Joy in the Morning (Wodehouse novel)
 First US edition | |
| Author | P. G. Wodehouse |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Jeeves |
| Genre | Comic novel |
| Publisher | Herbert Jenkins, Doubleday, Doran |
Publication date | 22 August 1946 |
| Media type | |
| Preceded by | The Code of the Woosters |
| Followed by | The Mating Season |
Joy in the Morning is a novel by P.G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on 22 August 1946, by Doubleday & Co., New York, and in the United Kingdom on 2 June 1947, by Herbert Jenkins, London.[1] Some later American paperback editions bore the title Jeeves in the Morning.
The story is another adventure of Bertie Wooster and his resourceful valet Jeeves. Bertie is persuaded to brave the home of his fearsome Aunt Agatha and her husband Lord Worplesdon, knowing that his former fiancée, the beautiful and formidably intellectual Lady Florence Craye will also be in attendance.
The title derives from an English translation of Psalms 30:5:
- "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning."
Wodehouse was working on the novel in Le Touquet (France) before he was interned by the occupying German authorities. He completed the book in Germany after his wife, Ethel, brought the unfinished manuscript with her when she joined her husband in Berlin.[2] The manuscript was completed in Degenershausen, a small village in the Harz mountains.[3]
Plot
The novel opens with a brief flashforward of Bertie and Jeeves driving home, with Bertie remarking that there is an expression, something about Joy, that describes what he has just been through. Jeeves helpfully supplies the phrase, "Joy cometh in the morning".[4] Bertie proceeds to narrate the events that occurred.
Jeeves wants to go fishing at the village of Steeple Bumpleigh, but Bertie refuses to go there because his fearsome Aunt Agatha and her second husband, the irascible Lord Worplesdon, live there at Bumpleigh Hall. Bertie makes it up to Jeeves by buying him a gift, a new edition of the works of Spinoza. In the bookshop, Bertie meets Florence Craye, Worplesdon's daughter, a serious, intellectual girl to whom Bertie was once engaged. She mistakenly thinks that Bertie is trying to improve his mind by reading Spinoza and her own book Spindrift. Shortly afterwards, Bertie meets his college friend D'Arcy "Stilton" Cheesewright, who is engaged to Florence. Meanwhile, Jeeves has been consulted by Worplesdon, who wants to arrange a clandestine meeting with an American businessman, Chichester Clam. Jeeves suggests that Bertie stay at a cottage (called Wee Nooke) in Steeple Bumpleigh, where the two businessmen could meet in secret. Aunt Agatha, who is away, bought a brooch as a birthday present for her step-daughter Florence and asks Bertie to deliver it.
Bertie goes to Steeple Bumpleigh with his friend Zenobia "Nobby" Hopwood. She is engaged to Bertie's friend George "Boko" Fittleworth, who lives in the village. Lord Worplesdon, Nobby's guardian, does not approve of Boko. On arrival, Bertie learns that Florence thinks that Stilton should be an M.P. instead of a village policeman. Stilton believes Bertie is wooing Florence and tells him to leave. At Wee Nooke, Bertie encounters Florence's troublesome young brother Edwin, a boy scout. As one of his daily acts of kindness, Edwin attempts to clean the chimney using gunpowder and paraffin, only to burn down the cottage. Lord Worplesdon blames Bertie for the fire; he invites Jeeves to stay at the Hall, but Bertie has to lodge with Boko. Bertie lost the brooch, so he sends Jeeves to London to obtain a replacement.
"Jeeves tells me that Edwin has succeeded in burning Wee Nooke to the ground. Correct, Bertie?"
"Quite correct. It was his last Friday's act of kindness."
Boko asks Bertie about the fire[5]
After welcoming Bertie to his cottage, Boko tells Bertie his plan to win Worplesdon's approval: he will pretend to stop a burglar at the Hall, with Bertie playing the role of burglar. Before he can break in, Bertie is interrupted by Edwin. He then runs into Jeeves, who says that Worplesdon and Clam plan to meet in the potting shed. Boko mistakes Clam for an intruder and locks him in the shed, enraging Worplesdon. To improve Boko's standing, Jeeves suggests that Boko come to Worpleson's defense while Bertie insults Worplesdon, but Bertie refuses. Edwin tells Bertie that Florence and Stilton have fallen out. Edwin also found the brooch, and gave it to Florence. She believes that this was a present from Bertie and has renewed their engagement, to Bertie's horror.
Boko, who was once engaged to Florence, agrees to disclose how he alienated her if Bertie insults Worplesdon, but Jeeves reveals that Boko alienated her by kicking Edwin. Bertie decides to do the same, yet Florence actually approves, as Edwin messed up her scrap album. Nobby promises Bertie to show Florence a letter in which he insulted Florence if Bertie insults Worplesdon. Bertie visits his uncle's study, but before the plan can proceed Boko is escorted from the grounds by a gardener. Worplesdon is impressed with Bertie for kicking Edwin. Jeeves suggests to Bertie that Worplesdon and Clam meet in disguise at the fancy-dress ball to take place that night; Bertie suggests this to Worplesdon. Worplesdon wears a Sindbad the Sailor costume that Bertie had brought for himself. Jeeves steals Stilton's police uniform for Bertie so he can attend the ball and persuade Worplesdon to approve Nobby marrying Boko. Worplesdon's negotiations with Clam are successfully concluded by the time Bertie arrives. Worplesdon detests Boko less when he hears that Boko has also kicked Edwin and will shortly be starting a job far away in Hollywood. He approves the marriage.
In the morning, Bertie discovers that Worplesdon has been accidentally locked in Boko's garage overnight. Worplesdon emerges furious with Boko and withdraws his approval of Nobby marrying Boko. Worplesdon is horrified, however, when Jeeves informs him that Lady Agatha, who disapproves of fancy-dress balls, has returned unexpectedly and wants to know where Worplesdon has been. Jeeves suggests that Worplesdon say he spent the evening discussing the wedding plans with Nobby and Boko, then slept at Boko's cottage overnight. Worplesdon agrees, consenting to the marriage again. Stilton tries to arrest Bertie for stealing his uniform, but Worplesdon gives Bertie a false alibi. Edwin has destroyed the insulting letter that Bertie wanted Nobby to show to Florence, but Florence decides to marry Stilton after he resigns from the police force in disgust at Worplesdon's underhanded behaviour. Jeeves confesses to Bertie that he lied about Lady Agatha returning.
The pair escape from Steeple Bumpleigh by car. Bertie tries to remember an expression which he feels sums up recent events, something about Joy, but notes that he already narrated all this before.
Adaptations
Television
The story was adapted into the Jeeves and Wooster episode "Lady Florence Craye Arrives in New York" which first aired on 23 May 1993.[6] There are some differences, including:
- The episode takes place in New York City rather than in a rural English village.
- In the episode, the playwright George Caffyn replaces Boko Fittleworth.
- Worplesdon is not married to Bertie's Aunt Agatha in the episode, and he is Nobby's uncle.
- In the episode, Bertie buys the new edition of Spinoza's works as a birthday gift for Jeeves.
- In the episode, Bertie attends the ball dressed as Abraham Lincoln, and George attends as Edward the Confessor; in the original story, Bertie wore Stilton's constable uniform, while Boko dressed as a football player.
- Stilton, Jeeves, Florence, Nobby and Edwin attend the ball in costume in the episode.
- The conflicts of the story are resolved via a lightning storm, which gives George Caffyn the opportunity to look heroic by rescuing Worplesdon. Jeeves influences the onlooking reporters into focusing on George's heroism and ignoring the business merger. Florence discovers the torn pages of her novel that Jeeves used to line Bertie's stovepipe hat, and goes back to Stilton when he quotes Spinoza after being shocked by lightning.
Radio
Joy in the Morning was adapted into a radio drama in 1978 as part of the series What Ho! Jeeves starring Michael Hordern as Jeeves and Richard Briers as Bertie Wooster.[7]
Reception
Robert McCrum, Wodehouse's biographer, states that Joy in the Morning is "thought by a fervent minority to be his masterpiece".[8] Richard Usborne, who wrote several books about Wodehouse, considered that Joy in the Morning was perhaps the best of the author's books: "If I had to pick one as his happiest, best constructed and most jewel-encrusted, I'd say Joy in the Morning".[9] Frances Donaldson, who also wrote a biography of Wodehouse, did not rate the book quite so highly, considering that some of Wodehouse's other novels, including the Jeeves-Wooster stories Right Ho, Jeeves and The Mating Season were superior.[10]
Usborne used Joy in the Morning[11] to highlight the extreme perils of attempting to translate Wodehouse's English into another language, in view of the hotch-potch of slangs, quotations and allusions that Wodehouse employs. He compares Wodehouse's original text with a translation of Joy in the Morning into French by Denyse and Benoît de Fanscolombe, published by Amiot-Dumont under the title Jeeves, au secours!. Thus Wodehouse's phrase "to give the little snurge six of the best with a bludgeon" becomes, in French, "flanquer au maudit galopin une volée de martinet".
References and sources
- References
- ^ McIlvaine, E., Sherby, L.S. and Heineman, J.H. (1990) P.G. Wodehouse: A comprehensive bibliography and checklist. New York: James H. Heineman, pp. 80–81. ISBN 087008125X
- ^ Donaldson 1982, p. 294 of Allison & Busby edition
- ^ McCrum 2004, p.325
- ^ Wodehouse, page 9.
- ^ Wodehouse, page 113.
- ^ "Jeeves and Wooster Series 4, Episode 2". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
- ^ "What Ho! Jeeves: Joy in the Morning: 1: Florence Craye". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
- ^ McCrum 2004, p. 269
- ^ Usborne 1961, p. 13
- ^ Donaldson 1982, p. 29 of Allison & Busby edition
- ^ 'The French for Wodehouse': included in Usborne 1961 as an Appendix; shorter version in Usborne 2002
- Sources
- Wodehouse, Pelham Grenville (2008) [First published 1947 by Herbert Jenkins Ltd.]. Joy in the Morning (Reprinted ed.). Arrow Books. ISBN 978-0099513766.
- "Joy in the Morning". Bibliography. Russian Wodehouse Society. Retrieved 14 August 2011.
- Donaldson, Frances (1982), P. G. Wodehouse – A Biography, Weidenfield & Nicholson; reissued 1992 by Allison & Busby.
- McCrum, Robert (2004), Wodehouse – A Life, Penguin Viking.
- Usborne, Richard (1961), Wodehouse at Work, Herbert Jenkins.
- Usborne, Richard (2002), Plum Sauce – A P. G. Wodehouse Companion, Ebury Press.