Carry On, Jeeves

January 1, 2000
So many audio recordings of Wodehouse books are available that only the most prosperous libraries can afford to buy all of them. However, when it comes to Carry On Jeeves, the question is not whether to buy it but which edition to purchase. Any library making a pretense of having a Wodehouse audio collection must have this book. First published in 1925, it collects ten Jeeves stories, including the one in which Jeeves first enters Bertie Wooster's life. It also contains the only story in the entire series narrated by Jeeves himself. Choosing between this excellent Blackstone edition read by Frederick Davidson and the equally fine 1991 Chivers edition read by Jonathan Cecil will be difficult. Cecil's and Davidson's deliciously animated narrations are sufficiently different to make each a special treat. (Libraries might consider attaching small crowbars to this package to help patrons pry out its cassettes.)--R. Kent Rasmussen, Thousand Oaks, CA

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