# Professor Derrick — Love Among the Chickens character guide > Professor Derrick in Love Among the Chickens by P. G. Wodehouse. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** Professor, Old Derrick, old Derrick, Mr. Derrick **First appearance:** 0008-vii-the-entente-cordiale-is-sealed ## Snapshot A formidable academic and Phyllis's father, whose stern dignity and uncertain temper make him the most dangerous guest at any dinner table he graces. ## Who they are Professor Derrick moves through the novel as the visiting paterfamilias whose approval Garnet must somehow win, a man whose gloomy silences and volcanic irritability keep everyone around him tiptoeing. His fondness for the pleasures of the table becomes a running source of comedy, since a snatched-away dinner or a swashbuckling cheese can push him toward the frame of mind in which men turn and rend their nearest and dearest. He matters because his presence turns every social occasion into a test of nerve, and because his daughter's hand is the prize Garnet can only reach through him. ## Relationships ### [Phyllis Derrick](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/love_among_the_chickens_se/characters/phyllis_derrick) _family_ Phyllis is Professor Derrick's daughter, and their relationship is marked by his protective, often overbearing, paternal concern. ### [Tom Chase](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/love_among_the_chickens_se/characters/tom_chase) _rivalry_ Professor Derrick disapproves of Tom Chase as a suitor for his daughter, viewing him as an unsuitable match. ### [Harry Hawk](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/love_among_the_chickens_se/characters/harry_hawk) _professional_ Harry Hawk works as a farmhand for Professor Derrick, and their relationship is that of employer and employee, with occasional tension. ### [Jeremy Garnet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/love_among_the_chickens_se/characters/jeremy_garnet) _social_ Jeremy Garnet is acquainted with Professor Derrick through Ukridge, and their interactions are polite but strained by Derrick's temper. ### [Phyllis Derrick](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/love_among_the_chickens_se/characters/phyllis_derrick) _family_ Phyllis is Professor Derrick's daughter, and their relationship is marked by his protective, often overbearing, paternal concern. ### [Tom Chase](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/love_among_the_chickens_se/characters/tom_chase) _rivalry_ Professor Derrick disapproves of Tom Chase as a suitor for his daughter, viewing him as an unsuitable match. ### [Jeremy Garnet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/love_among_the_chickens_se/characters/jeremy_garnet) _social_ Jeremy Garnet is acquainted with Professor Derrick through Ukridge, and their interactions are polite but strained by Derrick's temper. ### [Tom Chase](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/love_among_the_chickens_se/characters/tom_chase) _rivalry_ Professor Derrick disapproves of Tom Chase as a suitor for his daughter, viewing him as an unsuitable match. ### [Phyllis Derrick](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/love_among_the_chickens_se/characters/phyllis_derrick) _family_ Phyllis is Professor Derrick's daughter, and their relationship is marked by his protective, often overbearing, paternal concern. ## In the story ### [Waterloo Station, Some Fellow-Travellers, and a Girl with Brown Hair](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/love_among_the_chickens_se/chapters/iii-waterloo-station-some-fellow-travellers-and-a-girl-with-brown-hair) Elderly Irish gentleman; Phyllis's father; shares the compartment and smokes a cigar. ### [VII: The Entente Cordiale Is Sealed](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/love_among_the_chickens_se/chapters/vii-the-entente-cordiale-is-sealed) Elderly Irish professor; spends summers at Combe Regis; invites Garnet to lunch and suggests a round of golf. ### [A Little Dinner at Ukridge's](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/love_among_the_chickens_se/chapters/viii-a-little-dinner-at-ukridge-s) Guest, grows increasingly irritable due to the poor meal and Ukridge's interruptions. ### [IX: Dies Irae](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/love_among_the_chickens_se/chapters/ix-dies-irae) Persists in cutting Garnet after the dinner incident, both on the beach and on the golf links, showing no sign of relenting. ### [X: I Enlist the Services of a Minion](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/love_among_the_chickens_se/chapters/x-i-enlist-the-services-of-a-minion) Seen fishing from a boat; Garnet watches him and later decides to stage a rescue to win his approval. ### [The Brave Preserver](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/love_among_the_chickens_se/chapters/xi-the-brave-preserver) Is rescued by Garnet, reconciles with him, and bonds over golf, showing a forgiving and friendly demeanor. ### [Tea and Tennis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/love_among_the_chickens_se/chapters/xiii-tea-and-tennis) Mentioned as the victim of Hawk's boat capsizing and as someone who dislikes being kept waiting for dinner. ### [XIV: A Council of War](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/love_among_the_chickens_se/chapters/xiv-a-council-of-war) Wins his golf match and reaches the semifinal, greeted by Garnet. ### [XV: The Arrival of Nemesis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/love_among_the_chickens_se/chapters/xv-the-arrival-of-nemesis) Sends Garnet a furious letter ending their acquaintance after learning of the boat incident. ### [XVI: A Chance Meeting](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/love_among_the_chickens_se/chapters/xvi-a-chance-meeting) Mentioned as having been told the truth by Hawk; passes Garnet with Phyllis without acknowledgment. ### [XVII: Of a Sentimental Nature](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/love_among_the_chickens_se/chapters/xvii-of-a-sentimental-nature) Mentioned as the offended party in the boat accident and the one who may never forgive Garnet. ### [Ukridge Gives Me Advice](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/love_among_the_chickens_se/chapters/xviii-ukridge-gives-me-advice) Mentioned as the primary obstacle to the engagement due to his anger over the staged rescue. ### [Asking Papa](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/love_among_the_chickens_se/chapters/xix-asking-papa) Phyllis's father, who is furious about the staged rescue and refuses Garnet's request for his daughter's hand. ### [Scientific Golf](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/love_among_the_chickens_se/chapters/xx-scientific-golf) Garnet's opponent in the golf tournament; cold and forbidding, he suffers visibly as Garnet beats him hole after hole, his golf game deteriorating into wild frustration. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/love_among_the_chickens_se/characters/professor_derrick - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/love_among_the_chickens_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/love_among_the_chickens_se/characters