# Dean Toodrink — Topsy-Turvy character guide

> Dean Toodrink in Topsy-Turvy by Jules Verne.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Secretary Dean Toodrink

**First appearance:** 0002-in-which-the-arctic-regions-are-sold-at-auction-to-the-highest-bidder

## Snapshot

Talkative English secretary whose cheerful manner and taste for fairy tales barely mask a patriotic conceit as rigid as his major's spine.

## Who they are

As Major Donellan's secretary in the English delegation, Toodrink pairs a large head, small eyes, and irrepressible chatter with the unshakable conviction that the North Pole belongs to Britain by divine arrangement. His good humor makes him a strange mirror to his gaunt, laughterless chief, yet he is just as personally conceited when Great Britain comes up. When tempers fray among the Baltimore delegates, it is Toodrink who trades prize-ring blows with the American straw man Forster, turning the auction's diplomatic friction into something close to farce.

## Relationships

### [Major Donellan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/topsy_turvy_se/characters/major_donellan)

_friendship_

Toodrink and Donellan are close companions, often seen together in social and planning contexts, sharing a camaraderie of purpose.

### [Eric Baldenak](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/topsy_turvy_se/characters/eric_baldenak)

_friendship_

Toodrink and Baldenak share a friendly rapport, often socializing and discussing the project's progress.

### [President Barbicane](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/topsy_turvy_se/characters/president_barbicane)

_professional_

Toodrink reports to Barbicane as a subordinate engineer, handling on-site construction tasks.

### [J. T. Maston](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/topsy_turvy_se/characters/j_t_maston)

_friendship_

Toodrink and Maston are friendly colleagues, often joking and sharing a drink after work.

### [Jacques Jansen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/topsy_turvy_se/characters/jacques_jansen)

_friendship_

Toodrink and Jansen are close workmates, frequently seen together during survey expeditions and camp life.

### [Major Donellan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/topsy_turvy_se/characters/major_donellan)

_friendship_

Toodrink and Donellan are close companions, often seen together in social and planning contexts, sharing a camaraderie of purpose.

### [Eric Baldenak](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/topsy_turvy_se/characters/eric_baldenak)

_friendship_

Toodrink and Baldenak share a friendly rapport, often socializing and discussing the project's progress.

### [Eric Baldenak](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/topsy_turvy_se/characters/eric_baldenak)

_friendship_

Toodrink and Baldenak share a friendly rapport, often socializing and discussing the project's progress.

### [President Barbicane](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/topsy_turvy_se/characters/president_barbicane)

_professional_

Toodrink reports to Barbicane as a subordinate engineer, handling on-site construction tasks.

## In the story

### [In Which the Delegates from England, Holland, Sweden, Denmark and Russia Are Presented to the Reader](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/topsy_turvy_se/chapters/in-which-the-delegates-from-england-holland-sweden-denmark-and-russia-are-presented-to-the-reader)

Secretary to Major Donellan, talkative and cheerful, with a taste for fairy tales; shares Donellan's conceit about Great Britain.

### [In Which the Arctic Regions Are Sold at Auction to the Highest Bidder](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/topsy_turvy_se/chapters/in-which-the-arctic-regions-are-sold-at-auction-to-the-highest-bidder)

Secretary to Major Donellan, posts betting notices and is visibly distressed as the bidding concludes.

### [In Which the Possibility That Coal Mines Surround the North Pole Is Considered](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/topsy_turvy_se/chapters/in-which-the-possibility-that-coal-mines-surround-the-north-pole-is-considered)

Questions Major Donellan about coal deposits higher up, expressing hope that Barbicane may be hanged.

### [In Which President Barbicane Says No More Than Suits His Purpose](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/topsy_turvy_se/chapters/in-which-president-barbicane-says-no-more-than-suits-his-purpose)

Makes sarcastic remarks about the Gun Club's past moon project, interrupting Barbicane's speech with mockery.

### [In Which a Little Uneasiness Begins to Show Itself](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/topsy_turvy_se/chapters/in-which-a-little-uneasiness-begins-to-show-itself)

Publishes articles against the N.P.P.A. in the Standard.

### [In Which J. T. Maston Heroically Continues to Be Silent](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/topsy_turvy_se/chapters/in-which-j-t-maston-heroically-continues-to-be-silent)

Exchanges blows with William S. Forster in a fistfight, representing the growing discord among the delegates.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/topsy_turvy_se/characters/dean_toodrink
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/topsy_turvy_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/topsy_turvy_se/characters