Can’t recall author or title. Assistance req'd.

[laughingacademy.livejournal.com]

Greetings and felicitations! I am a newcomer to the wonderful word of Wodehouse fanfic, the existence of which was revealed to me by sine_que_non767 via crack_van. I have been devouring her recommendation and doing my utmost to ferret out the other online adventures of Mssrs. Wooster and Jeeves.

Unfortunately, I recently read a story which I failed to bookmark and have been unable to re-find. It contains a scene in which Bertie overhears part of a conversation between Jeeves and an older colleague who turns out to be Lane, Algernon Moncrieff’s manservant circa The Importance of Being Earnest, in which the latter advises Jeeves, since he cannot be with the man he wants (i.e. Bertie), to follow Lane’s example and find a substitute.

Did the preceding précis cause wild bells to ring out for anyone? If the subject of such tintinnabulation were to provide a link or otherwise direct me to the tale in question, I would be exceedingly grateful.

Comments

[llamabitchyo.livejournal.com]

http://community.livejournal.com/indeedsir/110763.html

Jeeves and an Excess of Prudence by rowen_r

[laughingacademy.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes, that’s it! Thanks ever so.

[mechanicaljewel.livejournal.com]

Might I just say how much I love your language. Plum would be most proud.

[laughingacademy.livejournal.com]

Gosh! [*blushes, scuffs toe of shoe*] You are far too kind.

[montycrowley.livejournal.com]

Yes, your language is fantastic. Welcome to the fandom. Please stay.

[laughingacademy.livejournal.com]

Welcome to the fandom. Please stay.

Oh, I plan to; you seem a most lovely and interesting crowd.

On reflection, I’ve been slouching toward the fandom for years. My circuitous path began with Monty Python’s Flying Circus in grade school; then Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Doctor Who in my teens, followed closely by the various incarnations of Black Adder and A Bit of Fry and Laurie; culminating, finally, in the delightful works of Sir Pelham, some of which (a couple of the Jeeves and Wooster books, a collection of golf stories, and an autobiography of sorts) I read in college.

[innocentsmith.livejournal.com]

Good lord. You sound exactly like Psmith. You even have a "comrades" icon.

Welcome. You've come to the right place for this pairing. Stick around. XD

[laughingacademy.livejournal.com]

You sound exactly like Psmith.

Really? I can’t judge for myself, for I have yet to read the Psmith books, a situation which I plan to remedy soonish. I’ve borrowed Psmith in the City from the library but have set it aside until I’ve had a crack at Mike and Psmith, which is currently wending its way through the coils of the NYPL.

[innocentsmith.livejournal.com]

Psmith is sort of...one part Bertie, one part Jeeves. Shake, chill, and garnish with breathtaking arrogance.

Not to say you've got the last, of course. XD

Anyway, the books are fabulous, though when Plum says in the preface to "Mike and Psmith" that he apologizes for all the cricket...he isn't kidding. But you can skim.

[laughingacademy.livejournal.com]

Psmith is sort of...one part Bertie, one part Jeeves. Shake, chill, and garnish with breathtaking arrogance.

Well, now I am intrigued!

My meager knowledge of cricket was gleaned from the works of Douglas Adams and Dorothy L. Sayers. I gather there’s a ball which is bowled rather than pitched, and a paddle-shaped bat, and a gate and wickets, but I have no idea how these components interact, or why one would underake such an activity wearing a cream-colored sweater and flannel pants.

[innocentsmith.livejournal.com]

I suspect the answer to the last question is, "because the people playing it were rich." I really, really don't understand how cricket works. I've tried to get some kind of grip on the basic rules, as it does come up periodically (in Wodehouse, Sayers, Adams, the "Flashman" series, etc.) but every time I get past "okay, so the bowler throws the ball..." my brain falls asleep. Of course, I'm not an organized sports kind of person, really. ("They're playing Quidditch. Ooh, flying. Brooms. The thrill of victory, the humiliation of defeat. Yawn. Harry'd better get seriously injured soon or I'm skipping ahead two pages and I'll pick him up in the hospital wing. Oh, wait, Luna's doing the commentary? Rock!")

If you're sick of waiting for it to arrive in your library, Project Gutenberg has "Mike and Psmith." (http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/10586) XD

[laughingacademy.livejournal.com]

I suspect the answer to the last question is, "because the people playing it were rich."

Excellent point.

Something just occurred to me—is your name a reference to the central character in G.K. Chesterton’s Manalive?

[innocentsmith.livejournal.com]

Yes! Yes, it is! And you are the first person who's ever asked me that, so you win your very own internets. Yay!

...yeah. *clears throat* I really like that book. ^_^ Also, it's just such a great fictional name.

[sine-que-non767.livejournal.com]

the existence of which was revealed to me by sine_que_non767 via crack_van.

*glee* My karma is rising... ;) Welcome aboard!

Now use that marvellous language and write us all some fic.

[laughingacademy.livejournal.com]

I may turn my hand to Wodehousian pastiche, if I ever feel sufficently familiar with the style and canon. In the meantime, i look forward to enjoying the fruits of those who labored before me.

HAY SUP?

[alibi-factory.livejournal.com]

Hola!

You're the first person I've met )on the net or otherwise) who's a fan of both Wodehouse and Harlan Ellison.

[alibi-factory.livejournal.com]

Just flip that parenthesis around for me, would you?

Re: HAY SUP?

[laughingacademy.livejournal.com]

And you’re the first person I’ve seen with a Mythbusters icon.