Regular emails from your friend Bertie Wooster about the feats of his exceedingly competent valet.
Inspired by mismeander’s wonderful Letters From Bunny project (which was in turn inspired by Jabbage’s marvelous Letters From Watson project, which was in turn inspired by Matt Kirkland’s celebrated Dracula Daily project - goodness, what a topping lineup!), Letters Regarding Jeeves will let you read through all of the Jeeves literature by P. G. Wodehouse that is currently in public domain - which is to say, the first 25 short stories, as well as the entirety of the novel Right Ho, Jeeves - over the course of one year.
Emails will be sent out starting February 14th, 2024, the anniversary of P. G. Wodehouse’s death - appropriate, for the man who wrote so much comedic romance.
The stories will largely be sent out in publication order, based on when they first ran in magazines from the 1910s-1920s. However, there are two exceptions.
We will begin our project with the story “Jeeves Takes Charge”, which chronicles the first meeting of Bertie Wooster and Jeeves, rather than the first story in publication order, “Extricating Young Gussie”, which will come second.
All stories rewritten for and contained within the semi-novel The Inimitable Jeeves will be presented in the order they appear in the book.
I have also made the executive decision to include the original versions of “Leave It to Jeeves”, “The Aunt and the Sluggard”, “Jeeves and the Unbidden Guest”, and “Jeeves and the Hard-Boiled Egg”, as published in the 1919 collection My Man Jeeves, rather than their rewrites for the much more widely-read 1925 collection Carry On, Jeeves. This is because I think the cuts and changes made for the latter collection, while largely minor, were to the detriment of the stories’ charm, and thus think these are the superior versions. More details on why can be read in my post here!
Frequently Asked Questions
How did you decide the chronology?
While the stories are self-contained and can be read in any order, Mr. Wooster is fond of referencing past events, and as such they are for the most part lightly linear. I believe, however, that “Jeeves Takes Charge” is a better place to start than “Extricating Young Gussie” - not just because the former recounts their first meeting, though that remains a strong reason, but because the latter is something of a beta story and is not entirely representative of the canon. Bertie’s family name appears to be Mannering-Phipps rather than Wooster, for example, and Jeeves’s elaborate schemes, usually the star of any given story, are not present at all in it, with him only appearing for a scant few lines. It has not been included in any major Jeeves collection as a result of this, but seeing as several early stories reference its events (and because it's very funny), I thought its inclusion was worthwhile. Perhaps Bertie was publishing under a fake surname, and Jeeves was feeling under the weather at the time…?
As for the stories in The Inimitable Jeeves, though originally unconnected, they were given a deliberate linear flow when rewritten by Wodehouse. Why spoil it? Linear flow is positively cracking stuff.
Isn’t there a lot more Jeeves than this? Why haven’t you included the rest?
The woes of copyright law, old fruit. The woes of copyright law. With the odd exception of Right Ho, Jeeves, everything written after the publication of “Jeeves and the Yuletide Spirit” has not yet passed into the public domain in the United States - and as an American, that is the copyright law I am operating under. I would love to send you all the Jeeves I could possibly send you, but it is not within my power to do so.
Are there content warnings?
You bet! While there is naturally great value in experiencing the literature of the past, one must recognize, too, that it is a product of its time, and thus holds biases and prejudiced viewpoints that no longer adhere to our current standard of taste. This living document exists for the moment, and is open for all to read and leave comments on in the hopes that it can be crowdsourced for the best possible reading experience for all.
How often will I get emails?
About two to three times a week, most likely! No chunk of the stories will be any more than 5000 words at a time, so you can read it in pleasant pieces.
Is there a place where I can chat with others on the mailing list?
There certainly is! Join the community Discord server (not open yet) to discuss anything and everything about the silly, petty exploits of Wooster, Jeeves, and company.
What if I join late?
Quite all right! You can catch up in the archive, and because the stories are episodic you can join any time throughout the year without being too lost. (And Mr. Wooster never likes to do anything too terribly early in the day, so I assure you he will sympathize.)
What happens if I reply to one of Mr. Wooster’s emails?
You may or may not get a reply, but as his literary agent I will certainly read it and pass it along to Jeeves, who will summarily deliver it to him in bed with the tea the following morning.
Any other questions? Send an ask to the official Tumblr!
