Something New

Ashe Marson

Ashe Marson drifts through London until Joan Valentine's lecture on enterprise shames him into pursuing a five-thousand-dollar reward for a stolen scarab at Blandings Castle. He possesses that rare quality of 'rubber' — an inability to leave a mystery alone — but also a comfortable sloth that makes him an unlikely adventurer. His partnership with Joan is complicated by the fact that only one of them can claim the prize, and his old-fashioned notions about a man's proper role in a burglary keep colliding with her competence.

Freddie Threepwood

The Honorable Freddie Threepwood has spent his life exploding bombs under his father's nose — expelled from Eton, sent down from Oxford, and now engaged to the millionaire's daughter Aline Peters. His racing debts and shady turf acquaintances have forced Lord Emsworth to cut off his allowance and keep him at home, a sentence Freddie finds intolerable. His fumbling attempts to solve his financial problems set in motion complications that entangle every guest at Blandings Castle.

Joan Valentine

Joan Valentine is a working girl in London who stirs Ashe Marson out of his sloth with a lecture on enterprise — and immediately regrets it when he turns up as her competitor for the same scarab reward. She insists on a business partnership with no chivalry, determined to earn her share through equal risk. Her competence and independence unsettle Ashe, who cannot quite reconcile his progressive views with his wounded pride at being outdone by a girl.

Aline Peters

Aline Peters is the beautiful, rich daughter of J. Preston Peters, newly engaged to the Honorable Freddie Threepwood — a match that satisfies both families but leaves her pining for her father's health. She refuses to eat properly while her father suffers from indigestion, a display of moral support that reduces her to late-night hunger pangs. Her plight inspires George Emerson to smuggle food into Blandings Castle, adding another thread of chaos to the already tangled household.

Rupert Baxter

Rupert Baxter is the Efficient Baxter, a secretary whose collector's passion for Lord Emsworth's curios exceeds even the owner's, and who regards the museum as his personal domain. When he suspects Ashe Marson of plotting to steal the scarab, he stalks the corridors at night, dodging shadows and weighing the risk to his position against his duty. His zealous vigilance makes him a figure of fun to the other guests, but his determination to catch the thief red-handed keeps him dangerously close to the truth.

J. Preston Peters

J. Preston Peters is a self-made American millionaire whose weak digestion and insomnia make him a demanding guest at Blandings Castle. He has offered a five-thousand-dollar reward for the return of a scarab stolen from his collection, a sum that attracts both Ashe Marson and Joan Valentine as competitors. His daughter Aline's engagement to Freddie Threepwood ties him to the family, but his real obsession is the missing Egyptian artifact — and he will pay handsomely to get it back.