Jeeves and the Leap of Faith

Ben Schott's critically-acclaimed laugh-out-loud homage to PG Wodehouse

[Schott] captures the style of the Master very well indeed. He follows Jeeves And The King of Clubs with a glorious romp . . . a splendidly jolly read.

Captures PG Wodehouse's style very well.

A combination of the old and new, done with panache and wit . . . Schott's new novel is a hugely welcome one, and deserves to soar up the Christmas bestseller lists.

Ben Schott's second Jeeves and Wooster book proves an enjoyable continuation of PG Wodehouse's classic characters. Schott writes in a distinctive style that is somewhere between homage and postmodern response, and his story . . . is more eventful and action-packed than Wodehouse would ever have countenanced. And it ends on a splendid cliff hanger.

This homage to P.G. Wodehouse is so good that a blind reading (i.e. a genuine 'Plum' versus Schott's pastiche) would be a tricky call. Everything is in its place: Jeeves shimmers, aunts scheme, Drones drone. Even the style is spot-on: the erudition of Schott's various Miscellanies finds expression as similes and quotations of hilarious ingenuity . . . the sheer luxury, wealth and self-assurance of Bertie's world is brilliantly evoked with all its enviable light-heartedness intact. A masterpiece in every sense.

In times of stress, there's nothing like an outing with Bertram Wilberforce Wooster. A very creditable and uplifting homage to the master.

'A masterpiece in every sense' Daily Mail 
The Drones club's in peril. Gussie's in love. Spode's on the warpath. And His Majesty's Government needs a favour. Thank goodness Bertie Wooster is back! 
From the mean streets of Mayfair to the scheming spires of Cambridge, prepare to meet a joyous cast of characters: chiselling painters and criminal bookies, eccentric philosophers and dodgy clairvoyants, appalling poets and pocket dictators, vexatious aunts and their vicious hounds. 
Have we ever needed Jeeves and Wooster more?

Jeeves and the King of Clubs

Ben Schott follows in the patent-leather footsteps of the great humourist, P.G. Wodehouse and his empire of comic writing.

Peerless in its wit, elegance and silliness. It is the most successful homage to PG Wodehouse's Wooster and Jeeves stories to date. The footnotes are a joy of misplaced erudition. More of the same, please.

Schott rises to the occasion with a rebooting of one of literature’s great double acts that captures His Master’s voice and, above all, the famous Wodehouse rhythm... A brilliant conceit: a network of spies in livery, silently watching the movers and shakers.

His sensitivity to the tics and cadences of his characters’ speech and ways of being is uncannily acute, and full of the same freshness and resonance of perception as Wodehouse’s own style. . . it vibrates with the spirit and rhythms of [Wodehouse’s] heart

An amusing and well-written homage to the master . . . Schott excels with a series of similes and metaphors every bit as striking as those Wodehouse came up with. A delight to read.

A most thrilling return of Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster.

Impossible to read without grinning idiotically. Tinkety-tonk!

Remarkably good… in its similes, pace and general zing, this yarn is eerily Wodehousian. Blisteringly well done.

A fizzy new homage... Schott burnishes the gleam.

Glorious . . . undeniably an impressive, hugely enjoyable feat of ventriloquism.

It is hard not to warm to this hugely entertaining homage.

The cast is a delight, with many characters who  will be familiar to Wodehouse aficionados . . . his prose is elegant and charming and he captures the lilt and rhythms of the original . . . a warm, worthy and rollicking tribute.

This joyous and thoughtful tribute leaves you wanting more.

By Jove! It's a ripping old yarn... Dashed agreeably close to the master.

There are laughs and admirable ingenuity in Schott’s confection

A book that is so close in spirit and style to the PG Wodehouse originals it’s like the real thing

Succeeds triumphantly, both as light entertainment and as a tribute to the master

In his first foray into PG Wodehouse homage/imitation/pastiche (whichever it may be) Schott appeared to hit the Wodehouse target dead on.

'Peerless in its wit, elegance and silliness.’ Evening Standard BOOKS OF THE YEAR 
 
A Sunday Times PAPERBACK OF THE YEAR 
__________________________________________________________________ 
 
Storm clouds loom over Europe. Treason is afoot in the highest social circles. The very security of the nation is in peril. Jeeves, it transpires, has long been an agent of British Intelligence, but now His Majesty's Government must turn to the one man who can help . . . Bertie Wooster. 
 
'A most thrilling return of Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster . . . it vibrates with the spirit and the rhythms of his heart.' 
 
'Remarkably good . . . in its similes, pace and general zing, this yarn is eerily Wodehousian.'

Ben Schott

An Unexpectedly Essential Guide to Language

A language taxonomy for our curious times. Every day we are surrounded by complex, private systems of knowledge and language: some we use ourselves, others we observe or overhear. Every trade, gang, clique, and profession develops a private lexicon of words, signs, and signals to bind its members closer while keeping strangers out. From dog-walkers to spies, sommeliers to gym-goers, typography to graffiti, Schott's Significa decodes the secret languages that surround us. Packed with analysis exploring these taxonomies in all their fascinating detail, photographs and illustrations, this book is a dynamic evolution of the Miscellany concept for our curious times and the key to unlocking the hidden worlds around us.

Ben Schott

Books by Ben Schott

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