The Code of the Woosters Trivia Quiz

Answer: Go on a round-the-world cruise

Several of the Wooster/Jeeves stories employ a similar thread, in which at the start of the book Jeeves is trying to persuade Bertie to do something which he doesn't want to do. The story invariably ends with Bertie giving in, and accepting that Jeeves is (as always) right. Needless to say, "The Code of the Woosters" concludes with Bertie and Jeeves going on the cruise.

Answer: Anatole

Anatole's culinary prowess is legendary, and Aunt Dahlia treasures him greatly, as does Bertie, who is always trying to wrangle a visit to her house at around about dinner time. Sadly, Anatole's fame is such that he is often in danger of being inveigled to leave Aunt Dahlia's employment for a better offer elsewhere.

Answer: Totleigh Towers

Totleigh Towers is situated in the (fictional) village of Totleigh-in-the-Wold. Brinkley is mentioned in the novel as being the residence of Bertie's aunt Dahlia. Blandings Castle is the setting for another of P.G. Wodehouse's series of novels. Downton Abbey is the setting for the popular BBC TV series of that name. Trivia fans may be interested to know that in the 1990s TV adaptation of the Jeeves stories, the Totleigh Towers scenes were filmed at Highclere Castle in Hampshire, later the setting for Downton Abbey.

Answer: Black Shorts

Roderick Spode's right-wing political views are based on those of the British politician Sir Oswald Mosley, founder of the British Union of Fascists, whose members were sometimes known as the brownshirts. The book was written in 1938, when it was still just possible to laugh at Mosley's Nazi-supporting views. According to Wodehouse, by the time Spode had set up his organisation, all the "black shirts" had gone, so they had to make do with shorts instead.

Answer: Clergyman

The Reverend Harold "Stinker" Pinker is the curate of the village church, who is engaged to be married to Stephanie "Stiffy" Bing. He also happens to be a contemporary of Bertie's from Magdalen College, Oxford. An amiable but timid man, he is perhaps a surprise choice of spouse for the rather more lively Stiffy.

Answer: Silver cow creamer

Both individuals are keen collectors of cow creamers and similar "objets de vertu", and one of the multiple plots of the novel involves Bertie trying to steal the object from Sir Watkyn, who has obtained it by underhand means.

For those who may be unsure exactly what a cow creamer is, I should explain that it is a small milk jug shaped like a cow, usually used when serving afternoon tea in respectable English drawing-rooms. The design usually incorporates a handle formed by the cow's tail curved over its back, and a hole at the mouth out of which the milk is poured. More often made of porcelain, they remain a popular item for collectors of kitsch tableware.

Answer: A baby is born

Prior to the start of the book, Madeline Bassett has inadvertently got hold of the idea that Bertie is in love with her, and that he is just waiting for her to break off her engagement to Gussie Fink-Nottle before popping the question himself. It is easy to understand why Bertie is so terrified of ending up hitched to the drippy Miss Bassett.

She also believes that the stars are God's daisy chain, and that rabbits are gnomes in attendance on the fairy queen.

Answer: Steal a policeman's helmet

Stiffy wants to get her revenge on the village policeman, Constable Oates, for issuing a summons against her after her dog, Bartholomew, knocks him off his bicycle into a ditch. Surprisingly, Stinker manages to carry out his task, although needless to say Bertie is immediately suspected of doing the deed, because he is already known to have "form" as a helmet thief.

Answer: A boutique selling womens' underclothing

It transpires that Roderick Spode makes a living designing women's' underwear, sold through the boutique "Eulalie Soeurs", and is keen to keep this a secret, in case this jeopardises his reputation as a political leader. By telling Spode that he "knows about Eulalie", Bertie is able to fend off his wrath, although it is only at the end of the novel that he (and the reader) is told to what Eulalie refers.

Answer: Never let a pal down

The meaning of the book's title is revealed in Chapter 13, when Stiffy Bing appeals to Bertie's better nature and persuades him to take the rap for a particular nefarious activity undertaken by her fiancé, Harold "Sticker" Pinker. Fortunately, Jeeves comes to the rescue and saves Bertie's bacon (as usual).