# Peter Beste-Chetwynde — Decline and Fall character guide

> Peter Beste-Chetwynde in Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Peter, young Beste-Chetwynde

**First appearance:** 0002-part-i-ii-llanabba-castle

## Snapshot

Margot's schoolboy son at Llanabba, heir to an earldom he never mentions, whose cheerful verdict on his mother's crimes quietly dismantles Paul's inherited moral code.

## Who they are

Peter moves through Llanabba as an ordinary boy with an extraordinary secret: his mother is Margot Beste-Chetwynde, and he is the young Earl of Pastmaster. When Paul agonizes over whether to shield Margot from prison, it is Peter's offhand 'You can't see Mamma in prison, can you?' that settles the question more decisively than any sermon. His serene assumption that one law exists for his mother and another for everyone else becomes the novel's quietest and most corrosive moral argument.

## Relationships

### [Paul Pennyfeather](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/characters/paul_pennyfeather)

_social_

Peter is Paul's student at Llanabba and later becomes his stepson, with a polite but distant acquaintance.

### [Margot Beste-Chetwynde](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/characters/margot_beste_chetwynde)

_family_

Margot is Peter's mother, but their relationship is distant and formal, with Margot more concerned with her social life than her son.

### [Paul Pennyfeather](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/characters/paul_pennyfeather)

_social_

Peter is Paul's student at Llanabba and later becomes his stepson, with a polite but distant acquaintance.

### [Paul Pennyfeather](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/characters/paul_pennyfeather)

_social_

Peter is Paul's student at Llanabba and later becomes his stepson, with a polite but distant acquaintance.

### [Margot Beste-Chetwynde](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/characters/margot_beste_chetwynde)

_family_

Margot is Peter's mother, but their relationship is distant and formal, with Margot more concerned with her social life than her son.

### [Margot Beste-Chetwynde](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/characters/margot_beste_chetwynde)

_family_

Margot is Peter's mother, but their relationship is distant and formal, with Margot more concerned with her social life than her son.

## In the story

### [III: Captain Grimes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/chapters/part-i-iii-captain-grimes)

Sits next to Paul at dinner, shows intelligence and irreverence, and comments on Grimes's commonness.

### [Mr. Prendergast](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/chapters/part-i-iv-mr-prendergast)

Wakes Paul and informs him about the bathroom schedule.

### [Discipline](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/chapters/part-i-v-discipline)

Gives Paul a music lesson, reports the boys' positive opinion of him, and shares suspicions about Philbrick.

### [XII: The Agony of Captain Grimes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/chapters/part-i-xii-the-agony-of-captain-grimes)

Plays the organ in church; reads his mother's letter to Paul; reports on Tangent's foot.

### [II: Interlude in Belgravia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/chapters/part-ii-ii-interlude-in-belgravia)

Paul is to meet Beste-Chetwynde to travel to King's Thursday.

### [Pervigilium Veneris](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/chapters/part-ii-iii-pervigilium-veneris)

Shows Paul around the house, makes cocktails, and discusses his mother's suitors.

### [Resurrection](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/chapters/part-ii-iv-resurrection)

Helps Paul host Grimes and Potts, and discusses Grimes's reappearance.

### [V: The Latin-American Entertainment Co. Ltd.](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/chapters/part-ii-v-the-latin-american-entertainment-co-ltd)

Returns to Llanabba at the end of April after the sale of the Castle falls through.

### [VI: A Hitch in the Wedding Preparations](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/chapters/part-ii-vi-a-hitch-in-the-wedding-preparations)

Peter visits Paul at the Ritz on the wedding morning, smartly dressed in his first morning-coat. He is shocked and turns pale when Paul is arrested.

### [Stone Walls Do Not a Prison Make](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/chapters/part-iii-i-stone-walls-do-not-a-prison-make)

Visits Paul in his cell before trial, relaying Margot's offer and her flight to Corfu.

### [IV: Nor Iron Bars a Cage](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/chapters/part-iii-iv-nor-iron-bars-a-cage)

Mentioned as succeeding his uncle as Earl of Pastmaster; his photograph appears in the newspaper.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/characters/peter_beste_chetwynde
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/characters