The Real Jeeves: The Cricketer Who Gave His Life for His Country and His Name to a Legend

The Real Jeeves tells the story of a young cricketer whose glorious life was snuffed out, but whose name will live forever. Plucked from country-house cricket, all-rounder Percy Jeeves was to outshine the Golden Age's greats over two seasons with Warwickshire, clean bowling Jack Hobbs, hitting Wilfred Rhodes for six, and outclassing England captain Plum Warner. In September 1914, Jeeves bowled Warwickshire to victory over champions Surrey. It was his 50th first-class match—and his last. The Real Jeeves traces Percy's life from idyllic childhood via county cricket into the nightmare of war. Excerpts from battalion diaries detail the horrors of the Western Front, and ultimately his demise on the Somme. Yet Percy Jeeves' name lived on thanks to P. G. Wodehouse, who saw him play at Cheltenham in 1913 and was so impressed he noted the name for a character who shared the modest Yorkshireman's immaculate conduct and appearance.