English LiteratureICSE Class 8 · Jeeves and Blandings Castle Stories

Jeeves's Plans in Two Stories and Wodehouse's Comedy (ICSE Class 8)

Updated 17 October 2026 · Fact-checked

In Leave It to Jeeves, Jeeves helps Corky by arranging a bird book that makes the uncle marry Muriel, then turns a hideous baby portrait into the comic strip Baby Blobbs. In Jeeves and the Unbidden Guest, he explains Motty's prison stay to Lady Malvern as research, after betting Motty to punch a policeman. Wodehouse's comedy comes from plans that backfire and a clever servant.

Understand Jeeves's Plans in Two Stories and Wodehouse's Comedy

Status. P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves and Blandings Castle stories are on the Suggested Reading List for Class VIII; recommended, not prescribed, and no particular book is named. Wodehouse (1881-1975) wrote close to a hundred comic books. Bertie Wooster, a wealthy, good-natured but not very clever young gentleman, narrates his own misadventures; his valet Jeeves is calm, wise and resourceful.

Leave It to Jeeves. Bertie, in New York, has a friend Corky (Bruce Corcoran), a painter who depends on an allowance from his rich uncle Alexander Worple, whose hobby is birds. Corky wants to marry the chorus girl Muriel Singer. Jeeves suggests she write a book, The Children's Book of American Birds, praising the uncle's own work. The plan works too well: Worple marries Muriel himself. Later Corky paints the couple's baby so truthfully that the uncle is furious. Jeeves sees that the ugly portrait would make a wonderful comic-strip character, and suggests the title The Adventures of Baby Blobbs; Corky's comic strip gives him an income for life.

Jeeves and the Unbidden Guest. Lady Malvern, who writes books about countries after short visits, leaves her son Motty (Lord Pershore), whom she thinks delicate, with Bertie in New York. Motty runs wild, and is arrested and sent to prison. Jeeves tells Lady Malvern that he went to prison voluntarily to study the prison system from within for her book. Later he reveals that he bet Motty fifty dollars that he would not punch a policeman. Bertie gives Jeeves a hundred dollars.

Comic methods. A plan backfires, then a cleverer twist rescues it; brains over class (the servant is cleverer than his master); appearance versus reality (the "delicate" son is a rascal; prison is "research"); Bertie's loyal foolishness.

Jeeves's Plans in Two Stories and Wodehouse's Comedy: key facts

Leave It to Jeeves: Bird book
Uncle marries Muriel
Ugly portrait
Baby Blobbs comic strip; The plan works too well, then Jeeves saves it.
Unbidden Guest: Lady Malvern leaves Motty
Motty runs wild
Prison
Research excuse
Fifty-dollar bet; Jeeves reveals the bet to Bertie.
Comic devices: Plan backfires
Brains over class
Appearance versus reality
Loyal foolishness; Link to themes.

How to answer Jeeves's Plans in Two Stories and Wodehouse's Comedy questions

Use this for plot, character and humour questions.

1Name the story and the problem.
2Describe Jeeves's plan in order.
3Say how it goes wrong or surprising.
4Show how it is finally set right.
5Name the comic device and the theme.

Jeeves's Plans in Two Stories and Wodehouse's Comedy in real life

The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

A hypothetical school play

Suppose a clever prefect arranges for the loud pupil who always interrupts to be the audience announcer, because the real announcer is ill, and the pupil turns out to be perfect.

How is this like a Jeeves plan?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

The solution uses a problem as a strength.
It is quiet and clever.
It turns a trouble into success, as with Baby Blobbs.

Answer: It is like Jeeves turning the hideous portrait into a comic strip: a clever twist makes a problem useful.

Memory hook: Turn the problem into the answer.

Tricks to remember Jeeves's Plans in Two Stories and Wodehouse's Comedy

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

Bird book, then baby
Two Jeeves plans in the first story.
Use it when: Leave It to Jeeves.
Prison as research
The cover story for Motty.
Use it when: Second story.

Jeeves's Plans in Two Stories and Wodehouse's Comedy: solved examples

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.

Example 1: What is Baby Blobbs? · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

What is "The Adventures of Baby Blobbs"?
(a) A bird book (b) A comic strip (c) A play (d) A newspaper

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Jeeves turns a hideous portrait into it.

Answer: (b) A comic strip.

Example 2: Jeeves's first plan · 2 marks · Short answerBoard level

What plan does Jeeves suggest to help Corky marry Muriel? (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Muriel writes a bird book (1).
Praising the uncle's work (1).

Answer: Muriel should write The Children's Book of American Birds, dedicated to Mr Worple and full of praise for his own work, and send him a copy.

Example 3: Why does the plan go wrong? · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level

Explain how the bird-book plan goes wrong and how Jeeves fixes the later trouble. (4 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Worple marries Muriel (1).
Corky paints an ugly baby portrait (1).
The uncle is furious (1).
Jeeves proposes the Baby Blobbs strip (1).

Answer: The plan works too well, since Worple is so charmed that he marries Muriel himself. Later Corky paints their baby so truthfully that the uncle is furious. Jeeves sees that the portrait would make a good comic-strip character, and Baby Blobbs gives Corky an income for life.

Example 4: The Motty cover story · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level

Describe how Jeeves explains Motty's arrest to Lady Malvern and what the truth is. (4 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Tells her Motty went to prison voluntarily (1).
To study the prison system for her book (1).
Truth: Jeeves bet Motty fifty dollars (1).
Motty punched a policeman and was arrested (1).

Answer: Jeeves tells Lady Malvern that Motty went to prison voluntarily to study the prison system from within for her book. The truth is that Jeeves bet him fifty dollars that he would not punch a policeman, and Motty won the bet and was arrested.

Example 5: Brains over class · 4 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

The stories suggest that a servant can be cleverer than his master. Support this with two points. (4 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Clear view (1).
Point on Jeeves's plans (1).
Point on Bertie's dependence (1).
Conclusion on class (1).

Answer: Jeeves finds the plans that rescue Corky and Motty, while Bertie, who is wealthy but not clever, depends on him and rewards him. The stories gently mock the idea that birth and money make a person superior, since cleverness belongs to Jeeves, the servant.

Where students lose marks in Jeeves's Plans in Two Stories and Wodehouse's Comedy

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

Mistake: Mixing the two stories
Each has its own characters.
Wrong working
Motty paints the baby.
Right working
Corky paints the baby; Motty is in the second story.
Do this: Learn the casts.
Usually costs: 1 mark
Mistake: Calling Jeeves the master
He is the valet.
Wrong working
Jeeves owns the flat.
Right working
Jeeves is Bertie's valet.
Do this: State the roles.
Usually costs: 1 mark
Mistake: Retelling without humour
Humour is the point.
Wrong working
Only plot.
Right working
Plot plus the irony.
Do this: Name a comic device.
Usually costs: 1 to 2 marks

Exam tips

Name the story before the event.
Mention irony and a backfiring plan in humour answers.
Quote only short phrases.
State that the book is not named by CISCE.

Practice questions on Jeeves's Plans in Two Stories and Wodehouse's Comedy

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
Who is Corky's uncle?
(a) Lord Pershore (b) Alexander Worple (c) Lord Emsworth (d) Bertie
Hint
He loves birds.
Answer
(b) Alexander Worple.
Q2 · 2 marks · Short answerBoard level
Describe Bertie Wooster in two points. (2 marks)
Hint
Wealthy, good-natured.
Answer
Bertie is a wealthy, good-natured young gentleman who is not very clever. He is loyal and generous to his friends and relies on Jeeves.
Q3 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Who is Lady Malvern and what does she write? (3 marks)
Hint
Books after short visits.
Answer
Lady Malvern is Motty's formidable mother who writes books about countries after very short visits. Her latest was on India, and she comes to New York to write about America.
Q4 · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level
How does Wodehouse create humour in the "research" explanation? (4 marks)
Hint
Irony and cover story.
Answer
The humour comes from irony: a prison sentence is described as research, and the reader knows the truth. Lady Malvern's belief that her son is delicate and innocent contrasts with his wild behaviour. Jeeves's calm tone adds to the comedy.
Q5 · 4 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
"Jeeves knows everything." Do the two stories support this? Give two examples. (4 marks)
Hint
Examples of planning.
Answer
They largely support it. Jeeves foresees that the bird book would please the uncle and that the portrait could become a comic strip, and he handles Motty by a bet and a cover story. Yet his first plan goes wrong, so he is clever rather than all-knowing.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1.Who wrote Jeeves stories?Show answer
P.G. Wodehouse.
2.Who is Jeeves?Show answer
Bertie's valet.
3.Who is Motty?Show answer
Lady Malvern's son, Lord Pershore.
4.What is Corky's job?Show answer
Portrait painter.
5.What does Jeeves bet Motty?Show answer
Fifty dollars that he would not punch a policeman.
6.Where is Blandings Castle?Show answer
In Shropshire.

Jeeves's Plans in Two Stories and Wodehouse's Comedy: frequently asked questions

Which book is prescribed?

None; CISCE does not name a particular book.

Are these two stories required?

No, they are examples from the chapter page.

What is a valet?

A personal manservant.