The Inimitable Jeeves

The delightfully air-headed wastrel, Bertie Wooster, narrates a number of his adventures with his imperturbable gentleman's gentleman, Jeeves. Jonathan Cecil impersonates Wooster with aplomb. However, he tends to rush a little, thus spoiling some of the fun. Y.R. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine

P.G. Wodehouse's dialogue begs to be read aloud, and this BBC dramatization brings it to life wonderfully. Richard Briers is spontaneous and foolish as the aristocratic Bertie, and Michael Hordern gives servant Jeeves a properly plummy, patient, and dry delivery. When the two interact, the humor of these many sketches may make listeners laugh out loud. However, Wodehouse's narrative is so strong that the sound effects and musical interludes herein actually weaken the impact of the production. Otherwise, the pacing is fine, and if one listens to these stories as radio plays/adaptations without comparing them to the originals, they're great fun. The entire cast enters into the period hilarity with gusto, flinging bets on regional sermon contests and misunderstandings about love with equal zest. G.T.B. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

By far the most prolific audiobook interpreter of P.G. Wodehouse's comic English manor-house tales, Frederick Davidson (David Case) here offers a performance superior to most of his other efforts. Partly it is because there are few young women characters--Davidson has only one interpretation of young women, and when there is more than one, his reading tends to stumble. Partly too he manages to keep excessive world-weariness out of his voice, which he fails to do in various other titles, Wodehouse and not. This is the very first Jeeves and Wooster story, and Aunt Agatha alone is worth the price of admission. D.R.W. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine