A couple weeks ago Jeff Meyerson mentioned a Lovecraft/Jeeves mashup. It took a spirited search to find P. H. Cannon’s Scream for Jeeves (Wodecraft Press, 1994) but I finally tracked it down and reread it. P. H. Cannon is a Lovecraft expert. Cannon’s H. P. Lovecraft (Twayne, 1989) provides a survey of Lovecraft’s stories and discusses key aspects of Lovecraft’s short life. Scream for Jeeves consists of three short stories. The first, “Cats, Rats, and Bertie Wooster,” involves Bertie and Jeeves in a mission to help Bertie’s old friend, Tubby Norrys. Underground horrors and strangeness abound. In “Something Foetid,” Bertie and Jeeves confront a stinky situation involving a reclusive Spanish doctor with a passion for cool air. My favorite story in this book is “The Rummy Affair of Young Charlie” where Aunt Agatha dispatches Bertie and Jeeves to aid a family friend, Charles Dexter Ward, who has met up with Erich Zann in a room on Rue d’Auseuil (a place on no known map). Also included in Scream for Jeeves is P. H. Cannon’s essay, “The Adventure of the Three Anglo-American Authors: Some Reflections on Conan Doyle, P. G. Wodehouse, and H. P. Lovecraft.” Cannon gives the reader plenty to think about with these three unique writers. GRADE: B+
Great cover! I might have to look for it. I’m sure Jeeves can handle anything that comes up.
Jeff, there’s a lot of cleverness in SCREAM FOR JEEVES.
But is it funny?
Dan, as with most of the Bertie/Jeeves stories, SCREAM FOR JEEVES is witty and snarky. Fun stuff!
George, I read this one years ago and loved it. I doubt things would have turned out so well if Cannon had replaced Jeeves with Wodehouse’s Lord Emsworth.
Jerry, good point. Cannon captured the whimsical nature of Bertie in his narration of these adventures.
I guess in order to appreciate it I would have to read Wodehouse first. Never seem to get to it.
Patti, Wodehouse specializes in silliness. You have to be prepared from some loopy machinations.
Count me among the many who’ve thought about diving into Wodehouse but never quite succeeded. There’s just so MUCH of it. What’s the best place to start?
Michael, Art Scott is the Wodehouse expert that I admire. Maybe he’ll weigh in on the best place to start with Wodehouse. In the meantime, you might want to consider: https://fivebooks.com/best-books/best-books-pg-wodehouse-sophie-ratcliffe/
I’d try.any of the Jeeves short story collections to see if you like the style, or the golf stories even if, like me, you don’t like golf.
Jeff, a P. G. Wodehouse work is like a wonderful dessert!
Um, no. I have so much unread Wodehouse I don’t need a mucked up version.
Rick, you would find SCREAM FOR JEEVES amusing.