The P.G. Wodehouse Collection

By: P. G. Wodehouse

Narrated by: B. J. Harrison

Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's Summary

This title includes not only the entire audiobook of Right Ho, Jeeves, but also all of the P.G. Wodehouse titles in the current Classic Tales library. It also includes a Jeeves short story only available in the collection: "Extricating Young Gussie". The complete running time is over 15 hours. Here is a list of the titles: "Leave It To Jeeves", "Jeeves and the Unbidden Guest", "The Aunt and the Sluggard", "Death at the Excelsior", "Jeeves and the Hard-Boiled Egg", "Jeeves in the Springtime", "The Man Upstairs", "Jeeves and the Chump Cyril", "Jeeves Takes Charge", "Deep Waters", "The Man Who Disliked Cats", "Extricating Young Gussie", and Right Ho, Jeeves (the unabridged novel - seven hours in length). All titles have been remastered, and have never sounded better!

Public Domain (P)2014 B. J. Harrison

Critic Reviews

"This is a wonderful collection, so well done, I m continually amazed at how well BJ does the voices and the production is of the highest quality. The jeeves episodes are my favorites of all time, they make me laugh each time I listen to them time, which I do often. I can't recommend this collection and his work in general enough!" - Anthony G. "I have loved reading PG Wodehouse since I was a teen, and have never ever heard anyone interpret the zany hijinks and subtle sarcasm as well as BJ Harrison. There are nights I would try to fall asleep to his wonderful voice but the funny would keep me awake :) If you love the stories of Wodehouse, you will love how BJ brings them to life." - Dee "B. J. does a great job with all of the Wodehousian characters, male and female. I don't know how he does it, even mixing British and American accents when appropriate. Very entertaining and recommended to all of P. G.'s fans (which should be everbody who cares about great writing.)" - Grampaul

Frustrating and distracting, the confused accents!

I'm a huge Wodehouse fan, but it is torture listening to this narration. B. J. Harrison can't seem to make up his mind about the accents, and his Jeeves is a flat, monotonous attempt at copying Stephen Fry's Jeeves from the t.v. series with Hugh Laurie.

I find myself so distracted by the ever changing accents, especially the random American pronunciations that keep appearing, that I can't focus on the stories. I am not sure I'll be able to stomach fifteen hours of this.

Don't waste your credits or your time with this one!

16 of 16 people found this review helpful

No good to English ears

Can't tell whether the narrator is American or Scottish or what but the English accent is nowhere near right for these characters.

Why Audible can't make British performances of British books available is beyond me.

28 of 29 people found this review helpful

Don't buy this version of the wonderful Wodehouse stories

These are wonderful stories but this is the worst ever reading of them. The accent I'd ask wrong... Surely Bertie had to have an upper class London accent. And as for Jeeves, somehow his witty, ironic lines have become stiff and humourless. I love these stories and tried hard to persevere but had to abandon this recording a third of the way through. Just dreadful. Probably spoiled by the wonderful reasons by Martin Jarvis, but even without that comparison, this reading is just all wrong. Horrible.

34 of 36 people found this review helpful

Reader gets a LOT of words wrong

this is an OK selection, not a great one, and the reader leaves a great deal to be desired.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Disappointing

American narrator!! Dreadful fake accent. P.G. Warehouse fans look away! What a waste of money.

12 of 13 people found this review helpful

I Love P.G. Wodehouse

This is a funny collection of stories by British writer P.G. Wodehouse. Many of them deal with a ridiculous English aristocrat and his "man" called Jeeves. This is where the statement "Ask Jeeves" must have come from. There are additional stories, but I found the humor mounting higher and higher in the Jeeves stories particularly.

The stories are hilarious and the reader does them justice. All in all, a great group of stories.

11 of 14 people found this review helpful

Classic comedy read by a brilliant narrator!

If you could sum up The P.G. Wodehouse Collection in three words, what would they be?

Droll class-satire

What other book might you compare The P.G. Wodehouse Collection to and why?

Wodehouse is like no other author I have read! If I had to stretch a bit, I would compare Wodehouse's innocently oblivious rich-boy Wooster to certain Dickensian characters, but I can't compare this collection itself, to anything.

Which character – as performed by B. J. Harrison – was your favorite?

I love his rendition of Bertie Wooster! And he really is an excellent Jeeves, as well, but I must admit that I cannot read Jeeves' lines without hearing the amazing Stephen Fry's voice (from the BBC television series with Hugh Laurie as Wooster) .

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I did laugh out loud at a number of parts. Wodehouse is a genius. Bertie (our narrator) is almost entirely devoid of self-awareness and the audience is laughing -at- him at least as often as it is laughing -with- him. Despite this, Bertie is a lovable character because the audience gets a sense that Bertie's utter pointlessness (no job, no ambition, way too much money) is due mostly to society's failing to ask anything more from him, rather than to his own character flaws.

Any additional comments?

If you enjoy biting satire directed at the aimless aristocracy of pre-WWII England, this is the audiobook for you!

12 of 17 people found this review helpful

Awesome

Fantastic series. The narration of the Jeeves stories is perfect for the character of Bertie Wooster. I didn't get into the other stories not about Jeeves but I refuse to let that lower the score. I bought this for the Jeeves stories and I wasn't disappointed.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Just What the Doctor Ordered

Any additional comments?

I love P. G. Wodehouse's writing so much that I didn't think it possible to enjoy it more. B.J. Harrison proved me wrong. His narration and voice acting increased my enjoyment of of these stories exponentially. He brought them to life in such an engaging and realistic way I that felt as if I were a fly on the wall of Bertie Wooster's flat. This was the first audio book I downloaded during a horrible migraine in which I could not read or watch T.V. and had to ensconce myself in a darkened room. P. G. Wodehouse and B. J. Harrison somehow managed to make me laugh through the pain. Literally a lifesaver.

5 of 7 people found this review helpful

Great narration of PG Wodehouse!

It is hard to think of the tradition of British Manners without imagining the delightful fun of Bertie Wooster and his man Jeeves. I think I've read or heard them all (as well as enjoyed Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie doing their hilarious TV rendition) but like most classic comedy, they don't ever get old. This offering of a collection of their stories is very well read by BJ Harrison, and I like that it could be listened to here and there, without necessarily having to hear each story in order. They are each funny alone, or if you go from start to finish.

If you somehow don't know the author and the characters, Wodehouse is having a bit of fun at the expense of the aristocracy during the time when British social rules directed every action, sometimes to the point of absurdity. Wodehouse must have loved creating Bertie Wooster, a young man with too much money and almost no common sense, who lives (with all his friends) within this system, and is such a social nitwit, that he cannot rely on his own resources to see him through any escapade he gets himself into. So it is Jeeves, his valet, who is the intelligent, wise and ultimately clever enough person to extricate him from his pickles (from behind the scenes).

To me all these stories are laugh out loud funny (I mean in general) and BJ Harrison does the two main characters beautifully. He reads Jeeves with subtle, drole restraint and does Wooster with just enough inflection to portray him as perpetually muddle-minded, though by no means stupid. It can be easy to overdo either of them, but Harrison is pitch-perfect. If you are seeking the silly side of "Downton Abbey," give Wodehouse a try. This particular collection opens with their America visit, but includes a variety of the classic characters and situations. Highly recommend.

12 of 18 people found this review helpful

Terrible narration

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Bertie Wooster is as English as they come but this is narrated with an American accent! Extremely disappointing and a waste of money.

What didn’t you like about B. J. Harrison’s performance?

This book should not be read with an American accent!

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment

17 of 18 people found this review helpful

Really bad.

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I couldn't get past the first 3 minutes. I know the stories are great - I've read them before. But this reading is dreadful.

What didn’t you like about B. J. Harrison’s performance?

The reader is clearly an american trying to put on an English accent and failing miserably - rather like Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins.

Any additional comments?

Don't buy it. Look for a reading by an natural English voice.
If there was any way I could get my money back I would ask for it.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful