# Lord Emsworth — Leave It to Psmith character guide > Lord Emsworth in Leave It to Psmith by P. G. Wodehouse. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** Emsworth, The Earl of Emsworth, Clarence **First appearance:** 0000-i-dark-plottings-at-blandings-castle ## Snapshot The vague, garden-obsessed Earl of Blandings, who collects poets the way other men collect stamps and cannot quite remember why any of them are in his house. ## Who they are Lord Emsworth presides over Blandings with benevolent absent-mindedness, his real passions being roses, herbaceous borders, and his prize pig. He invites a poet to stay, endures Psmith's persiflage with polite bewilderment, and is the last person in the castle to notice that anything is wrong. His woolly persistence and total lack of suspicion make him both the ideal host for impostors and the unwitting engine of the plot's confusion. ## Relationships ### [Psmith](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/characters/psmith) _friendship_ Lord Emsworth is charmed by Psmith's wit and often enlists his help, viewing him as a clever ally. ### [Rupert Baxter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/characters/rupert_baxter) _professional_ Lord Emsworth employs Baxter as his secretary, though he finds him overbearing and irritating. ### [Eve Halliday](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/characters/eve_halliday) _friendship_ Eve gets along well with Lord Emsworth, who finds her charming and helpful. ### [Ralston McTodd](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/characters/ralston_mctodd) _social_ Lord Emsworth hosts the poet Ralston McTodd as a guest, unaware he is being impersonated by Psmith. ### [Lady Constance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/characters/lady_constance) _family_ Lady Constance is Lord Emsworth's domineering sister, often bossing him around. ### [Rupert Baxter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/characters/rupert_baxter) _professional_ Lord Emsworth employs Baxter as his secretary, though he finds him overbearing and irritating. ### [Eve Halliday](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/characters/eve_halliday) _friendship_ Eve gets along well with Lord Emsworth, who finds her charming and helpful. ### [Eve Halliday](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/characters/eve_halliday) _friendship_ Eve gets along well with Lord Emsworth, who finds her charming and helpful. ### [Lady Constance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/characters/lady_constance) _family_ Lady Constance is Lord Emsworth's domineering sister, often bossing him around. ### [Psmith](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/characters/psmith) _friendship_ Lord Emsworth is charmed by Psmith's wit and often enlists his help, viewing him as a clever ally. ### [Psmith](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/characters/psmith) _friendship_ Lord Emsworth is charmed by Psmith's wit and often enlists his help, viewing him as a clever ally. ### [Ralston McTodd](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/characters/ralston_mctodd) _social_ Lord Emsworth hosts the poet Ralston McTodd as a guest, unaware he is being impersonated by Psmith. ## 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) Standing at the library window, melancholy over his lost glasses and dreading the trip to London to fetch the poet McTodd. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/i) The Earl is in a fretful mood, having lost his glasses and dreading the prospect of fetching the poet McTodd from London. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/ii) Pottering in search of his gardening book, oblivious to the serious conversation. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/v) Reluctantly allows Freddie to go to London but insists he return on the twelve-fifty train; then returns to arguing with McAllister. ### [Enter Psmith](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/ii-enter-psmith) Mentioned as Freddie's father; described as dreamy and absentminded. ### [Lord Emsworth Meets a Poet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/vi-lord-emsworth-meets-a-poet) Mistakes Psmith for the poet Ralston McTodd in the hotel lobby, greets him warmly as an old friend, and invites him to Blandings Castle, mentioning a train at five from Paddington. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/iii) Mislays his glasses, bumps into Psmith's table, and is identified by the waiter as the Earl of Emsworth. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/iv) Hosts McTodd at lunch, dominates conversation with gardening talk, loses his glasses, and abruptly leaves to visit a florist. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/v) Mistakes Psmith for the poet McTodd; invites him to Blandings; meets Eve Halliday at the club. ### [Baxter Suspects](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/vii-baxter-suspects) Travels with Psmith; discusses gardens and his dislike of poets; introduces Psmith to the castle. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/i) Hosts Psmith on the train; discusses gardens and complains about literary guests; falls asleep and snores. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/ii) Introduces Psmith as McTodd; potters off to visit George Willard. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/iii) Greets Psmith enthusiastically, pointing out oaks and rhododendrons; expresses desire to smell his flowers despite the dark. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/i) Preoccupied with seed catalogue, forgets his coffee; goes to inspect lobelias. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/iii) Mentioned as having invited Psmith to the castle and as a kindly figure. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/iv) Appears from the bushes, greets Eve, mistakes Psmith for McTodd, and mentions his morning swim. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/i) Has left for Bridgeford to unveil a memorial, envied by Psmith for his reluctant attendance. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/ii) Lord Emsworth is away delivering a speech; a telegram addressed to him is left on the table, which Psmith pockets. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/iii) Mentioned as giving a speech on the late Hartley Reddish, which Miss Peavey avoided. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/i) Mentioned as harrying head-gardener McAllister among the flowerbeds after breakfast. ### [Almost Entirely About Flowerpots](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/xi-almost-entirely-about-flowerpots) Lord Emsworth learns of Baxter's actions, concludes he is mad, and decides to dismiss him. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/iv) Awakened by flowerpots thrown by Baxter; panics and seeks Psmith's help. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/v) Wakes to find Baxter throwing flowerpots, learns of the necklace suspicion, and resolves to dismiss his secretary. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/i) Retires to his room with a book, declining to attend the County Ball. ### [Psmith Accepts Employment](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/chapters/xiv-psmith-accepts-employment) Droops out of the library window, irritated by Lady Constance's rebuke over Baxter's dismissal; later accepts Psmith's confession and hires him as secretary. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/characters/lord_emsworth - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leave_it_to_psmith_se/characters