it was a breach of hospitality, while Jeeves merely states that no useful end will be accomplished by retaining the object. The unscrupulous Bingley's behaviour suggests to some degree what Jeeves might be like if he were entirely amoral (Jeeves, like Bingley, uses the club book for blackmail purposes), and shows how Bertie's innocence redeems the dishonorable tactics used by Jeeves by giving them an altruistic and honorable goal. Background The earliest surviving notes for the novel are dated 10 December 1966. According to the notes, Wodehouse planned for "some crook butler" to steal the Junior Ganymede club book, and considered having this butler threaten to reveal the information in the book about Bertie to Bertie's Aunt Agatha in order to get him to undertake some dreadful task. Revisions to an early typed draft of the novel show that Wodehouse made many small changes to make the language more humorous, a process which Wodehouse's American editor Peter Schwed termed "adding the laugh lines". For instance, Wodehouse added "I feel full to the brim of Vitamin B" to Bertie's dialogue near the beginning of the first chapter. Schwed changed the ending of Much Obliged, Jeeves for the American edition because he believed that Jeeves would not damage the club book by tearing out Bertie's pages "without a rational explanation", and drafted a longer Wodehouse-style ending, in which Jeeves explains that the book's entry on Bertie is unnecessary because he will remain permanently with Bertie. Wodehouse worked Schwed's version into the ending of the American edition, which uses the title suggested by Schwed, Jeeves and the Tie That Binds. Bingley was introduced under the name "Brinkley" in the 1934 novel Thank You, Jeeves. In Much Obliged, Jeeves, Bertie initially does call him "Brinkley", though Jeeves soon corrects him. This use of retroactive continuity regarding the character's name was apparently due to the potential for confusion with this story's setting at Brinkley Court. This novel is significant as it is the first time in the Wooster canon that Jeeves' first name (Reginald) is revealed. Publication history The novel was included in the 1976 three novel collection titled Jeeves, Jeeves, Jeeves, along with How Right You Are, Jeeves and Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves, which was published by Avon. Reception Richard Armour, The Los Angeles Times (23 January 1972): "Despite the basic sameness of the Wodehouse books, each is somehow fresh and different. And this