#ben schott

[shadowy-dumbo-octopus]

The other day I got my hands on "Schott's Original Miscellany", a little book of random trivia of varying usefulness and interest by one Ben Schott. Well, one of the pages lists a bunch of chatroom acronyms.

Some of them (LOL, AFK, BTW etc) are still commonly used, but I think that we should bring some of these back, just for funsies.

[considermycat]

Started #reading Jeeves and the Leap of Faith by Ben Schott.

[beastlyanachronism]

Jeeves and the King of Clubs (2018) by Ben Schott: a (spoiler-free) review

Summary: The plot is mostly good and the Wooster voice is spectacular but the characterisation of Jeeves is lacking. I'd give it four stars out of five.

Spoiler-free details under the cut:

The premise of this novel (authorised by the Wodehouse estate) is described in the blurb as follows:

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.

Clearly, then, this book is not aiming to be a 100% authentic Wodehouse novel. Instead, it merges Wodehouse's characters, writing style and chaotic plot with spy adventure tropes. An interesting premise, but it could have been executed better. The ending is rather weak and abrupt, lacking Plum's ability to tie together every disparate thread into a clear resolution.

The Wooster voice was spot on. Surprisingly so. This made for enjoyable reading throughout. Bertie was rather too competent, but I suppose that's the inevitable consequence of putting him in a plot where he actually has to show initiative.

Schott has encyclopaedic knowledge of the time period, and for the most part, he did a great job of interspersing this knowledge without making it too forced.

With regards to his relationships with women and his feelings about the more serious aspects of life, Schott’s Wooster is a lot closer to canon Wooster than to Sebastian Faulks’ Wooster in Jeeves and the Wedding Bells (2013). However, if you’re looking for gay or aro Bertie then you might be dissatisfied.

The major flaw of the book was that the Jeeves voice wasn't there. Even on the first page that Jeeves spoke, I knew something was wrong. Jeeves just wasn't Jeeves. His character, his underlying sass didn't come through at all. He seemed only to be a sort of plot device – and not as important a one as he should have been, in fact. I was baffled as to why Schott couldn't do the relatively easy task of mimicking Jeeves when he achieved the vastly more difficult task of voicing Bertie absolutely brilliantly. I really missed Jeeves. If he had been really present, I would have given this book five stars despite its other shortcomings. We all know that the real Jeeves can say more in a "Yes, sir" than most characters can say in a whole paragraph.

Basically, if you’re a Wodehouse fan looking for:          – “more, anything more” of Wooster          – a witty, amusing read          – an immersive romp through 1920's/30's London then this is the book for you!

But if you're a diehard Jooster shipper, or Jeeves is your favourite character, or you see Bertie as less of a man-about-town and more of a hapless nincompoop dodging the vexatious arrows of fate, then you can safely give this one a miss.

[bitletsanddrabbles]

The next person to say anything along the lines of fanfiction being a worthless pursuit without any merit in the publication world in my presence is going to find themselves beaten into submission with my copy of Jeeves and The King of Clubs by Ben Schott.

Good news for them, it’s a hard back, so it should be quick going.

[aworldofmakebelieve]

Bertie Wooster returns as a spy in Jeeves sequel by Schott's Miscellany author

Ben Schott says ‘it’s like being lent the Crown Jewels’ after PG Wodehouse estate approves trivia bestseller to write Jeeves and the King of Clubs

[considermycat]

Currently #reading Jeeves and the King of Clubs, by Ben Schott.

[downthetubes]

New book, Schott’s Significa, features strip by VIZ cartoonist Davey Jones

New book, “Schott’s Significa”, features strip by VIZ cartoonist Davey Jones

[geofflewriter]

Snobbery Or Maintaining Standards? #thoughtpiece #Benschott #jeevesandtheleapoffaith

As a child, growing up in leafy if somewhat reserved Surrey in the 1960s – think Downton Abbey without the money or titles in so far as rules of behaviour were concerned – I was often challenged by cutlery, the correct usage thereof. You’d think, once you’d mastered the motor skills needed to (a) scoop with a spoon (b) cut with a knife and (c) spear with a fork by the time you’re, what? Two,…

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