Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Collections
Publication
London : Penguin, 1999.
Description
On doctor's orders, Bertie Wooster retires to sample the bucolic delights of Maiden Eggesford. But his idyll is rudely shattered by Aunt Dahlia who wants him to nobble a racehorse. Similar blots on Bertie's horizon come in the shape of Major Plank, the African explorer; Vanessa Cook, proud beauty and 'molder of men'; and Orlo Porter, who seems to have nothing else to do but think of sundering Bertie's head from his body.
User reviews
LibraryThing member atimco
When the sudden appearance of some pink spots on his chest drives Bertie to a doctor, one E. Jimpson Murgatroyd, that worthy’s stern warnings then drive this typical young-man-about-town to the fresh air, healthy food, and restful retirement of country living. But Bertie’s readers know that
The title refers to Bertie’s Aunt Dahlia, who has a tremendously large bet on the upcoming horse-race and who will stick at nothing – not even cat-napping – to make sure her horse wins. In Aunt Dahlia’s view, it’s an accepted business maneuver to seek to incapacitate the competition via any means possible. It is precisely this attitude which leads her nephew to the sad conclusion that the problem with aunts is that they are not gentlemen. Indeed they are not!
Though this is a fun romp in P. G. Wodehouse’s inimitable style, it isn’t the best or most memorable of the Jeeves and Wooster stories. Jeeves plays a less active role in this tale, only saving Bertie from bodily dismemberment on one occasion, and visiting an aunt who turns out to be the real owner of the disputed cat. The romantic imbroglio is sorted with rather less than the usual contortion, with Bertie slipping out of his unwilling engagement when the beautiful Madeline elopes with the Communist Orlo Porter. Of course Wodehouse always reuses his plots and formulas, and experienced readers can spot the coming disaster chapters ahead, but somehow this one just seemed less inventive than others in the series.
But having said that, I certainly cackled aloud in one or two places (one of which was Bertie’s ruminations on the best local poacher being one Billy Graham; poaching being, in Bertie’s mind, “the sort of activity Mr Graham would rather have frowned on, being in his particular line of business”). Though not my favorite, Aunts Aren’t Gentlemen is still vintage Wodehouse and thoroughly enjoyable.
Show More
such idyllic countryside tranquility is never to be his portion, and so it proves. For in the quiet of Maiden Eggesford, such evils as horse-racing, romantic entanglements, jealous lovers, angry aunts, plausible poachers, and an over-friendly cat all conspire to wreak havoc with Bertie’s peace of mind and render E. Jimpson Murgatroyd’s dictums vain.The title refers to Bertie’s Aunt Dahlia, who has a tremendously large bet on the upcoming horse-race and who will stick at nothing – not even cat-napping – to make sure her horse wins. In Aunt Dahlia’s view, it’s an accepted business maneuver to seek to incapacitate the competition via any means possible. It is precisely this attitude which leads her nephew to the sad conclusion that the problem with aunts is that they are not gentlemen. Indeed they are not!
Though this is a fun romp in P. G. Wodehouse’s inimitable style, it isn’t the best or most memorable of the Jeeves and Wooster stories. Jeeves plays a less active role in this tale, only saving Bertie from bodily dismemberment on one occasion, and visiting an aunt who turns out to be the real owner of the disputed cat. The romantic imbroglio is sorted with rather less than the usual contortion, with Bertie slipping out of his unwilling engagement when the beautiful Madeline elopes with the Communist Orlo Porter. Of course Wodehouse always reuses his plots and formulas, and experienced readers can spot the coming disaster chapters ahead, but somehow this one just seemed less inventive than others in the series.
But having said that, I certainly cackled aloud in one or two places (one of which was Bertie’s ruminations on the best local poacher being one Billy Graham; poaching being, in Bertie’s mind, “the sort of activity Mr Graham would rather have frowned on, being in his particular line of business”). Though not my favorite, Aunts Aren’t Gentlemen is still vintage Wodehouse and thoroughly enjoyable.
Show Less
LibraryThing member SueinCyprus
Enjoyable romp with the good-hearted but gormless Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves. The story involves some spots on Bertie's chest, a country cottage, a stolen cat, horse races, misunderstandings, and an aunt with no moral code. All neatly sorted out by the end, alongside plenty of ironic
Show More
humour and typical Wodehouse informality. Enjoyable. Show Less
LibraryThing member periwinklejane
Oh, love, love, love Wodehouse and Bertie is just the most adorable hapless hero.
LibraryThing member tgraettinger
Another fine Bertie & Jeeves romp by the master, P.G. Wodehouse. Great for your vocabulary development - more vocab words per chapter than just about anything else I read. And they always seem to be such perfect choices to describe the scene, people, or situation. Notables include klaxon, febrile,
Show More
sleeky, purl, cosh, and nolle prosequi (look them up for yourself!) Show Less
LibraryThing member quiBee
This is one of Wodehouse's best.
Bertie goes off to the country to have some peace and relaxation and ends up having everything else but. He gets mixed up, as usual, with the wrong woman, has an irate suitor wanting his guts for garters, helps his Aunt Dahlia in an undertaking too foul for anyone's
Bertie goes off to the country to have some peace and relaxation and ends up having everything else but. He gets mixed up, as usual, with the wrong woman, has an irate suitor wanting his guts for garters, helps his Aunt Dahlia in an undertaking too foul for anyone's
Show More
consumption. Bertie tries to straighten things out, but, all the while, makes things worse and worse. Show Less
LibraryThing member tgraettinger
Good bed-time reading from Wodehouse. No fuss, no muss, and plenty of good laughs. I always most enjoy the phrasing that Wodehouse uses - and I can just hear in my head how Hugh Laurie or Stephen Fry (from the TV series) would deliver the lines.
LibraryThing member isabelx
It was my membership of the Drones Club that now formed the basis of her observations. She didn't like the Drones Club, and made it quite clear that at the conclusion of the honeymoon I would cross its threshold only over her dead body.
So, reckoning up the final score, the Bertram Wooster who
All the usual themes are present and correct: unreasonable aunts, kidnapped animals (a cat this time), a jealous lover threatening violence to any man who has ever so much as spoken to the woman he loves, and Bertie Wooster trying to disentangle himself from yet another unwanted engagement.
So, reckoning up the final score, the Bertram Wooster who
Show More
signed the charge sheet in the vestry after the wedding ceremony would be a non-smoker, a teetotaller (for I knew it would come to that) and an ex-member of the Drones, in other words a mere shadow of his former self.All the usual themes are present and correct: unreasonable aunts, kidnapped animals (a cat this time), a jealous lover threatening violence to any man who has ever so much as spoken to the woman he loves, and Bertie Wooster trying to disentangle himself from yet another unwanted engagement.
Show Less
LibraryThing member psiloiordinary
A master of farce with another masterful farce.
Cats, horses, revolutionaries and Aunties combined into a fun read. Not his best but then his worst is still bloody good.
Read it what.
Cats, horses, revolutionaries and Aunties combined into a fun read. Not his best but then his worst is still bloody good.
Read it what.
LibraryThing member ASBiskey
This is my first literary encounter with Jeeves and Wooster, and I would say it was a positive experience. The story telling is delightful. The wit and humor made this a fun read. It did take me a while to get used to Bertie's narration though. First person narration is fine, but in this case it
Show More
felt very short-sighted, as though Bertie could not see more than three feet in front of him. There is a lack of description of anything outside the current action that puts everything Bertie does under a magnifying glass. He is a wonderful, entertaining character, but a bigger picture would have been appreciated. I enjoyed reading this, and will not hesitate to read other works by Wodehouse if they come my way. Show Less
LibraryThing member paulmorriss
I can see why people love PG Woodhouse, with his dry sense of humor and wonderful characters. However I have to say that it didn't really click with me. So I don't think I'll be reading another one in a hurry, but fortunately there are plenty of other good books in the world.
LibraryThing member losloper
On doctor's orders, Bertie Wooster retires to the village of Maiden Eggesford but his rest-cure is interrupted by Aunt Dahlia who wants him to nobble a racehorse, Vanessa Cook who wants him to act as go-between for her and Orlo Porter -and Orlo Porter himself who would tear Bertie limb from limb if
Show More
he ever discovered that Bertie and Vanessa were once engaged. Throw in a dotty explorer, an unreliable poacher, an irascible father and the stable cat, and the stage is set for a sublime farce. Show Less
LibraryThing member SebastianHagelstein
Bertie Wooster and Jeeves go to the country after a doctor tells Bertie to get some fresh air when he worries about the pink spots that appear on his chest. But when he gets there Bertie gets mixed up with a stolen cat and horse racing. He becomes engaged against his will and needs Jeeves' help to
This is as funny, as all his books are, and I like the cat..
Show More
extricate himself from that mess too.This is as funny, as all his books are, and I like the cat..
Show Less
LibraryThing member Pferdina
Looking for the quiet country life, Bertie rents a cottage in a small village where his Aunt Dahlia happens to be visiting friends. He manages to get engaged again and Jeeves biffs off to visit family, leaving Bertie to deal with his problems alone. There's also a little matter of a stolen cat and
Show More
an important horse race. Show Less
LibraryThing member raizel
This was originally published in 1974, the year before Wodehouse died at the age of 93. There are many references to previous stories and many mangled quotes used in previous books. According to the main page on this site, the book is also called The Cat-nappers. It was fun to read, but felt too
Aunt Dahlia finds a cottage for Bertie in Maiden Eggesford, where she is visiting, when he tells her that a doctor has recommended that he find a quiet place in the country to become healthier.There's a cat instead of a cow creamer and this time Vanessa Cook is the woman---reminiscent of Honoria Glossop and others---who threatens to marry Bertie when she is angry at her true love. Aunt Dahlia and Major Plank feature prominently. Jeeves has an aunt who lives in the village, but in spite of the title, she is scarcely mentioned.
Show More
familiar. Aunt Dahlia finds a cottage for Bertie in Maiden Eggesford, where she is visiting, when he tells her that a doctor has recommended that he find a quiet place in the country to become healthier.There's a cat instead of a cow creamer and this time Vanessa Cook is the woman---reminiscent of Honoria Glossop and others---who threatens to marry Bertie when she is angry at her true love. Aunt Dahlia and Major Plank feature prominently. Jeeves has an aunt who lives in the village, but in spite of the title, she is scarcely mentioned.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Cheryl_in_CC_NV
I guess I should try one earlier in the series - I didn't realize this was #15 when I was just browsing the library shelf. Too many allusions to stuff of which I've no awareness.
LibraryThing member Girl_Detective
A doctor tells Bertie to rest in the country. He retreats to the village of Maiden Eggesford, but finds anything but peace. Lovers are torn apart, then brought together. Mistakes happen, and are compounded upon. Bertie is gallant but dim. Jeeves is unflappable and clever. Aunt Dahlia is imperious.
This was a very cheering read. I'll have to remember that for the next time I'm feeling blue; Jeeves and Wooster would be great antidotes.
Show More
Other people are odd and crazy. This was a very cheering read. I'll have to remember that for the next time I'm feeling blue; Jeeves and Wooster would be great antidotes.
Show Less
LibraryThing member leslie.98
June 2018 reread via audiobook narrated by Jonathan Cecil:
I borrowed this audiobook from the library this morning, thinking it would last me several days. Wrong! Once again the magic of Wodehouse as narrated by Jonathan Cecil entrapped me and I found myself listening to the entire book in one day.
I borrowed this audiobook from the library this morning, thinking it would last me several days. Wrong! Once again the magic of Wodehouse as narrated by Jonathan Cecil entrapped me and I found myself listening to the entire book in one day.
Show More
Those of you who share my weakness for this duo will understand without further explanation... Show Less
LibraryThing member jen.e.moore
I had, until re-reading, entirely forgot the most shocking part of this story: Jeeves doesn't appear to do anything at all to solve the problems. In fact, Bertie comes up with more than one solution! Appalling, really. (Unless, of course, Jeeves works in his mysterious ways wonders to perform
Show More
entirely off-screen, as he usually does, and simply never admits to it. This seems more likely, to be honest, but one can't discount the possibility that Bertie is, slowly but surely, learning something.) Show Less
LibraryThing member breic
Not the strongest Jeeves and Wooster story. Perhaps I've just finally had enough of the formula, but this did seem even more formulaic than usual, and with fewer clever witticisms. Even within this short novel, some of the jokes were repetitive.
> She uttered a sound rather like an elephant taking
> Experience over the years ought to have taught me that where this aunt was concerned anything went and the sky was the limit, but nevertheless I was … I know there's a word that just describes it … Ah, yes, I thought I'd get it … I was dumbfounded.
> When it comes to returning cats that have been snitched from their lawful homes, you need a specialist. Where Lloyd George or Winston Churchill would have failed, this Graham, I knew would succeed.
> "I'm in sore straits, Jeeves." "I am sorry to hear that, sir." "You'll be sorrier when I explain further. Have you ever seen a garrison besieged by howling savages, with their ammunition down to the last box of cartridges, the water supply giving out and the United States Marines nowhere in sight?"
> "I will begin by saying that Miss Cook, to whom I'm engaged, is a lady for whom I have the utmost esteem and respect, but on certain matters we do not … what's the expression?" "See eye to eye, sir?" "That's right. And unfortunately those matters are the what-d'youcall-it of my whole policy. What is it that policies have?" "I think the word for which you are groping, sir, may possibly be cornerstone."
> "Good morning, sir," he said. He expressed no surprise at seeing me tied to a sofa with curtain cords, just as he would have e. no s. if he had seen me being eaten by a crocodile like the late Abercrombie-Smith, though in the latter case he might have heaved a regretful sigh.
> She uttered a sound rather like an elephant taking
Show More
its foot out of a mud hole in a Burmese teak forest> Experience over the years ought to have taught me that where this aunt was concerned anything went and the sky was the limit, but nevertheless I was … I know there's a word that just describes it … Ah, yes, I thought I'd get it … I was dumbfounded.
> When it comes to returning cats that have been snitched from their lawful homes, you need a specialist. Where Lloyd George or Winston Churchill would have failed, this Graham, I knew would succeed.
> "I'm in sore straits, Jeeves." "I am sorry to hear that, sir." "You'll be sorrier when I explain further. Have you ever seen a garrison besieged by howling savages, with their ammunition down to the last box of cartridges, the water supply giving out and the United States Marines nowhere in sight?"
> "I will begin by saying that Miss Cook, to whom I'm engaged, is a lady for whom I have the utmost esteem and respect, but on certain matters we do not … what's the expression?" "See eye to eye, sir?" "That's right. And unfortunately those matters are the what-d'youcall-it of my whole policy. What is it that policies have?" "I think the word for which you are groping, sir, may possibly be cornerstone."
> "Good morning, sir," he said. He expressed no surprise at seeing me tied to a sofa with curtain cords, just as he would have e. no s. if he had seen me being eaten by a crocodile like the late Abercrombie-Smith, though in the latter case he might have heaved a regretful sigh.
Show Less
LibraryThing member hardlyhardy
Bertie Wooster's life is beset with the usual challenges in “Aunts Aren't Gentlemen” (1974): an aunt, of course; young lovers with obstacles on their path to matrimony, and gruff older men, who usually provide those obstacles. But this time there's a newcomer to the plot, a cat.
Published when
When Bertie finds his body covered with spots, his doctor suggests rest in the country, and his Aunt Dahlia offers him a village cottage that seems ideal, especially because Jeeves happens to have an aunt living in the same village. This aunt takes Jeeves away for most of the story, leaving Bertie on his own, which always means trouble.
Bertie's aunt has a ulterior motive for her invitation to her nephew. She wants him to hide a stolen cat. The cat pacifies a certain horse about to race against another horse on which Aunt Dahlia has placed a great deal of money. Bertie, showing a stronger sense of ethics than usual in these tales, objects and hires Billy Graham to stealthily return the cat. The cat, however, likes Bertie and keeps coming back.
Meanwhile Vanessa, the daughter of the man with the horse and the cat, happens to be the bottle thrower. She is also a young beauty who once rejected Bertie's marriage proposal, to his great relief after he came to his senses. Now, after a fight with her boyfriend, she tells Bertie she will marry him after all, and she begins immediately to start reforming him, reminding him of why it was such a great relief when she previously turned him down. So Bertie is stuck with both a cat and a fiancee he doesn't want. Where is Jeeves when he needs him?
Wodehouse may have been a very old man when he wrote this novel, but it shows no sign of a decline in his ability. In fact, this is better than the earliest Jeeves and Wooster stories. It's pure delight from beginning to end.
Published when
Show More
P.G. Wodehouse was in his 90s, just a year or so before his death, “Aunts Aren't Gentlemen” is more reflective of the time in which it was written than most Jeeves and Wooster novels. There's a reference to Billy Graham, for example, even if the Billy Graham of the novel is a poacher, and there's a passage about leftists throwing bottles at police officers that reads like it could have been written yesterday. But demonstrations, sometimes turning violent, were also commonplace in the early 1970s.When Bertie finds his body covered with spots, his doctor suggests rest in the country, and his Aunt Dahlia offers him a village cottage that seems ideal, especially because Jeeves happens to have an aunt living in the same village. This aunt takes Jeeves away for most of the story, leaving Bertie on his own, which always means trouble.
Bertie's aunt has a ulterior motive for her invitation to her nephew. She wants him to hide a stolen cat. The cat pacifies a certain horse about to race against another horse on which Aunt Dahlia has placed a great deal of money. Bertie, showing a stronger sense of ethics than usual in these tales, objects and hires Billy Graham to stealthily return the cat. The cat, however, likes Bertie and keeps coming back.
Meanwhile Vanessa, the daughter of the man with the horse and the cat, happens to be the bottle thrower. She is also a young beauty who once rejected Bertie's marriage proposal, to his great relief after he came to his senses. Now, after a fight with her boyfriend, she tells Bertie she will marry him after all, and she begins immediately to start reforming him, reminding him of why it was such a great relief when she previously turned him down. So Bertie is stuck with both a cat and a fiancee he doesn't want. Where is Jeeves when he needs him?
Wodehouse may have been a very old man when he wrote this novel, but it shows no sign of a decline in his ability. In fact, this is better than the earliest Jeeves and Wooster stories. It's pure delight from beginning to end.
Show Less
LibraryThing member PilgrimJess
"I love little pussy; her coat is so warm; And if I don't hurt her, she'll do me no harm."
One morning Bertie wakes up with spots on his chest. On the recommendation of a doctor ,who thinks he's "a typical young man about town", drinking and smoking too much, he decides to spend some time in the
As per every Jeeves and Worster book that I've read Bertie is imposed upon by bossy young women and an overbearing aunt, he gets into and tries to escape matrimonial entanglements, is attacked by a jealous young man who think he’s stealing his girlfriend and a disapproving father.
I must admit that I love Wodehouse's writing style and his gentle, quirky sense of humour. His books are always quick reads, he is such a clever word-smith and whilst his books aren't laugh out loud funny Bertie’s tangled explanations, coupled with Jeeves’s deadpan replies are a joy. If I had one complaint with this book is that Jeeve's barely features but I enjoyed it all the same.
One morning Bertie wakes up with spots on his chest. On the recommendation of a doctor ,who thinks he's "a typical young man about town", drinking and smoking too much, he decides to spend some time in the
Show More
country to get some fresh air. He decides to stay in a cottage in Maiden Eggesford, organised for him by his Aunt Dahlia, and in a typical Bertie style finds himself involved in a racing horse knobbling farce. As per every Jeeves and Worster book that I've read Bertie is imposed upon by bossy young women and an overbearing aunt, he gets into and tries to escape matrimonial entanglements, is attacked by a jealous young man who think he’s stealing his girlfriend and a disapproving father.
I must admit that I love Wodehouse's writing style and his gentle, quirky sense of humour. His books are always quick reads, he is such a clever word-smith and whilst his books aren't laugh out loud funny Bertie’s tangled explanations, coupled with Jeeves’s deadpan replies are a joy. If I had one complaint with this book is that Jeeve's barely features but I enjoyed it all the same.
Show Less
LibraryThing member cpg
This is the last of 17 Wodehouse novels that I read this fall. He's a good comic writer, but there seems to be an awful lot of redundancy from one book to the next. The same general plot appears over and over. The illustrations by Cox in the Folio Society editions magnify this repetition in that
This book, like the others, was a pleasant read, and I very possibly might buy more Wodehouse novels in the future, but I'm not expecting any surprises!
Show More
all of the young women look the same, as do most of Wooster's old school chums.This book, like the others, was a pleasant read, and I very possibly might buy more Wodehouse novels in the future, but I'm not expecting any surprises!
Show Less
LibraryThing member themulhern
The last, and not the best, yet I enjoyed it very much.
LibraryThing member therebelprince
There is nothing like Wodehouse, there really ain't.
Let it be said that Aunts Aren't Gentlemen is not a shining gem in the Jeeves canon. It was written in the author's nineties, and was the final novel he completed, after an output of well over 100 books. The plotting is a lot simpler, some of the
Having said that, even an average Wodehouse is hysterical, and this still hits the spot page after page. It's a little comedy of errors that satisfies mostly with the endless wit of Bertie and Aunt Dahlia, and a general sense of antediluvian silliness. It's a fun read but something is missing. Newcomers to Jeeves and Wooster might find this rather bland. Start in the early years, and let this be a kind of delicate after-dinner mint once you've enjoyed the banquet.
Let it be said that Aunts Aren't Gentlemen is not a shining gem in the Jeeves canon. It was written in the author's nineties, and was the final novel he completed, after an output of well over 100 books. The plotting is a lot simpler, some of the
Show More
recurring jokes wear a bit thin, and there's a sense that reader and writer alike were skating along on mutual bonhomie. Having said that, even an average Wodehouse is hysterical, and this still hits the spot page after page. It's a little comedy of errors that satisfies mostly with the endless wit of Bertie and Aunt Dahlia, and a general sense of antediluvian silliness. It's a fun read but something is missing. Newcomers to Jeeves and Wooster might find this rather bland. Start in the early years, and let this be a kind of delicate after-dinner mint once you've enjoyed the banquet.
Show Less
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1974-10
Physical description
167 p.; 18 cm
ISBN
9780140041927