Character guide

Jimmy Crocker

major

Also known as James Crocker, James B. Crocker, Mr. James, Mr. Crocker, Jim, Cyclone Jim, Piccadilly Jim

A charming ex-newspaperman with a scandalous reputation, he returns to London and impersonates his own uncle to win the girl who despises him.

Ann Chester

major

Also known as Ann, Mary, Miss Ann, Miss Chester

A quick-witted, independent young woman traveling with her aunt, she has sworn off charming idlers — which makes her the perfect target for one.

Lord Wisbeach

supporting

Also known as James, XIV Lord Wisbeach Jimmy

A polished English nobleman whose easy manners and convenient presence around the Pett household hide more than they reveal.

Mrs. Pett

major

Also known as Nesta Ford Pett, Nesta, Nesta Pett, Aunt Nesta, Mrs. Nesta Ford Pett

Jimmy's wealthy, iron-willed aunt, she runs her household like a campaign and treats her husband as a minor inconvenience to be managed.

Mr. Peter Pett

supporting

Also known as Mr. Pett, Peter, Uncle Peter, old Pete, American Mr. Pett

A mild, henpecked American businessman whose fortune funds his wife's ambitions and whose quiet decency survives every domestic defeat.

Ogden Ford

supporting

Also known as Ogden, little Ogden Ford, young Ogden Ford

Ann's pampered, perpetually hungry younger brother, a boy so thoroughly spoiled that kidnapping him seems almost reasonable to everyone involved.

Jerry Mitchell

supporting

Also known as Jerry, Mitchell

Jerry Mitchell moves through Wodehouse's New York as a boxer with more decency than most of the drawing-room set around him, which is precisely what makes him useful when Jimmy needs a steady friend. His plainspoken warmth clashes with the pretensions of the Pett household, and his willingness to throw a punch or keep a secret gives the early plot a reliable anchor. He matters because he shows how honor can survive outside the rules of polite society.

Mrs. Bingley Crocker

supporting

Also known as Mrs. Crocker, Bingley Crocker, Bingley

Mrs. Bingley Crocker presides over the Crocker side of the family with the energy of a woman who once commanded a stage and never quite left it. Her ambition for her son and her prickly relationship with her sister Nesta Pett drive much of the friction between the two households. She matters because her social maneuvering and maternal stubbornness keep Jimmy caught between family duty and his own schemes.

Bayliss

minor

Also known as Mr. Bayliss, old Bayliss, Algernon Bayliss, Eloquent Algernon

The Pett family's long-suffering butler.

Miss Trimble

supporting

Miss Trimble works for Mrs. Pett as a professional snoop, and her unassuming manner hides a methodical, suspicious mind. Where the Pett family schemes with flair, she investigates with patience, making her a low-grade menace that Jimmy must constantly outwit. She matters because her surveillance raises the stakes of his impersonations and forces him to stay one step ahead of exposure.

Willie Partridge

supporting

Also known as Willie, Bill, Partridge

Willie Partridge is the Pett family's resident inventor, a boyish enthusiast whose mind runs on reactions and yields rather than romance or society. His explosive formula attracts the attention of relatives eager to exploit it, turning his harmless tinkering into a source of real danger. He matters because his invention becomes the object everyone else is maneuvering around, and his obliviousness makes him both comic and precarious.

Skinner

minor

Lord Wisbeach's valet, involved in the plot.

Lord Percy Whipple

minor

Also known as Lord Percy, Battling Percy, Percy, Perce

A young English lord and friend of Jimmy's.

Bingley Crocker

minor

Also known as Mr. Bingley Crocker, Mr. Crocker

Jimmy's father, a former actor now living in America.

Chicago Ed

minor

Also known as Ed

A gangster who comes to New York looking for Jimmy.

Spike Dillon

minor

Also known as Spike

A friend of Jerry Mitchell's.

Eugenia

minor

A maid in the Pett household.

Celestine

minor

A French maid who provides key information.

Hammond Chester

minor

Also known as Mr. Chester, Mr. Hammond Chester, the youthful Hammond Chester

Ann's father, who disapproves of Jimmy.

Aida

minor

A maid in the Pett household.

Buck Maginnis

minor

Also known as Buck

A tough character from Jimmy's past in New York.

Reggie Bartling

minor

Also known as Reginald Bartling, Bartling, Reggie

A friend of Jimmy's from London.

Dwight Partridge

minor

Also known as Dwight

Willie Partridge's father, a scientist.

Biggs

minor

A servant in the Pett household.

Lady Corstorphine

minor

Also known as dear Lady Corstorphine

A friend of Mrs. Pett's from England.

Smithers

minor

Also known as Bud Smithers, Bud

A friend of Buck Maginnis.

Kid Burke

minor

Also known as Burke

A boxer and associate of Jerry Mitchell.

Marsden Tuke

minor

Also known as Tuke, Marsden

A friend of Jimmy's from the theatrical world.

Smethurst

minor

Also known as Mr. Smethurst

A lawyer involved in the family affairs.

Hayward

minor

A servant in the Pett household.

Bill Blake

minor

Also known as young Bill Blake of the Sun

A newspaper reporter covering the story.

Oggie

minor

Also known as Oggie darling, Poor Oggie, darling Oggie

A friend of Ann's from England.

Maggie O'Toole

minor

Also known as Maggie

A maid in the Pett household.

Lizzie Murphy

minor

Also known as Lizzie

A maid in the Pett household.

Anderson

minor

A detective working with Miss Trimble.

Clarence Renshaw

minor

Also known as Clarence

A friend of the Pett family.

Howard Bemis

minor

A young man who works for Mr. Pett.

Mrs. van Brunt

minor

A neighbor of the Petts.