# Henry Pifield Rice — Short Fiction character guide

> Henry Pifield Rice in Short Fiction by P. G. Wodehouse.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Henry, Pifield Rice, Rice, Henry Wallace Mills, Henry Mills, Mills

**First appearance:** 0000-when-papa-swore-in-hindustani

## Snapshot

A self-styled master of disguise whose silver moustache and elaborate costumes fool no one, least of all the theatre company he means to shadow.

## Who they are

Henry Pifield Rice prides himself above all on the impenetrability of his disguises, a vanity that collapses the moment Walter Jelliffe cheerfully reveals the whole Brighton company has already pegged him as a detective. Slow, a little stupid, but dogged, he clings to old-world courtesy and the scientist's illusion of watching unseen. His wounded dignity and stubborn persistence make him the engine of a comedy about surveillance that never quite works.

## Relationships

### [Alice Weston](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/characters/alice_weston)

_romantic_

Alice Weston and Henry Pifield Rice are lovers or suitors, with a dynamic of affection and misunderstanding.

### [Alice Weston](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/characters/alice_weston)

_romantic_

Alice Weston and Henry Pifield Rice are lovers or suitors, with a dynamic of affection and misunderstanding.

### [Alice Weston](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/characters/alice_weston)

_romantic_

Alice Weston and Henry Pifield Rice are lovers or suitors, with a dynamic of affection and misunderstanding.

## In the story

### [When Papa Swore in Hindustani](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/chapters/when-papa-swore-in-hindustani)

Not directly present; no relevant excerpt.

### [The Man Who Disliked Cats](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/chapters/the-man-who-disliked-cats)

Narrator who listens to the Frenchman's story at the Café Britannique.

### [Bill the Bloodhound](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/chapters/bill-the-bloodhound)

A detective at Stafford's Bureau, falls for Alice Weston and is assigned to shadow an actor in her touring company.

### [The Making of Mac's](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/chapters/the-making-of-mac-s)

The narrator and veteran waiter at Mac's, who provides the history of the restaurant and its key figures.

### [I: He Meets a Shy Gentleman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/chapters/i-he-meets-a-shy-gentleman)

The shy man who buys the dog for half a crown; he is quiet, avoids conversation, and later burgles a cottage.

### [The Man with Two Left Feet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/chapters/the-man-with-two-left-feet)

The protagonist, a studious bank cashier who learns to dance to please his wife.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/characters/henry_pifield_rice
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/characters