because that is when he first appeared in both the US and the UK.
Thompson suggests that the age gap between Bertie and Jeeves is roughly 20 years. According to the stage directions of Come On, Jeeves, Jeeves is depicted as being in his mid-forties. (1992). 087008139X, James H. Heineman, Inc.. 087008139X Though, it is worth noting the play is set in the 1950s (later adapted into the novel Ring For Jeeves), so this indicates the general age Jeeves may appear to be in the non-linear canon, rather than a chronological reference point.
In appearance, Jeeves is described as "tall and dark and impressive".Wodehouse (2008) 1953, Ring for Jeeves, chapter 4, p. 40. When they first meet in "Jeeves Takes Charge", Bertie describes Jeeves as "a kind of darkish sort of respectful Johnnie" with "a grave, sympathetic face" and a nearly silent way of walking that Bertie equates to a "healing zephyr".Wodehouse (2008) 1925, Carry On, Jeeves, chapter 1, p. 12. On multiple occasions, Bertie states that Jeeves has "finely chiselled features", and a large head, which seems to Bertie to indicate intelligence. As Bertie says, Jeeves is "a godlike man in a bowler hat with grave, finely chiselled features and a head that stuck out at the back, indicating great brain power".Wodehouse (2008) 1949, The Mating Season, chapter 23, p. 219. Bertie also describes Jeeves's eyes as gleaming with intelligence.
Jeeves generally manipulates situations for the better and is described as "a kindly man" in Ring for Jeeves.Wodehouse (2008) 1953, Ring for Jeeves, chapter 19, p. 211. However, he does influence Bertie's decisions to suit his own preferences, such as when he causes Bertie to change his mind about living with his nieces in "Bertie Changes His Mind". On other occasions, Jeeves manipulates events so that Bertie will take his vacation in an environment which Jeeves -- not Bertie -- prefers. Jeeves is also stubborn when opposing a new item that Bertie has taken a liking to, such as an alpine hat or purple socks. While he often stays on in spite of these radical objects, he can only withstand so much: the worst case is when he resigned after Bertie, privately labeling him as a "domestic Benito Mussolini", resolved to study the banjolele in the countryside.Wodehouse (2008) 1934, Thank You, Jeeves, chapter 1. Usually, Jeeves finds a way to help Bertie with a problem, and Bertie agrees to give away the item that Jeeves disapproves of. Even when Bertie and Jeeves are having a disagreement, Jeeves still shows sympathy, as much as he shows any emotion, when Bertie is in serious trouble.Wodehouse (2008) 1963, Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves, chapter 4, p. 33. Bertie says regarding Jeeves, "He and the young master may have had differences about Alpine hats with pink feathers in them, but when he sees the y.m. on the receiving end of the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, he sinks his dudgeon and comes through with the feudal spirit at its best. So now, instead of being cold and distant and aloof, as a lesser man would have been, he showed the utmost agitation and concern. That is to say, he allowed one eyebrow to rise perhaps an eighth of an inch, which is as far as he ever goes in the way of expressing emotion."
Often wearing "an expression of quiet intelligence combined with a feudal desire to oblige",Wodehouse (2008) 1934, Thank You, Jeeves, chapter 5, p. 50. Jeeves consistently maintains a calm and courteous demeanor. When he feels discomfort or is being discreet, he assumes an expressionless face which Bertie describes as resembling a "stuffed moose"Wodehouse (2008) 1934, Right Ho, Jeeves, chapter 9, p. 94. or "stuffed frog".Wodehouse (2008) 1954, Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit, chapter 12, p. 118 and chapter 21, p. 219. When very surprised, he will raise his eyebrow a small fraction of an inch, and when he is amused, the corner of his mouth twitches slightly.Wodehouse (2008) 1974, Aunts Aren't Gentlemen, chapter 5, p. 46, and chapter 20, p. 182. His composure extends to his voice, which is soft and respectful.Wodehouse (2008) 1925, Carry On, Jeeves, chapter 1, p. 31. When he wishes to start a conversation, he sometimes makes a low gentle cough "like a very old sheep clearing its throat on a misty mountain top".Wodehouse (2008) 1971, Much Obliged, Jeeves, chapter 11, p. 122. He may also cough to signify disapproval.Wodehouse (2008) 1963, Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves, chapter 23, p. 191. Bertie states that he saw the normally imperturbable Jeeves come "very near to being rattled" for the first time when the sight of Bingo Little in a false beard caused Jeeves to drop his jaw and steady himself with a table in "Comrade Bingo".Wodehouse (2008) 1923, The Inimitable Jeeves, chapter 12, p. 123–124. In Joy in the Morning, Bertie claims that the only occasion on which he had ever seen Jeeves "really rattled" was when he first met Bertie's friend Boko Fittleworth, who wears turtleneck sweaters and flannel trousers with a patch on the knee; Jeeves "winced visibly and tottered off" to recover his composure in the kitchen, where Bertie supposes Jeeves pulled himself together with cooking sherry.Wodehouse (2008) 1947, Joy in the Morning, chapter 6, p. 52.
Bertie says that Jeeves is persuasive and magnetic.Wodehouse (2008) 1934, Right Ho, Jeeves, chapter 22, p. 269. Bertie describes Jeeves: "He is magnetic. There is about him something that seems to soothe and hypnotize. To the best of my knowledge, he has never encountered a charging rhinoceros, but should this contingency occur, I have no doubt that the animal, meeting his eye, would check itself in mid-stride, roll over and lie purring with its legs in the air." He believes that Jeeves could convince a candidate standing for Parliament to vote against herself.Wodehouse (2008) 1971, Much Obliged, Jeeves, chapter 8, p. 84. There is a poetic side to Jeeves, who recites a great deal of poetry. He is much affected when a parted couple reconciles, and tells Bertie that his heart leaps up when he beholds a rainbow in the sky.Wodehouse (2008) 1947, Joy in the Morning, chapter 16, p. 154 and chapter 17, p. 161. Jeeves is probably quoting William Wordsworth's poem "My Heart Leaps Up".
It is not unusual for Bertie's acquaintances to ask for Jeeves's help directly without discussing it with Bertie, and Jeeves is willing to assist them even if Bertie is not involved in any way.Usborne (2003), p. 93. Bertie once says that Jeeves "isn't so much a valet as a Mayfair consultant."Wodehouse (2008) 1949, The Mating Season, chapter 25, p. 245. On one occasion, Bertie considers it probable that even the distinguished Sir Roderick Glossop has consulted Jeeves, and says, "Jeeves is like Sherlock Holmes. The highest in the land come to him with their problems. For all I know, they may give him jewelled snuff boxes."Wodehouse (1966), Plum Pie, chapter 1, p. 15.
Jeeves has an encyclopedic knowledge of literature and academic subjects. He frequently quotes from William Shakespeare and the Romanticism. Well informed about members of the British aristocracy thanks to the club book of the Junior Ganymede Club, he also seems to have a considerable number of useful connections among various servants. Jeeves uses his knowledge and connections to solve problems inconspicuously.Cawthorne (2013), p. 173. Richard Usborne, a leading scholar of the life and works of Wodehouse, describes Jeeves as a "godlike prime mover" and "master brain who is found to have engineered the apparent coincidence or coincidences". Wodehouse at Work to the End, Richard Usborne 1976. To form his plans, Jeeves often studies "the psychology of the individual" or the personality of one or more people involved in the situation.Wodehouse (2008) 1930, Very Good, Jeeves, chapter 4, p. 98. Jeeves says that studying "the psychology of the individual" is essential to solving problems, and that this means studying "the natures and dispositions of the principals in the matter". His mental prowess is attributed to eating fish, according to Bertie Wooster, who credits the phosphorus content in the fish with boosting Jeeves's brain power. Jeeves does not try to argue this claim, though at least once he says he does not eat a lot of fish.Wodehouse (2008) 1925, Carry On, Jeeves, chapter 5, p. 137.
One of Jeeves's greatest skills is making a special drink of his own invention, a strong beverage which momentarily stuns one's senses but is very effective in curing hangovers. The drink is Jeeves's version of a prairie oyster.Cawthorne (2013) p. 47. Bertie first hires Jeeves after his hangover is cured by one of Jeeves's special drinks. Not simply a hangover cure, the drink can also give energy to someone who needs it, yet calm down someone who is agitated.Wodehouse (2008) 1954, Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit, chapter 7, p. 65. "It's a curious thing about those specials of Jeeves's, and one on which many revellers have commented, that while, as I mentioned earlier, they wake the sleeping tiger in you, they also work the other way round. I mean, if the tiger in you isn't sleeping but on the contrary up and doing with a heart for any fate, they lull you in. You come in like a lion, you take your snootful, and you got out like a lamb. Impossible to explain it, of course. One can merely state the facts." Dark in colour, Jeeves's special pick-me-up is composed of Worcester sauce, a raw egg, and red pepper according to Jeeves, though Bertie suspects that the drink consists of more than that.Wodehouse (2008) 1934, Right Ho, Jeeves, chapter 5, p. 48. Wodehouse mentions other ingredients in a personal letter he wrote late in his life, though these ingredients are not referred to in the stories.Wodehouse (2011), P. G. Wodehouse: A Life in Letters, p. 541. Wodehouse wrote: "Jeeves's bracer does not contain dynamite as is generally supposed. It consists of lime juice, a lump of sugar, and one teaspoonful of Mulliner's Buck-U-Uppo. This, it will be remembered, is the amount of the Buck-U-Uppo given to elephants in India to enable them to face tigers on tiger hunts with the necessary nonchalance." Additionally, Jeeves is capable of typing and writing shorthand.Wodehouse (2008) 1971, Much Obliged, Jeeves, chapter 1, p. 10, and chapter 16, p. 183.
Jeeves has knowledge in more dubious subjects as well. He is well-informed about how to steal paintings and kidnap dogs.Wodehouse (1993) 1959, A Few Quick Ones, chapter 4, p. 79. Jeeves tells Bertie how to steal a painting with treacle and brown paper, and says that this is "the recognized method in vogue in the burgling industry".Wodehouse (2008) 1930, Very Good, Jeeves, chapter 5, pp. 125–126. Jeeves tells Bertie how to lure a dog using aniseed, and says that it is extensively used in the dog-stealing industry. He uses a Mickey Finn to incapacitate the unscrupulous Bingley.Wodehouse (2008) 1971, Much Obliged, Jeeves, chapter 11, p. 123. Capable of action when the situation calls for it, Jeeves uses a golf club to knock out Sippy Sipperley in "The Inferiority Complex of Old Sippy", and takes down a swan with a raincoat and boathook in "Jeeves and the Impending Doom". He finds it necessary to get Aunt Dahlia to knock out Bertie with a gong stick in "Jeeves Makes an Omelette", though he agrees with Bertie not to use this sort of tactic again.Wodehouse (1993) 1959, A Few Quick Ones, chapter 4, p. 89.Thompson (1992), p. 131. "Certainly Jeeves never uses violence against Bertie, though he does—regretfully—get Aunt Dahlia to knock him out as part of the solution in 'Jeeves Makes an Omelet'." After Jeeves uses a cosh to knock out Constable Dobbs in The Mating Season, an astonished Bertie describes Jeeves as "something that would be gratefully accepted as a muscle guy by any gang on the lookout for new blood".Wodehouse (2008) 1949, The Mating Season, chapter 24, p. 235.
One of Jeeves's hobbies is fishing, which he tends to do during his annual summer holiday, typically taken at Bognor Regis. Bertie sees him fishing in Joy in the Morning.Wodehouse (2008) 1947, Joy in the Morning, chapter 20, p. 184. Appreciating travel in general, Jeeves wants to go on a cruise in two different stories, "The Spot of Art" and The Code of the Woosters. Jeeves claims that travel is educational, though Bertie suspects that Jeeves has a Viking strain and "yearns for the tang of the salt breezes".Wodehouse (2008) 1938, The Code of the Woosters, chapter 1, p. 9. Jeeves occasionally enjoys gambling, which is the reason he wishes to go to Monte Carlo in "Jeeves and the Yule-tide Spirit".
For the most part, Bertie and Jeeves are on good terms. Being fond of Bertie, Jeeves considers their connection "pleasant in every respect".Wodehouse (2008) 1925, Carry On, Jeeves, chapter 10, pp. 256 and 266. Bertie says that he looks on Jeeves as "a sort of guide, philosopher, and friend".Wodehouse (2008) 1923, The Inimitable Jeeves, chapter 1, p. 10. This is a reference to a poem by Alexander Pope. At times when Bertie is separated from Jeeves, Bertie is miserable. When Bertie must stay by himself in a hotel in "The Aunt and the Sluggard", he struggles without having Jeeves there to press his clothes and bring him tea, saying "I don't know when I've felt so rotten. Somehow I found myself moving about the room softly, as if there had been a death in the family"; he later cheers himself up by going round the cabarets, though "the frightful loss of Jeeves made any thought of pleasure more or less a mockery".Wodehouse (2008) 1925, Carry On, Jeeves, chapter 5, pp. 125–126 and 130. In Thank You, Jeeves, when Jeeves has left Bertie's employment because of their disagreement over a banjolele, Bertie still seeks Jeeves for help and Jeeves comes to his aid.Wodehouse (2008) 1934, Thank You, Jeeves, chapter 15, p. 173. Bertie dislikes when Jeeves goes on his annual holiday, stating, "without this right-hand man at his side Bertram Wooster becomes a mere shadow of his former self".Wodehouse (2008) 1954, Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit, chapter 1, p. 8. Jeeves appreciates the praise that Bertie bestows on him, saying that "Mr. Wooster has always been gratifyingly appreciative of my humble efforts on his behalf".Wodehouse (2008) 1953, Ring for Jeeves, chapter 5, p. 61.
Jeeves has firm ideas about how an English gentleman should dress and behave, and sees it as his duty to ensure that his employer presents himself appropriately. When friction arises between Jeeves and Bertie, it is usually over some new item about which Bertie Wooster is enthusiastic that does not meet with Jeeves's approval, such as bright purple socks, a white mess jacket, or a garish vase. Bertie becomes attached to these less conservative pieces and views Jeeves's opposition to them as "hidebound and reactionary",Wodehouse (2008) 1934, Right Ho, Jeeves, chapter 1, pp. 20–21. marking him "an enemy to Progress".Wodehouse (2008) 1923, The Inimitable Jeeves, chapter 16, p. 210. This type of disagreement results in a period of coolness between them. The conflict is resolved by the end of the story, typically after Jeeves has helped Bertie with his latest problem. Bertie, grateful, agrees to have it Jeeves's way. He does not object if he learns that Jeeves, foreseeing that Bertie would agree to give up the item, has already disposed of it.
Bertie considers Jeeves to be a marvel, and wonders why Jeeves is content to work for him, stating, "It beats me sometimes why a man with his genius is satisfied to hang around pressing my clothes and what not".Wodehouse (2008) 1925, Carry On, Jeeves, chapter 2, p. 45. Jeeves has been offered twice the salary Bertie pays him by another gentleman, but still remains with Bertie.Wodehouse (2008) 1925, Carry On, Jeeves, chapter 4, p. 84. Jeeves views Bertie as being friendly but mentally negligible, though his opinion of Bertie's intelligence seems to improve over time. In an early story, he says that Bertie is "an exceedingly pleasant and amiable young gentleman, but not intelligent. By no means intelligent. Mentally he is negligible – quite negligible."Wodehouse (2008) 1923, The Inimitable Jeeves, chapter 5, p. 55. Hearing this spurs Bertie to try to solve problems on his own, though he ultimately fails and needs Jeeves's assistance. Nonetheless, Jeeves's view of Bertie's intelligence has apparently softened by the first novel, when Jeeves says that Bertie "is, perhaps, mentally somewhat negligible, but he has a heart of gold".Wodehouse (2008) 1934, Thank You, Jeeves, chapter 7, p. 82. At one point in the ninth novel, Jeeves actually commends Bertie's quick thinking, saying that Bertie's tactic of hiding from an antagonist behind a sofa "showed a resource and swiftness of thought which it would be difficult to overpraise".Wodehouse (2008) 1963, Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves, chapter 21, p. 178.
From 1996 until 2006, Ask.com, a question-and-answer search engine, was known as Ask Jeeves and featured a caricature of a butler on its launch page. The name of Jeeves has also been used by other companies and services, such as the British dry-cleaning firm Jeeves of Belgravia and the New Zealand company Jeeves Tours.
The fictional amateur detective Lord Peter Wimsey and his valet Mervyn Bunter, created by Dorothy L. Sayers in 1923, were partially inspired by Bertie Wooster and Jeeves.Thompson (1992), pp. 115–116.
Jeeves himself is parodied in the mashup "Scream for Jeeves."
The couple formed by the aristocrat Charlie Mortdecai and his valet Jock, protagonists of Kyril Bonfiglioli's Mortdecai, are intended as a parody of Bertie and Jeeves.
Bertie Wooster narrates (in the first person) all the stories but two, "Bertie Changes His Mind", which Jeeves narrates in the first person, and Ring for Jeeves, which features Jeeves, but not Bertie Wooster and is written in the third person.
Jeeves and Bertie first appeared in "Extricating Young Gussie", a short story published in the United States in September 1915, though it was not seen in the United Kingdom until 1916. In the story, Jeeves's role is extremely minor , existing only to introduce Bertie's Aunt Agatha, and the character is not developed beyond the role of a typical servant. As well, Bertie's surname appears to be Mannering-Phipps. The first fully recognisable Jeeves and Wooster story was "Leave It to Jeeves", published in early 1916. As the series progressed, Jeeves assumed the role of Bertie Wooster's co-protagonist. Most of the Jeeves stories were originally published as magazine pieces before being collected into books, although 11 of the short stories were reworked and divided into 18 chapters to make an episodic semi-novel called The Inimitable Jeeves.
The collection The World of Jeeves (first published in 1967, reprinted in 1988) contains all of the Jeeves short stories, with the exception of "Extricating Young Gussie", presented more or less in narrative chronological order, with a new introduction by Wodehouse. This collection includes the original versions of the eleven stories that were somewhat altered by Wodehouse to create the episodic novel The Inimitable Jeeves.
The Jeeves stories are described as occurring within a few years of each other. For example, Bertie states in Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit (1954) that his Aunt Dahlia has been running her paper Milady's Boudoir, first introduced in "Clustering Round Young Bingo" (1925), for about three years. Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit, chapter 5, p. 45. However, there are inconsistencies between the stories that make it difficult to construct a timeline. For instance, it is stated in Jeeves in the Offing that Aunt Dahlia ran her paper for four years, and not three, as is shown in Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit. Nonetheless, some scholars have attempted to create a rough timeline. J. H. C. Morris suggested that the Jeeves canon spanned approximately five years, stating that four Christmases are accounted for, and another must have passed during Bertie's time in America in the early stories, making five in all.Morris (1981), p. 4. Kristin Thompson also suggested that approximately five years passed during the stories, though Thompson instead relied on explicit references to time passed between events in the series.Thompson (1992), pp. 340–341.
The stories follow a floating timeline, with each story being set at the time it was written, while the characters do not change and past events are referred to as happening recently. This results in the stories following "two kinds of time", as the characters hardly age but are seen against the background of a changing world.French (1966), p. 95. This floating timeline allows for comedic references to films, songs, and politicians that would have been well known to readers when the stories were written. For example, in Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit (1954), when Bertie is surprised to hear that his Aunt Dahlia wants to sell her weekly paper, he remarks, "It was like hearing that Rodgers had decided to sell Hammerstein."Thompson (1992), pp. 343–344. "Dozens of references to contemporary events and personalities give the series its second kind of time, with the world changing around the unaging characters." (This is a reference to Rodgers and Hammerstein, who created popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s.) Similarly, Aunts Aren't Gentlemen (1974) mentions evangelist Billy Graham, who did not become a public figure until the late 1940s. However, certain Edwardian era elements, such as aristocratic country houses and traditional gentlemen's clubs like the Drones Club, continue to be prevalent throughout the series, despite becoming less common in the real world.French (1966), p. 73. Several writers have described the Jeeves series as being set in the Interwar Britain (1918–1939).
The setting is generally an idealised version of the world, with international conflicts being downplayed or ignored. Illness and injuries cause negligible harm, similar to downplayed injuries in stage comedy.Hall (1974), p. 45.
Wodehouse uses a number of what Kristin Thompson terms "delaying devices" to keep the competent Jeeves from solving problems too quickly. For example, Bertie sometimes cannot get help from Jeeves initially because Jeeves is away on vacation. In multiple stories, Jeeves delays solving Bertie's problem because he disapproves of an object Bertie has acquired.Thompson (1992), pp. 125–127. Jeeves is shown to be a "thoroughly pragmatic, occasionally Machiavellian figure" who is willing to delay solving problems until it is advantageous for him to do so.Thompson (1992), p. 129. In some stories, Bertie insists on trying to handle problems himself. Jeeves, planning in the background, can estimate the extent of Bertie's mistakes in advance and incorporate them into his own plan in the end.
Wodehouse has Jeeves consistently use a very formal manner of speaking, while Bertie's speech mixes formal and informal language. These different styles are frequently used to create humour in the stories, such as when Bertie has to translate Jeeves's erudite speech for one of his pals who is not familiar with Jeeves. An example of this occurs in "The Artistic Career of Corky", when Jeeves comes up with a plan to help Bertie's friend Corky. Jeeves says his plan "cannot fail of success" but has a drawback in that it "requires a certain financial outlay". Bertie explains to Corky that Jeeves means "he has got a pippin of an idea, but it's going to cost a bit".Hall (1974), pp. 91–94.
Jeeves often tells Bertie about his machinations at the end of the stories, but does not always reveal everything to Bertie. This can be seen in the only story narrated by Jeeves, "Bertie Changes His Mind", in which Jeeves manipulates events without telling Bertie. The reader can infer some of Jeeves's offstage activity from subtle clues in Bertie's narrative. For example, in "Jeeves and the Kid Clementina", Bertie ends up in a tree while trespassing as part of a task outlined by the mischievous Bobbie Wickham, and is confronted by a policeman. The only information given to the reader about how the policeman got there is when he says, "We had a telephone call at the station saying there was somebody in Miss Mapleton's garden." After reading the story, the reader can look back and infer that Jeeves called the police himself or got someone else to do it, knowing the incident would ultimately make Bertie seem heroic to Miss Mapleton and would make Bertie realize the dangers of Bobbie's scheming.Thompson (1992), p. 155.
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