Indian Summer of an Uncle
| "Indian Summer of an Uncle" | |
|---|---|
| Author | P. G. Wodehouse |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Jeeves |
| Genre(s) | Comedy |
| Publisher | The Strand Magazine |
| Media type | Print (Magazine) |
| Publication date | March 1930 |
| Preceded by | "Jeeves and the Old School Chum" |
| Followed by | "The Ordeal of Young Tuppy" |
"Indian Summer of an Uncle" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, and features the young gentleman Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves. The story was published in The Strand Magazine in the United Kingdom in March 1930, and in Cosmopolitan in the United States that same month. The story was also included as the tenth story in the 1930 collection Very Good, Jeeves.
In the story, Bertie is instructed by his Aunt Agatha to keep her brother, Bertie's Uncle George, from marrying a young waitress.
— Jeeves and Bertie discuss Uncle George and Rhoda
Bertie is visited by his Uncle George, who has the title Lord Yaxley. Uncle George intends to get married. After Uncle George leaves, Bertie tells the news to Jeeves, but Jeeves already knows. Jeeves is acquainted with the young woman Uncle George intends to marry, Rhoda Platt. Bertie and Jeeves disapprove of Uncle George's plan to marry a young woman, though Jeeves allows that Uncle George is experiencing a burst of youth, which Jeeves calls an Indian summer. When Jeeves tells Bertie that Rhoda is a waitress, Bertie is certain his class-conscious Aunt Agatha will disapprove. Just then, Aunt Agatha shows up. She wants the match stopped. Aunt Agatha keeps Bertie from ringing for Jeeves, since she is against involving a servant in a family matter. She says the family must pay the girl to leave Uncle George, as they once did many years ago, when he fell in love with a barmaid. She gives Bertie a cheque for Rhoda.
Bertie goes to the girl's home. He meets the girl's genial aunt, but does not have the nerve to try to pay Rhoda off. He returns to Aunt Agatha, who is unhappy with his failure. Jeeves enters, and Bertie asks for his advice, despite Aunt Agatha's disapproval. Jeeves proposes that Uncle George will have second thoughts if he meets Rhoda's aunt, who will continue to live with Rhoda after Rhoda's marriage. Aunt Agatha dismisses Jeeves and berates Bertie for involving him. Bertie decides to follow Jeeves's plan anyway, and arranges for Rhoda's aunt and his uncle to come to his flat. Bertie asks how Jeeves knows about Rhoda. Jeeves says he knows a valet named Smethurst. Smethurst wants to marry Rhoda, who is torn between her love for Smethurst and her ambition to marry a man with a title.
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