. Bertie Wooster has invited over his friend Kipper to stay with him, and then gets a message from his Aunt Dahlia that he's been invited to Brinkley Court. The other houseguests are Sir Roderick Glossop, Mrs. Adela Cream (the wife of an American business magnate that Dahlia's husband, Tom Jones, is trying to secure a business deal with) and the Creams' son Wilbert, a young man with a reputation for being a little wild and mischievous in New York. This novel has all the usual ingredients that make a fun Jeeves and Wooster novel: the domineering aunt, disapproving authority figures, and Bertie's bumbling ways. The only vital ingredient that is missing from this novel is, in fact, Jeeves himself. For most of this novel Jeeves is actually away on holiday, shrimping in Herne Bay. (The mental image of Jeeves trying to get a tan is amazing.)
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The other houseguests awaiting Bertie and Kipper at Brinkley court are Roberta "Bobbie" Wickham, Mr. Upjohn who used to be Bertie and Kipper's headmaster and is now an aspiring local politician, and Mr. Upjohn's stepdaughter Phyllis. Just before leaving to Brinkley Court, Bertie reads the Times and learns, to his horror, that he has been engaged to Bobbie Wickham. When Bertie arrives at Brinkley Court, Bobbie explains that she did it in order to traumatize her mother, so that her mother will be agreeable when Bobbie reveals that she wants to marry her true beau, Reggie Herring. Meanwhile, Mr. Upjohn seems to desire a union between Phyllis and Wilbert Cream. Aunt Dahlia is very much against this match since she thinks a playboy is a bad match for a nice girl like Phyllis and enlists Bertie's help in making sure Wilbert does not get a chance to propose. Then Bertie receives a letter from Jeeves warning that Wilbert Cream is a kleptomaniac.
Meanwhile, Kipper and Bobbie have an on-again, off-again romance, which results in Kipper getting engaged to Phyllis after an explosive argument with Bobbie. However, Kipper has written a very bad review of Mr. Upjohn's handling of the school, and Mr. Upjohn plans to sue him for libel. Phyllis drops Kipper because of this, and promptly gets engaged to Wilbert Cream after he rescues her dog. Bobbie, pleased at the review Kipper wrote, gets engaged to Kipper again. When Aunt Dahlia gets into an argument with Mr. Upjohn about the Phyllis-Wilbert marriage, Mr. Upjohn reminds her that in fact it is Wilbert's brother who is the playboy, not Wilbert. Jeeves, who returns now to help Jeeves, finds a way to get rid of the lawsuit by having Bobbie withhold a crucial typed up speech that Mr. Upjohn needs for the next school assembly and cannot talk without. Defeated, Mr. Upjohn agrees to drop the suit and gets his speech back.
Best part of story, including ending:
I enjoy Wodehouse books in which Sir Roderick Glossop appears, the fascist satire is fun.
Best scene in story:
I think one scene is very funny: when the dog comes running towards the pond and shoots between Bertie's legs, causing both Bertie and the dog to fall into the water, and Kipper jumps in to save Bertie and Wilbert immediately jumps in to save the dog, while Phyllis watches horror-struck.
Opinion about the main character:
Bertie Wooster is a friendly, loyal and amiable person.
