Character guide

Ashe Marson

major

Also known as Ashe, Marson, Mr. 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

major

Also known as Frederick Threepwood, Freddie, Frederick, the Honorable Frederick Threepwood, the Honorable Freddie, young Freddie

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

major

Also known as Joan, Valentine, Miss 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

major

Also known as Aline, Miss Peters, Miss 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

supporting

Also known as Baxter, the Efficient Baxter, The Efficient Baxter, Rupert

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

supporting

Also known as Mr. Peters, 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.

George Emerson

supporting

Also known as George, Emerson, young Emerson

George Emerson moves through Blandings as a self-assured presence, forever hovering near Aline Peters and treating her engagement to Freddie as an obvious mistake. His quiet, conquering certainty — he contemplates the landscape with a conqueror's eye — makes him a serpentine threat in the eyes of the watchful Baxter. His insistence that Aline admit her doubts about Freddie plants the first seeds of the engagement's fragility, making him the quiet engine of romantic disruption in the novel's early arc.

Lord Emsworth

supporting

Also known as Emsworth, the absentminded Lord Emsworth, the Earl of Emsworth, Earl of Emsworth

Lord Emsworth belongs to the school of hosts who prefer to be left alone to amuse themselves, pottering about the garden in an old coat while his guests grumble on the terraces. His placid detachment — he cannot imagine anyone unhappy at Blandings when the buds are bursting — makes him comically oblivious to the romantic and financial storms brewing under his roof. His inability to manage his son Freddie or his household sets the chaotic stage on which the novel's schemers operate.

Beach

supporting

Also known as Mr. Beach

Beach presides over Blandings Castle with the grave courtesy expected of a butler in an earl's household, navigating the whims of his absent-minded master and the eccentricities of guests. His quiet, watchful presence makes him a fixture of the castle's daily rituals, from morning greetings to the management of Freddie's chaotic comings and goings. As a witness to the household's intrigues, he embodies the steady, unflappable order that the novel's schemers continually threaten to upend.

R. Jones

supporting

Also known as Jones, this man Jones

R. Jones is the fattest man in his postal district, a wheezing, jelly-like bookmaker who buys and sells curios, lends money, and cultivates wealthy young men with large purses and small foreheads. His joviality with chance acquaintances — especially upper-class youths like Freddie Threepwood — is worth hundreds a year to him, and he has long served as Freddie's guide, philosopher, and friend. When Freddie's allowance dries up, Jones's easy income is threatened, making him a quietly interested party in the marriage that promises to restore the funds.

Mr. Ferris

minor

Also known as Ferris, Judson, Judson Mr. Ferris, That fellow Judson, sonny

A servant or employee at Blandings, involved in minor plot points.

Mrs. Adams

minor

Also known as Adams

The housekeeper at Blandings Castle, assisting with domestic matters.

Colonel Horace Mant

minor

Also known as Colonel Mant, Horace

A military man and guest at Blandings, involved in the castle's events.

Gridley Quayle

minor

Also known as Gridley, Quayle, Mr. Quayle

A detective hired to investigate matters at Blandings Castle.

Percy

minor

Also known as poor old Percy, old Percy

A minor character mentioned in the castle's social circle.

Miss Willoughby

minor

A female guest or acquaintance at Blandings Castle.

Miss Simpson

minor

Also known as Simpson

A woman mentioned in the context of the castle's social life.

Mrs. Twemlow

minor

A guest or resident at Blandings, part of the background cast.

Lady Ann Warblington

minor

Also known as Lady Ann, Mary

A noblewoman associated with Blandings Castle.

Lord Stockheath

minor

A minor aristocrat mentioned in the story.

Mr. Boole

minor

Also known as harebrained Boole, Boole

A character with a brief appearance at the castle.

Dickie

minor

A minor character mentioned in passing.

Slingsby

minor

A minor character in the Blandings universe.

Eddie Flynn

minor

Also known as Eddie

A minor character involved in the plot's periphery.

Lady Mildred Mant

minor

Also known as Lady Mildred, Mildred

Wife of Colonel Mant, a guest at Blandings.

Mr. Judson

minor

A servant or employee at Blandings Castle.

Mrs. Bell

minor

Also known as Annabel

A minor female character mentioned in the story.

Brian MacNeill

minor

Also known as A Mr. Brian MacNeill

A minor character referenced in the narrative.

Miss Chester

minor

Also known as Chester

A minor female character at Blandings.

Eddie Waffles

minor

Also known as Master Eddie Waffles

A young boy mentioned in the story.

Mr. Muldoon

minor

Also known as Muldoon

A minor character at Blandings Castle.

Algernon Wooster

minor

Also known as young Algernon Wooster, the Honorable Algernon Wooster

A minor aristocrat mentioned in the Blandings circle.