# Percy Shanklyn — The Coming of Bill character guide

> Percy Shanklyn in The Coming of Bill by P. G. Wodehouse.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Percy, Perce

**First appearance:** 0001-i-a-pawn-of-fate

## Snapshot

An elegant, perpetually resting English actor with polished manners and no visible means of support, Percy Shanklyn is the studio guest Kirk likes least and tolerates most.

## Who they are

Percy Shanklyn belongs to the impecunious Bohemian crowd that treats Kirk Winfield's studio as a free hotel, and his suave, self-satisfied presence is a quiet irritant in Kirk's otherwise easygoing world. He represents the kind of polished, useless charm that Kirk instinctively distrusts, and his attentions to Ruth — however unwelcome — mark him as a minor but persistent rival. His role in the early arc helps define Kirk's character by contrast: the honest, generous artist versus the smooth, calculating idler.

## Relationships

### [Kirk Winfield](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_coming_of_bill_se/characters/kirk_winfield)

_rivalry_

Percy Shanklyn is a pretentious rival for Ruth's affection, creating tension and competition with Kirk.

### [Kirk Winfield](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_coming_of_bill_se/characters/kirk_winfield)

_rivalry_

Percy Shanklyn is a pretentious rival for Ruth's affection, creating tension and competition with Kirk.

### [Kirk Winfield](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_coming_of_bill_se/characters/kirk_winfield)

_rivalry_

Percy Shanklyn is a pretentious rival for Ruth's affection, creating tension and competition with Kirk.

## In the story

### [IV: Troubled Waters](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_coming_of_bill_se/chapters/iv-troubled-waters)

Percy, an out-of-work actor, discovers Kirk with Ruth and plots to stop their relationship to protect his source of loans from Kirk.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_coming_of_bill_se/characters/percy_shanklyn
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_coming_of_bill_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_coming_of_bill_se/characters