Augustus "Gussie" Fink-Nottle is a recurring

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life perso ...

in the ''

Jeeves Jeeves (born Reginald Jeeves, nicknamed Reggie) is a fictional character in a series of comedic short stories and novels by English author P. G. Wodehouse. Jeeves is the highly competent valet of a wealthy and idle young Londoner named Berti ...

'' novels of comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being a lifelong friend of Jeeves's master

Bertie Wooster Bertram Wilberforce Wooster is a fictional character in the comedic Jeeves stories created by British author P. G. Wodehouse. An amiable English gentleman and one of the "idle rich", Bertie appears alongside his valet, Jeeves, whose intelligenc ...

and a country member of the

Drones Club The Drones Club is a recurring fictional location in the stories of British humorist P. G. Wodehouse. It is a gentlemen's club in London. Many of Wodehouse's Jeeves and Blandings Castle stories feature the club or its members. Various memb ...

. He wears horn-rimmed spectacles and studies

newt A newt is a salamander in the subfamily Pleurodelinae. The terrestrial juvenile phase is called an eft. Unlike other members of the family Salamandridae, newts are semiaquatic, alternating between aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Not all aqua ...

Life and character

A small and shrimp-like young man, Gussie Fink-Nottle (called "Spink-Bottle" by Bertie Wooster's

Aunt Dahlia Dahlia Travers (née Wooster) is a recurring fictional character in the Jeeves stories of English comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being best known as Bertie Wooster's bonhomous, red-faced Aunt Dahlia. She is much beloved by her nephew, in contra ...

) is one of Bertie's friends. He is described as fish-faced (which jokingly means that he has a small chin). Usually described as wearing horn-rimmed spectacles, he also wears tortoiseshell-rimmed spectacles. He went to private school with Bertie Wooster, where they were close enough friends that they shared Bertie's last bar of chocolate.Ring & Jaggard (1999), pp. 86–90. He had not been in London for over five years before meeting Madeline.Cawthorne (2013), p. 216. Generally a teetotaller, he drinks

whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden ca ...

once, and says that it tastes unpleasantly like medicine, burns the throat and leaves one thirsty. His preferred drink is

orange juice Orange juice is a liquid extract of the orange tree fruit, produced by squeezing or reaming oranges. It comes in several different varieties, including blood orange, navel oranges, valencia orange, clementine, and tangerine. As well as vari ...

. Gussie is very shy in his first appearance, though he becomes more confident and assertive over time. Having first become interested in newts as a child, Gussie became more devoted to studying them through university and afterward, eventually studying newts in a pond at his home in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

. Later, he carries newts around in glass tanks. Knowledgeable about newts, he once describes the courtship practices of newts to Bertie Wooster and on another occasion provides a great deal of information on the subject to Madeline Bassett. It is likely that Gussie is a member of the

. While Gussie's membership is not stated directly, there are at least three pieces of evidence suggesting he is a member of the Drones: at least five known Drones Club members attend the dinner celebrating Gussie's engagement to Madeline that Bertie gives Gussie at the Drones, Bertie states that Gussie loves cold steak and kidney pie so much that Bertie has known him to order it "even on curry day at the Drones", and it is implied by Wodehouse in a 1937 letter he wrote to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

'' that one can find Gussie at the Drones Club. Gussie is described as a Drone in two books about Wodehouse's characters, ''Who's Who in Wodehouse'' by Daniel H. Garrison and ''Wodehouse in Woostershire'' by Tony Ring and Geoffrey Jaggard. In '' Right Ho, Jeeves'', Gussie drinks whisky to gather the courage to propose to Madeline Bassett (and also unknowingly drinks orange juice spiked with gin), and while under the influence of the drinks, ends up giving an uninhibited and noteworthy speech at Market Snodsbury Grammar School. In that story, he becomes engaged to Madeline, despite a temporary engagement to Bertie's cousin Angela Travers. His engagement to Madeline is ended and renewed in ''

The Code of the Woosters ''The Code of the Woosters'' is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published on 7 October 1938, in the United Kingdom by Herbert Jenkins, London, and in the United States by Doubleday, Doran, New York. It was previously serialised in ''The Sa ...

'', in which he also comes into conflict with

Roderick Spode Roderick Spode, 7th Earl of Sidcup, often known as Spode or Lord Sidcup, is a recurring fictional character in the Jeeves novels of English comic writer P. G. Wodehouse. In the first novel in which he appears, he is an "amateur dictator" and the ...

. He is still engaged to Madeline through '' The Mating Season'', though he tried to send her a letter ending their engagement, and he temporarily falls for Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright's sister Corky. Also in ''The Mating Season'', Catsmeat makes Gussie climb into the

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...

fountain while clothed, and Gussie uses a false name twice. When in court after being arrested for wading in the Trafalgar Square fountain, he uses the alias Alfred Duff Cooper (clearly taken from British politician Alfred Duff Cooper), and he uses Bertie Wooster's name when pretending to be Bertie at Deverill Hall. In ''

Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves ''Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves'' is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, published in the United States on 22 March 1963 by Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York, and in the United Kingdom on 16 August 1963 by Herbert Jenkins, London.McIlvaine (1990), p. 97, A8 ...

'', his engagement with Madeline is ended for good after she tries to make him be a vegetarian, and Gussie elopes with Emerald Stoker.

Appearances

Gussie appears in: * '' Right Ho, Jeeves'' (1934) * ''

'' (1938) * '' The Mating Season'' (1949) * ''

'' (1963) Gussie is mentioned in: * '' Jeeves in the Offing'' (1960) * '' Much Obliged, Jeeves'' (1971) * ''

Aunts Aren't Gentlemen ''Aunts Aren't Gentlemen'' is a comic novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom in October 1974 by Barrie & Jenkins, London, and in the United States under the title ''The Cat-nappers'' on 14 April 1975 by Simon & Schuste ...

'' (1974)

Market Snodsbury Grammar School speech

The scene in '' Right Ho, Jeeves'' in which Gussie, thoroughly inebriated due to

and later

lacing his orange juice with gin, as well as his massive drink of whisky, gives a speech at the Market Snodsbury

Grammar School A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

is often cited as among the finest vignettes in English literature. Gussie goes to the boys' school to present prizes to the pupils (for spelling, drawing, etc.), with the boys' relatives and other members of the community in attendance. He is taking the place of Reverend William Plomer, who is out due to illness. After making some snide remarks to the previous speaker (a man with a beard who mistakenly calls Gussie "Fitz-Wattle"), Gussie, standing with his thumbs in the armholes of his waistcoat, begins to deliver his speech:

"Boys," said Gussie, "I mean ladies and gentlemen and boys, I will not detain you long, but I propose on this occasion to feel compelled to say a few auspicious words. Ladies – boys and ladies and gentlemen – we have all listened with interest to the remarks of our friend here who forgot to shave this morning – I don't know his name, but then he didn't know mine – Fitz-Wattle, I mean, absolutely absurd – which squares things up a bit – and we are all sorry that the Reverend What-ever-he-was-called should be dying of adenoids, but after all, here today, gone tomorrow, and all flesh is as grass, and what not, but that wasn't what I wanted to say. What I wanted to say was this – and I say it confidently – without fear of contradiction – I say, in short, I am happy to be here on this auspicious occasion and I take much pleasure in kindly awarding the prizes, consisting of the handsome books you see laid out on that table. As Shakespeare says, there are sermons in books, stones in the running brooks, or, rather, the other way about, and there you have it in a nutshell."

Gussie's grammar school speech is referenced in '' Jeeves in the Offing''. Bertie recounts that at the grammar school, Gussie "had got pickled to the gills and made an outstanding exhibition of himself, setting up a mark at which all future orators would shoot in vain".

Adaptations

; Television * In the 1990–1993 series ''

Jeeves and Wooster ''Jeeves and Wooster'' is a British comedy-drama television series adapted by Clive Exton from P. G. Wodehouse's "Jeeves" stories. It aired on the ITV network from 22 April 1990 to 20 June 1993, with the last series nominated for a Britis ...

'', Gussie was portrayed by Richard Garnett in series 1 (episodes 4–5) and series 2 (episodes 1–2), and by Richard Braine in series 3 (episodes 4–5) and series 4 (episode 5). ;Stage * In the 1975 musical ''

'', Gussie was portrayed by Christopher Good. * In the 1996 premiere of ''

By Jeeves ''By Jeeves'', originally ''Jeeves'', is a musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and lyrics and book by Alan Ayckbourn. It is based on the series of novels and short stories by P. G. Wodehouse that centre around the character of Bertie Woost ...

'', a rewrite of the previous musical, he was portrayed by

Simon Day Simon William Day (born 7 June 1962) is an English comedian and actor known for his roles in the sketch show '' The Fast Show'' and the sitcom ''Grass''. Career Day was born in Blackheath, London, and rose to fame as a stand-up comic, winning ...

. * Gussie is one of the characters portrayed in the 2013 play ''

Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense ''Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense'' is a play written by David and Robert Goodale based on the 1938 novel ''The Code of the Woosters'' by P. G. Wodehouse. After try-out performances at the Richmond Theatre and the Theatre Royal, Brighton ...

'', in which Bertie, Jeeves, and the butler Seppings reenact the events of ''The Code of the Woosters''. ; Film * James Kall portrayed Gussie in the 2001 recording of the musical ''

''. ;Radio * Gussie was voiced by Rolf Lefebvre in the 1956 BBC

BBC Light Programme The BBC Light Programme was a national radio station which broadcast chiefly mainstream light entertainment and light music from 1945 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 1. It opened on 29 July 1945, taking over the ...

radio dramatisation of ''Right Ho, Jeeves''. *In the 1973–1981 series '' What Ho! Jeeves'', Gussie was voiced by

Rex Garner Rex Garner was a British born actor and director. He was born in 1921 in Wolverhampton, England. He died 17 May 2015 at the age of 94. Garner was survived by his seven children: Nicolas Garner, Lindsay Garner, Christopher Garner, Geraldine Raper ...

(''Right Ho, Jeeves'' and ''The Code of the Woosters''), David Valla (''The Mating Season''), and

Jonathan Cecil Jonathan Hugh Gascoyne-Cecil (22 February 1939 – 22 September 2011), known as Jonathan Cecil, was an English theatre, film, and television actor. Early life Cecil was born in London, England, the son of Lord David Cecil and the gr ...

(''Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves''). * In the 1988 BBC radio adaptation of ''Right Ho, Jeeves'', Gussie was voiced by Trevor Nichols. * In the 1997 L.A. Theatre Works radio adaptation of ''The Code of the Woosters'', Gussie was voiced by Thomas M. Shea. *In

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...

's 2006 adaptation of ''The Code of the Woosters'' for its

Classic Serial ''Classic Serial'' was a strand on BBC Radio 4, which broadcasts in series of one-hour dramas, "Adaptations of works which have achieved classic status." It is broadcast twice weekly, first from 3:00–4:00 pm on Sunday, then repeated from 9:00– ...

series, Gussie was voiced by Jeremy Swift. * Gussie was voiced by Matthew Wolf in the 2018 BBC radio adaptation of ''Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves''.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * * * * * * *

External links