Wodehouse’s Code of Woasters in summary
The hero of a whole series of Wodehouse’s novels is the young Englishman Bertie Wooster, who is always accompanied by his servant Jeeves. In the novels there is such a kind of comedy of positions, and the characters constantly fall into absurd situations, but with honor come out of them. So in the “Code of the Vusters,” Bergi finds himself in a quandary, fulfilling the task of his aunt Dahlia. She asks him to go to the antique shop where the silver cow milk milkman is sold, and with the air of a connoisseur, tell the owner of the shop that this is not an ancient work, but the modern one will begin to doubt and lower the price. Then Uncle Tom, who collects a collection of antique silver, they say, will buy it cheaply. Arriving in the shop, Bergi meets there the judge Vatkin Bassett, who a few days ago fined him five pounds for, that Bertie had taken off his helmet from the policeman. Sir Bassett also collects silver and is in this sense a rival of Uncle Tom, Aunt Dahlia
At home, he finds a telegram from his friend Gassi asking him to come to the estate of his bride and reconcile him with her. Gassy’s bride is the daughter of Bassett Madeleine, and
Arriving at the manor and not meeting any of the owners, Bertie wanders around the house and suddenly sees a cow milker in the closet in the living room. He stretches out his hands to him and hears behind him a voice: “Hands up!” It’s Roderick Spode standing next to him, snatching the revolver, and thinks he’s caught a thief. Sir Watkin appears and with amazement finds out in the uninvited guest a kidnapper from an antique store. He is already figuring out how to give him a term of imprisonment when his daughter Madeleine appears, who was in love with Worcester. They greet each other, to Bachett’s utter amazement. The latter states that the kidnapper of police helmets, bags, umbrellas and silver can not be his daughter’s friend. Worcester also tries to prove that he did not rob an antique shop at all, but just stumbled over a cat and jumped out of the street too hastily. It protects Madeleine, she informs her father, that Bertie just wanted to see his collection of silver, since he is the nephew of Traverse’s nickname – Uncle Tom. Bassett freezes in place, as if struck with thunder.
Then Madeleine informs Berg that they have reconciled with Gassi and the wedding will take place. Bertie meets Gassi, who informs him that Aunt Dahlia comes to Bassett’s estate. He tells Bertie that Roderick Spode is in love with Madeleine, but does not want to marry her, because he sees his calling in being the head of the fascist organization “Savior of Britain”, better known as “Black shorts”, to become a director. And Vatkin, it turns out, is engaged to his aunt. Spode considers himself to be some kind of knight guarding Madeleine, and already threatened Gassy to roll his neck if he offends her. Gassy himself is a big fan of newts and brought them with him to the estate of Bassett, they live in his bedroom – he is studying how the full moon affects the love period of newts. He himself smells of newts, and old Bassett sniffs all the time.
Gassy tells Wooster that he is recording his observations and thoughts about Vatkin and Spode in his notebook and that he could tell so much about Bassett that everyone would be wondering how you can tolerate such a moral and physical monster. For example, when Sir Vatkin straightens with a bowl of soup – it “reminds the Scottish express passing through the tunnel.” The spectacle of Spode, eating asparagus, “radically changes the idea of man as the crown of nature.” During the story Gassi discovers that the notebook has disappeared, he is in a panic, as he understands what the consequences will be if she falls into the wrong hands. Then suddenly he remembers that he dropped it when he took out a fly from Stephanie’s niece, Bassett’s niece, and she evidently picked it up. Friends decide to find Stephanie and take her book from her.
Bertie finds Stephanie talking with the policeman who was bitten by her dog. Stefania makes it clear that she will not give it up so simply. First she talks about her fiancé vicar Harold Linker – the one to win her heart finally, like, as Worcester, to steal the helmet from the policeman. Worcester, it turns out, knows him from college and says Stiffey that Harold will surely mix everything up. Then she says that you need to somehow appease the uncle, he obviously will be against her marriage to the vicar – they are not rich. She came up with a plan, and Harold could be a hero before Sir Watkin: Worcester must steal the cow milkman, and Harold in the fight pick it up and give it to Bassett – then the uncle will consent to the marriage. Otherwise, she will not only not return Gassi’s notebook, but even threatens to drop her to her uncle.
Worcester meets Gassi and informs him of the horrible news, and he, in turn, suggests that Worcester steal a book. Meanwhile, Aunt Dahlia appears with the news that Uncle Tom received a letter from Sir Vatkin proposing to exchange the milkman-cow for Anatol’s cook and Uncle Tom ponders the answer. The loss of the cook for the aunt is intolerable, and she calls on Worcester to act-steal the ill-fated milkman. He tells her that to Vatkin and Spoud their intentions are known, and that Spoud threatened to make Worcester a cutlet from him if the milkman disappeared. Then Aunt Dahlia says that you need to find some compromising material on Spoud and blackmail him. This idea is supported by Jeeves and argues that such information can be obtained at the club for the servants of gentlemen called “Young Ganymede”, for the servant of such a man as Spoud, must necessarily be in the club and the club’s charter to provide all the information about his master. Since Jeeves himself is a member of the club, he will be provided with such information.
Meanwhile, Gassi escapes from Spode, who wants to destroy him, for the engagement with Madeleine was again upset because Gassi, meeting Stephanie in the living room and thinking that she was alone, tried to search her and pick up the book. This saw Madeleine and interpreted everything in her own way.
Jeeves comes and says that Spoud can be intimidated by calling the name of Yulalia and saying that everything is known about her. What exactly, he can not inform Wooster, since he is not a member of the club, but a single mention of the name of Yulalia will be enough to turn Spoud into horror. Bergi Wooster is immediately faced with the opportunity to verify all this – Spoop rushes into the room in search of Gassi. Worcester boldly tells him to go away, and already wants to name the right name, but then he discovers that he forgot it. Gassi flees, and Worcester confuses Spoud in the sheet. When he finally disentangles and is about to break Worcester’s bones, Bertie suddenly remembers the name of Yulalia and calls him – Spoud is terrified and becomes submissive as a child.
Jeeves and Wooster are searching the room for Stiffy in search of a notebook, but to no avail. She arrives and declares that her engagement with Pinker was upset because he refused to steal the helmet from the policeman. Suddenly Pinker climbs into the window with his helmet in his hands – Steffi is delighted, then says that Worcester is ready to help them with the kidnapping, and also with the return of the milkman. Worcester refuses and requires a Gassi notebook. They argue for a long time, then Stiffey puts one condition – let Worcester go to her uncle and say that he asks for her hands; Vatkin will be horrified and call her, and she will calm him, saying that her hands are requested not by Worcester, but by Vicar Pinker, – this should work for Uncle Fidelity. So everything happens, but Stiffy does not give the book, but says that she hid it in the milkman, in addition, she is followed by a local police officer Oates,
Worcester explains to Madeleine the reasons for Gassi’s act, which she misinterpreted, and asks to take the book from her milkman, but she does not turn up. She’s at Spood, he’s angry and wants to give it to Vatkin, but he’s forced to submit to Worcester, who takes it. But the wedding of Madeleine and Gassi is still under threat, since Gassi let the newts into the bath, and Vatkin wanted to swim there. Gassi can put pressure on the future father-in-law, only having taken possession of the milkman – to return it back, he will agree to everything. However, Vatkin, it turns out, hired policeman Oats to guard the milkman. You can distract the policeman by telling him that the helmet is found in Worcester’s room, Jeeves suggests.
While friends are thinking what to do, a policeman is attacked in the dark when he tries to arrest a thief who stole this coveted object for milk and cream. The thief is Aunt Dahlia, she asks Berg to hide the milkman in his room. And Bassett and the policeman, who had long suspected Worcester of stealing a helmet, were just about to search his room. In the same room, Gassi wants to hide from Bassett – he still read his notebook; Gassy begs to let him down on the bound sheets from the window to the ground. Jeeves is delighted – found a way out: he hands Gassy a suitcase of Worcester with a milkman and helps him to get out of the window.
A search in Worcester’s room did not give anything, because Bertie threw the helmet out of the window, but, alas, the butler saw it and brought a helmet, but Spoud appeared who took the blame and said that he had personally stolen the helmet. Against him, Bassett did not initiate proceedings, for he is engaged to his aunt. After their departure, Jeeves confesses to Wooster that he was blackmailing Spoud by mentioning Yulalia, who also suggests blackmailing Vatkin with instituting a criminal case for illegally arresting and discrediting the personality of Worcester in witnesses in connection with the loss of a milkman and a helmet. Worcester does so, demanding instead of monetary compensation Bassett’s consent to the marriage of Madeleine and Gassi, and at the same time Stephanie and Pinker. Bassett agrees.
At the end of the novel, Worcester nevertheless asks Jeeves to tell about Yulalia – the secret is that Spode secretly sketches the lingerie, since it contains a store for its sale, known as the Salon of Yulalia. If his colleagues in the fascist organization find out about this, a scandal will erupt, for “it is inconceivable to be a successful dictator and draw sketches of female underwear.”
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