The Best of Wodehouse

With a New Introduction by John Mortimer

P.G. Wodehouse (1881-1975) was perhaps the most widely acclaimed British humorist of the twentieth century. Throughout his career, he brilliantly examined the complex and idiosyncratic nature of English upper-crust society with hilarious insight and wit. The works in this volume provide a wonderful introduction to Wodehouse’s work and his unique talent for joining fantastic plots with authentic emotion.

In The Code of the Woosters, Wodehouse’s most famous duo, Bertie Wooster and his unflappable valet Jeeves, risks all to steal a cream jug. Uncle Fred in the Springtime, part of the famous Blandings Castle series, follows Uncle Fred as he attempts to ruin the Duke of Blandings while he is preoccupied with his favorite pig. Fourteen stories feature some of Wodehouse’s most memorable characters, and three autobiographical pieces provide a revealing look into Wodehouse’s life.

With his gift for hilarity and his ever-human tone, Wodehouse and his work have never felt more lively.


“Wodehouse is the greatest comic writer ever.” —Douglas Adams

“Mr. Wodehouse’s idyllic world can never stale. He will continue to release future generations from captivity that may be more irksome than our own. He has made a world for us to live in and delight in.” —Evelyn Waugh

“The very definition of British humor.” —Entertainment Weekly

“It is impossible to be unhappy while reading the adventures of Jeeves and Wooster. And I've tried.”
—Christopher Buckley

“Timelessly funny and mean.” —David Foster Wallace

“Wodehouse can be extremely funny, of course, and Bertie and Jeeves are echt-Englishmen, but the surprising and surpassing pleasure of these books is their cheerful humanity.” —Kurt Andersen