Faulks to write new Jeeves and Wooster novel

07.03.13 | Charlotte Williams - The Bookseller

Sebastian Faulks is to write a new Jeeves and Wooster novel, expanding the humorous series written by P G Wodehouse, with the title commissioned by the author's estate.  

Hutchinson will publish the new novel, Jeeves and the Wedding Bells, on 6th November.
The book will be "faithful to the history and personality of Wodehouse's characters but by shining a different light on them will also show how robust, durable and lovable these creations are", according to the publisher.

The Wodehouse Estate said: "In his acclaimed 2011 book Faulks on Fiction, Sebastian Faulks wrote: ‘If I were to be quite honest, I suppose I would have to admit that this [a scene from The Mating Season] is probably my favourite scene in the whole canon of English literature.’ 
"We are thrilled that so skilful and stylish a novelist, and so perceptive and discerning a reader,  has agreed to bring to life the immortal characters Jeeves and Bertie Wooster for the enjoyment of today’s audience in a homage to P G Wodehouse."

Faulks described it as "an honour to be asked by P G Wodehouse's family to work with these greatly loved characters", having read his first Jeeves story when he was 12. He added: "Wodehouse is inimitable, but I will do the very best I can, with respect and with gratitude for all the pleasure the books have given, but also with a light heart. I hope my story will ring bells with aficionados but also bring new readers to these wonderful books."

It is not the first time Faulks has taken on the mantle of a classic author, having added to the James Bond series by penning Devil May Care in 2008. He then passed on the opportunity to write a second, with Jeffrey Deaver writing the next instalment and William Boyd's take on Bond due this autumn.

The P G Wodehouse Estate has been published in paperback by Arrow, which is also an imprint of Cornerstone Publishing, since 2008.
The publisher acquired world rights in the new title, in a deal with the Wodehouse Estate, handled by Peter Straus of RCW, and Faulks' agent Gillon Aitken of Aitken Alexander.

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