# Joseph Keeble — Leave It to Psmith character guide

> Joseph Keeble in Leave It to Psmith by P. G. Wodehouse.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mr. Joseph Keeble, Mr. Keeble, Joe, Keeble, Joseph, Uncle Joe, Comrade Keeble

**First appearance:** 0000-i-dark-plottings-at-blandings-castle

## Snapshot

A wealthy businessman and Phyllis's stepfather, whose fortune and family peace are quietly menaced by a secret he cannot afford to have exposed.

## Who they are

Married to the formidable Lady Constance, Joseph Keeble moves through Blandings as a man of substance whose money is not entirely his own to command. His stepdaughter Phyllis's happiness and his own domestic standing depend on arrangements he would rather not discuss, and the arrival of impostors and jewel-thieves at the castle threatens to drag those arrangements into the light. His anxious calculations give the plot much of its financial pressure and its sense that respectability is a thin, easily punctured surface.

## Relationships

### [Freddie Threepwood](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/characters/freddie_threepwood)

_family_

Freddie is Joseph Keeble's stepson, and their relationship is strained due to Freddie's financial irresponsibility.

### [Eve Halliday](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/characters/eve_halliday)

_professional_

Eve works as a secretary for Joseph Keeble, assisting him with his affairs.

### [Phyllis Jackson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/characters/phyllis_jackson)

_family_

Joseph Keeble is Phyllis Jackson's uncle, and he cares for her but disapproves of her romance with Freddie.

### [Freddie Threepwood](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/characters/freddie_threepwood)

_family_

Freddie is Joseph Keeble's stepson, and their relationship is strained due to Freddie's financial irresponsibility.

### [Eve Halliday](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/characters/eve_halliday)

_professional_

Eve works as a secretary for Joseph Keeble, assisting him with his affairs.

### [Eve Halliday](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/characters/eve_halliday)

_professional_

Eve works as a secretary for Joseph Keeble, assisting him with his affairs.

### [Freddie Threepwood](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/characters/freddie_threepwood)

_family_

Freddie is Joseph Keeble's stepson, and their relationship is strained due to Freddie's financial irresponsibility.

### [Phyllis Jackson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/characters/phyllis_jackson)

_family_

Joseph Keeble is Phyllis Jackson's uncle, and he cares for her but disapproves of her romance with Freddie.

## In the story

### [Dark Plottings at Blandings Castle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/i-dark-plottings-at-blandings-castle)

Desperate for money to help his stepdaughter Phyllis Jackson; he listens to Freddie's plan to steal his wife's necklace.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/ii)

Attempts to secure a loan for his stepdaughter Phyllis but is thwarted by his wife and Lord Emsworth.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/iii)

Desperate for money to help Phyllis Jackson; initially reluctant but agrees to Freddie's plan.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/iv)

Uncle Joe has offered Freddie two thousand pounds to steal the necklace, though he is not present in the chapter.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/ii)

Mentioned as Uncle Joe, who will buy a new necklace and give money to Phyllis.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/ii)

Mentioned as having given Freddie two thousand pounds; Eve considers approaching him about Phyllis's farm.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/iii)

Emerges from the barber's shop, troubled by a letter from Phyllis and doubts about Freddie's competence. He reveals the plan to steal his wife's necklace to Eve.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/v)

Mentioned as having spoken with Eve in Market Blandings earlier that day.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/vi)

Eve intends to meet and talk with Mr. Keeble to determine the next step regarding the necklace.

### [More on the Flowerpot Theme](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/xii-more-on-the-flowerpot-theme)

Generously promises Lady Constance a new necklace, then becomes despondent after learning from Eve that the necklace is missing.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/iii)

Mentioned as the one who asked both Psmith and Eve to retrieve the necklace for Phyllis's sake.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/characters/joseph_keeble
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/characters