Asimov was, as Costanza says, writing as a deliberate homage to Wodehouse (though more to his stories of The Oldest Member at the Drones club and the Ukridge stories than to the Jeeves stuff). I do also love Azazel, but Wodehouse did this stuff first and best.
As for whether I write in the style naturally, I do and don’t. I definitely chose the ‘voice’ for the story deliberately because it’s the closest I can come to imitating Wodehouse’s voice, but at the same time it’s one I fall into very, very naturally. Wodehouse’s word-choices and rhythms have influenced British humour to such an extent that pretty much every humourist I like from about 1935 onwards has picked up his style by osmosis, and it’s something I can just fall into without thinking.
Asimov was, as Costanza says, writing as a deliberate homage to Wodehouse (though more to his stories of The Oldest Member at the Drones club and the Ukridge stories than to the Jeeves stuff). I do also love Azazel, but Wodehouse did this stuff first and best.
As for whether I write in the style naturally, I do and don’t. I definitely chose the ‘voice’ for the story deliberately because it’s the closest I can come to imitating Wodehouse’s voice, but at the same time it’s one I fall into very, very naturally. Wodehouse’s word-choices and rhythms have influenced British humour to such an extent that pretty much every humourist I like from about 1935 onwards has picked up his style by osmosis, and it’s something I can just fall into without thinking.