Jill the Reckless

Jill had money, Jill was engaged to be married to Sir Derek Underhill. Suddenly Jill becomes penniless, and she is no longer engaged. With a smile, in which there is just a tinge of recklessness, she refuses to be beaten and turns to face the world. Instead she went to New York and became a member of the chorus of "The Rose of America," and Mr. Wodehouse is enabled to lift the curtain of the musical comedy world.

There is laughter and drama in _Jill the Reckless_, and the action never flags from the moment that Freddie Rooke confesses that he has had a hectic night, down to the point where Wally says briefly "Let 'em," which is page 313. The heroine here, Jill Mariner, is a young woman from the lower end of the upper class. We follow her through financial disaster, a broken engagement, an awkward stay with some grasping relatives, employment as a chorus girl, and of course, the finding of true love. Other characters include wealthy Drone Freddie Rooke and writer Wally Mason, her childhood friends; her financially inept uncle Major Christopher Selby; her fiancée at the beginning of the book, the M.P Derek Underhill, and his domineering mother, Lady Underhill; Jill's unpleasant relatives, Elmer and Julia Mariner; more Drones Club members, various chorus girls, composers and other theatrical types, and, of course, miscellaneous servants. (Introduction from Gutenberg and Wikipedia)

(10 hr 35 min)

Chapters

The Family Curse	50:26	Read by Don W. Jenkins
The First Night at the Leicester	24:40	Read by Don W. Jenkins
Jill and the Unknown Escape	12:51	Read by Don W. Jenkins
The Last of the Rookes Takes a Hand	35:16	Read by Don W. Jenkins
Lady Underhill Receives a Shock	31:14	Read by Don W. Jenkins
Uncle Chris Bangs the Table	48:22	Read by Don W. Jenkins
Jill Catches the 10.10	29:42	Read by Don W. Jenkins
The Dry--Salters Wing Derek	25:31	Read by Don W. Jenkins
Jill in Search of an Uncle	20:47	Read by Don W. Jenkins
Jill Ignores Authority	21:24	Read by Don W. Jenkins
Mr. Pilkington's Love Light	35:19	Read by Don W. Jenkins
Uncle Chris Borrows a Flat	27:33	Read by Don W. Jenkins
The Ambassador Arrives	27:16	Read by Don W. Jenkins
Mr. Goble Makes the Big Noise	52:27	Read by Don W. Jenkins
Jill Explains	23:40	Read by Don W. Jenkins
Mr. Goble Plays with Fate	43:47	Read by Don W. Jenkins
The Cost of a Row	17:08	Read by Don W. Jenkins
Jill Receives Notice	36:33	Read by Don W. Jenkins
Mrs. Peagrim Burns Incense	18:04	Read by Don W. Jenkins
Derek Loses One Bird and Secures Another	42:33	Read by Don W. Jenkins
Wally Mason Learns a New Exercise	11:15	Read by Don W. Jenkins

Reviews

Another terrific Wodehouse book

(4 stars)

Byron Lee Scott

I enjoyed it so very much. Jenkins is an animated reader. I missed the British feel, as he makes the snobbish English lady sound like granny Clampet, etc, but I do appreciate his reading.

It's Wodehouse!

(5 stars)

The Momtionary

What more could anyone want? Well, perhaps a reader with an English accent, but all is understandable, and the reader even uses different voices for the characters. Recommended.

Good story

(4 stars)

mikezane

Jill is engaged to a man of means, but when the family fortune is lost through the stupidity of her uncle, her fiance dumps her. Granted it is a coincidence, he dumps her for a different reason, but the rest of the world doesn't believe him, and decides to cut him dead. Meanwhile Jill, feeling the need to earn her way, decides to pursue an acting career in America. Derek feels the pinch of being cut by his peers and decides to find Jill and reconcile, but alas, the reckless Jill has already begun to find success in the acting world, largely thanks to her new old friend Wally who has his OWN reason for wanting Jill to stay with the acting group. The reading is fine. The story is more sweet than funny, not as laugh out loud as the standard Wodehouse book, but I liked it anyways. Enjoy!

Great plot and characters, wonderfully well read...

(5 stars)

Si Brown

Beautifully read (a little slow for me, increased speed slightly). Great typically Wodehouse plot, but based on his personal experience of musical comedy (or perhaps I should say 'light opera'). Femal characters are better drawn, and more sympathetically so, than in some novels. A good long read and the plot twists kept me listening enthusiastically to the end.

A delightful tale

(5 stars)

Ancient Aunt

Classic PG Wodehouse at its entertaining best. Set in England and America with the principle characters steaming their way across the Atlantic in pursuit of true love. Highly entertaining throughout. And I must say this Librivox volunteer reader has the perfect voice for reading Wodehouse; I hope he records them all!

JILL THE GREAT

(5 stars)

Avid Listener

Jill has to be my favorite Wodehouse heroine. This book could be a great hit if Wally put it on Broadway. Mr. Jenkins does a great job, but we have come to expect that from him. Highly recommended.

among his best

(5 stars)

GonzoRanch

I've read at least 20 of his stories, & this may be my favorite of them all so far. When he wrote this, he was in the groove.