Jeeves Makes an Omelette
Categories: [ Books/Wodehouse ]
© Amazon.fr
Published in A Few Quick Ones in 1959.
Aunt Dahlia is trying to convince the famous novelist Cornelia Fothergill to publish her latest novell as a serial in Dahlias's paper, Milay's Boudoir, but the writer doesn't want to sell it as cheap as Dahlia can afford. Dahlia then learns that Cornelia's husband, the famous painter Everard Fothergill, is sick to see every day in the dining-room a terrible painting made by his father Edward Fothergill, who gave it to his son as a wedding present. Dahlia thus asks Bertie to steal the painting, which would make Cornelia happy that her husband is not depressed anymore by the sight of the the painting and would then sell the novel at the price Dahlia offers; since there has been a series of burglaries in the neighbourhood, nobody would suspect a thing. Bertie eventually steals and destroys the painting, but when only one bit is left bearing the painter's signature, Jeeves notices that Bertie stole the wrong painting, a somewhat similar piece by Everard, which happens to be the artist's favourite. On their way to the dining-room to verify which painting Bertie has taken, they meet Edward Fothergill carrying the terrible painting. He explains that he loves it so much that he should never have given it to his son, and has faked a burglary to recover it. Jeeves then suggest that Bertie could pretend to have tried – and failed – to prevent the burglars to perpretate their crime, and Dahlia knocks him out for verisimilitude.
[ Posted on July 9th, 2010 at 14:51 | no comment | permanent link ]
