Jeeves

Jeeves

Reginald Jeeves is a fictional character in the short stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse (1881-1975), being the valet of Bertie Wooster (Bertram Wilberforce Wooster). Created in 1915, Jeeves continued to appear in Wodehouse's work until his final completed novel Aunts Aren't Gentlemen in 1974. He was Wodehouse's most famous character. The name "Jeeves" comes from Percy Jeeves (1888–1916), a Warwickshire cricketer killed in the First World War.

Both the name "Jeeves" and the character of Jeeves have come to be thought of as the quintessential name and nature of a valet or butler inspiring many similar characters (as well as the name of the Internet search engine Ask Jeeves). A "Jeeves" is now a generic term in references such as the Oxford English Dictionary.

In a conversation with a policeman in "Jeeves and the Kid Clementina," Jeeves refers to himself as both a "gentleman's personal gentleman" and a "personal gentleman's gentleman." This means that Jeeves is a valet, not a butler—that is, he serves a man and not a household. However, Bertie Wooster has lent out Jeeves as a butler on several occasions, and notes: "If the call comes, he can buttle with the best of them."

Read more about Jeeves:  Character, Inspiration and Effect, Family, Stories, Biography