Rupert Baxter
Encyclopedia
Rupert Baxter is a fictional character
in the Blandings
stories by P. G. Wodehouse
. Often called The Efficient Baxter (although the castle staff call him Nosy Parker), he is Lord Emsworth
's secretary, and an expert on many things, including Egypt
ian scarabs. He invariably wears his rimless spectacles, suspects everyone of being an impostor, and is, as his epithet suggests, extremely efficient.
Not the most emotional of men, his head is rarely turned by women, although on one occasion, meeting Sue Brown but believing her to be Myra Schoonmaker, he finds himself approving very much of the idea of an heiress to sixty million dollars. He is a good chess
player, and also enjoys bezique
. His weak stomach is his achilles heel
.
He also receives a mention in Galahad at Blandings
(1965)
, who shot mice in the drawing room with an elephant gun; Baxter had to call in, and thus met, Sir Roderick Glossop, a fact which came in useful when Uncle Fred
visited the castle impersonating Glossop.
Baxter first appears in Something Fresh
; a man perfectly suited to his job, he "had no vices, but he sometimes relaxed his busy brain with a game of solitaire." Lord Emsworth finds him invaluable, but begins to question his trust when Baxter is discovered in the middle of the night, in the midst of a sea of upset tables, broken china, and food.
By the time of Leave it to Psmith
, his efficiency has become a bane to the sunshine-loving Lord, and when he finds himself locked out of the castle wearing lemon-coloured pyjamas
in the early morning, and throws flowerpots at Emsworth's bedroom window in an attempt to wake him, Emsworth decides he is insane and sacks him, replacing him with Ronald Psmith
. He returns to the employ of J. Horace Jevons, a Chicago millionaire for whom he had worked prior to coming to the castle.
Despite his being sacked, he longs to organize the affairs of the absent-minded Emsworth, and remains a faithful friend and ally of Lady Constance
. He returns for a time in Summer Lightning
, while Hugo Carmody occupies his former position. He is called back by Lady Constance to steal Galahad
's scandalous memoirs, and arrives at the castle in a caravan
, pretending to be passing by on a caravaning tour. Not long after he arrives, he is disturbed while searching for the manuscript, and leaps from the library window to land in a flowerbed at Lord Emsworth's feet, adding to the Earl's poor opinion of Baxter's sanity, an opinion worsened further when, at the climax of proceedings, he is found hiding under Sue Brown's bed (a young girl for whom he had developed some affection, on the basis that she was a wealthy heiress, and was disgusted to find was an impostor).
He returns briefly to Blandings in "The Crime Wave at Blandings
", at first as a stop on motorcycle
tour of England, but he soon becomes a prospective tutor for George, Lord Bosham's second son and Lord Emsworth's grandson. However, when several members of the Blandings household shoot him in the hind parts with young George's air gun
, he is cured of his longing, despite Emsworth offer of a return to his old post, and decides to leave Blandings permanently to work for Mr. Jevons.
Unable to stay away, he returns again in Uncle Fred in the Springtime
, where he is employed by the grouchy Duke of Dunstable, who visits the castle as a friend of Lady Constance. He works for Dunstable helping to compile the Dunstable family history, but is poorly treated by the Duke, who suspects him of going on "toots", and hits him in the face with a well-thrown egg when he hears him singing on the lawn outside his rooms, and also has him help steal Emsworth's prize pig Empress of Blandings
, a task which sorely tries Baxter's nerve; he is later slipped a Mickey Finn
by Uncle Fred. He is last mentioned in Galahad at Blandings
as being in the employ of an American millionaire in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the Blandings
Blandings Castle
Blandings Castle is a recurring fictional location in the stories of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being the seat of Lord Emsworth , home to many of his family, and setting for numerous tales and adventures, written between 1915 and 1975.The series of stories which take place at the castle,...
stories by P. G. Wodehouse
P. G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE was an English humorist, whose body of work includes novels, short stories, plays, poems, song lyrics, and numerous pieces of journalism. He enjoyed enormous popular success during a career that lasted more than seventy years and his many writings continue to be...
. Often called The Efficient Baxter (although the castle staff call him Nosy Parker), he is Lord Emsworth
Lord Emsworth
Clarence Threepwood, 9th Earl of Emsworth, or Lord Emsworth, is a recurring fictional character in the Blandings stories by British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse. He is the amiable and somewhat absent-minded head of the large Threepwood family...
's secretary, and an expert on many things, including Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian scarabs. He invariably wears his rimless spectacles, suspects everyone of being an impostor, and is, as his epithet suggests, extremely efficient.
Character
Baxter is an efficient and practical individual. He likes order, despises Lord Emsworth's fuzzy mind and lifestyle. He sees himself as a man destined to bring order to Blandings, and is proud of his position as de facto ruler of one of England's largest houses. It is this pride which brings him back time and again to Blandings, despite the better pay and working conditions available to him in the household of Mr J. Horace Jevons, his employer before and after his reigns at Blandings, a man who treats him with the respect, and even obesquiousness, he demands; Mr Jevons' financial advice also allows Baxter to treble his savings.Not the most emotional of men, his head is rarely turned by women, although on one occasion, meeting Sue Brown but believing her to be Myra Schoonmaker, he finds himself approving very much of the idea of an heiress to sixty million dollars. He is a good chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
player, and also enjoys bezique
Bezique
Bezique is a 19th-century French melding and trick-taking card game for two players derived from Marriage via Briscan by the addition of more scoring features, notably the peculiar liaison of Q and J, under the names Bésigue, Binokel, Pinochle, etc., according to the country.-History:Bezique was...
. His weak stomach is his achilles heel
Achilles Heel
Achilles Heel may refer to:* Achilles' heel, a metaphor for a fatal weakness in spite of overall strength* Achilles Heel , music by Pedro the Lion* Achilles Heel , off Antarctica...
.
Appearances
Baxter appears in four novels and a single short story:- Something FreshSomething FreshSomething Fresh is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse. It was first published as a book in the United States, by D. Appleton & Company on September 3, 1915, under the title Something New, having previously appeared under that title as a serial in the Saturday Evening Post between June 26 and August 14,...
(1915) - Leave it to PsmithLeave it to PsmithLeave it to Psmith is a comic novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on November 30, 1923 by Herbert Jenkins, London, and in the United States on March 14, 1924 by George H. Doran, New York. It had previously been serialised, in the Saturday Evening Post in the U.S...
(1923) - Summer LightningSummer LightningSummer Lightning is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on 1 July 1929 by Doubleday, Doran, New York, under the title Fish Preferred, and in the United Kingdom on 19 July 1929 by Herbert Jenkins, London...
(1929) - "The Crime Wave at BlandingsThe Crime Wave at Blandings"The Crime Wave at Blandings" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, which first appeared in the United States in two parts, in the October 10 and October 17, 1936 editions of the Saturday Evening Post, and in the United Kingdom in the January 1937 issue of the Strand. It was included in the...
", featured in the collection Lord Emsworth and OthersLord Emsworth and Others-External links:* , with a list of characters and publication dates* , with details of published editions, photos of book covers and links to used copies...
(1937) - Uncle Fred in the SpringtimeUncle Fred in the SpringtimeUncle Fred in the Springtime is a novel by P.G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on August 18, 1939 by Doubleday, Doran, New York, and in the United Kingdom on August 25, 1939 by Herbert Jenkins, London....
(1939)
He also receives a mention in Galahad at Blandings
Galahad at Blandings
Galahad at Blandings is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on January 13, 1965 by Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York under the title The Brinkmanship of Galahad Threepwood, and in the United Kingdom on August 26 the same year by Herbert Jenkins, London.It forms part of...
(1965)
Career
At some point prior to working at Blandings, Baxter worked for Sir Ralph Dillingworth, the Yorkshire baronetBaronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
, who shot mice in the drawing room with an elephant gun; Baxter had to call in, and thus met, Sir Roderick Glossop, a fact which came in useful when Uncle Fred
Uncle Fred
Frederick Altamont Cornwallis Twistleton, 5th Earl of Ickenham, commonly known as Uncle Fred, is a fictional character who appears in short stories and novels written by P. G. Wodehouse between 1935 and 1961...
visited the castle impersonating Glossop.
Baxter first appears in Something Fresh
Something Fresh
Something Fresh is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse. It was first published as a book in the United States, by D. Appleton & Company on September 3, 1915, under the title Something New, having previously appeared under that title as a serial in the Saturday Evening Post between June 26 and August 14,...
; a man perfectly suited to his job, he "had no vices, but he sometimes relaxed his busy brain with a game of solitaire." Lord Emsworth finds him invaluable, but begins to question his trust when Baxter is discovered in the middle of the night, in the midst of a sea of upset tables, broken china, and food.
By the time of Leave it to Psmith
Leave it to Psmith
Leave it to Psmith is a comic novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on November 30, 1923 by Herbert Jenkins, London, and in the United States on March 14, 1924 by George H. Doran, New York. It had previously been serialised, in the Saturday Evening Post in the U.S...
, his efficiency has become a bane to the sunshine-loving Lord, and when he finds himself locked out of the castle wearing lemon-coloured pyjamas
Pajamas
Pajamas, also spelled pyjamas , can refer to several related types of clothing. The original paijama are loose, lightweight trousers fitted with drawstring waistbands and worn in South and West Asia by both sexes...
in the early morning, and throws flowerpots at Emsworth's bedroom window in an attempt to wake him, Emsworth decides he is insane and sacks him, replacing him with Ronald Psmith
Psmith
Rupert Psmith is a recurring fictional character in several novels by British comic writer P. G...
. He returns to the employ of J. Horace Jevons, a Chicago millionaire for whom he had worked prior to coming to the castle.
Despite his being sacked, he longs to organize the affairs of the absent-minded Emsworth, and remains a faithful friend and ally of Lady Constance
Lady Constance Keeble
Lady Constance Keeble is a recurring fictional character in the Blandings stories by British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being Lord Emsworth's most formidable sister, a strikingly handsome woman, with a fair, broad brow, and perfectly even white teeth...
. He returns for a time in Summer Lightning
Summer Lightning
Summer Lightning is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on 1 July 1929 by Doubleday, Doran, New York, under the title Fish Preferred, and in the United Kingdom on 19 July 1929 by Herbert Jenkins, London...
, while Hugo Carmody occupies his former position. He is called back by Lady Constance to steal Galahad
Galahad Threepwood
The Honourable Galahad "Gally" Threepwood is a fictional character in the Blandings stories by P. G. Wodehouse. Lord Emsworth's younger brother, a lifelong bachelor, Gally was, according to Beach, the Blandings butler, "somewhat wild as a young man"...
's scandalous memoirs, and arrives at the castle in a caravan
Travel trailer
A travel trailer or caravan is towed behind a road vehicle to provide a place to sleep which is more comfortable and protected than a tent . It provides the means for people to have their own home on a journey or a vacation, without relying on a motel or hotel, and enables them to stay in places...
, pretending to be passing by on a caravaning tour. Not long after he arrives, he is disturbed while searching for the manuscript, and leaps from the library window to land in a flowerbed at Lord Emsworth's feet, adding to the Earl's poor opinion of Baxter's sanity, an opinion worsened further when, at the climax of proceedings, he is found hiding under Sue Brown's bed (a young girl for whom he had developed some affection, on the basis that she was a wealthy heiress, and was disgusted to find was an impostor).
He returns briefly to Blandings in "The Crime Wave at Blandings
The Crime Wave at Blandings
"The Crime Wave at Blandings" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, which first appeared in the United States in two parts, in the October 10 and October 17, 1936 editions of the Saturday Evening Post, and in the United Kingdom in the January 1937 issue of the Strand. It was included in the...
", at first as a stop on motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
tour of England, but he soon becomes a prospective tutor for George, Lord Bosham's second son and Lord Emsworth's grandson. However, when several members of the Blandings household shoot him in the hind parts with young George's air gun
Air gun
An air gun is a rifle , pistol , or shotgun that fires projectiles by means of compressed air or other gas, in contrast to a firearm, which burns a propellant. Most air guns use metallic projectiles as ammunition. Air guns that only use plastic projectiles are classified as airsoft...
, he is cured of his longing, despite Emsworth offer of a return to his old post, and decides to leave Blandings permanently to work for Mr. Jevons.
Unable to stay away, he returns again in Uncle Fred in the Springtime
Uncle Fred in the Springtime
Uncle Fred in the Springtime is a novel by P.G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on August 18, 1939 by Doubleday, Doran, New York, and in the United Kingdom on August 25, 1939 by Herbert Jenkins, London....
, where he is employed by the grouchy Duke of Dunstable, who visits the castle as a friend of Lady Constance. He works for Dunstable helping to compile the Dunstable family history, but is poorly treated by the Duke, who suspects him of going on "toots", and hits him in the face with a well-thrown egg when he hears him singing on the lawn outside his rooms, and also has him help steal Emsworth's prize pig Empress of Blandings
Empress of Blandings
Empress of Blandings is a fictional pig, featured in many of the Blandings Castle novels and stories by P. G. Wodehouse. Owned by the doting Lord Emsworth, the Empress is an enormous black Berkshire sow, who wins many prizes in the "Fat Pigs" class at the local Shropshire Agricultural Show, and is...
, a task which sorely tries Baxter's nerve; he is later slipped a Mickey Finn
Mickey Finn (drugs)
A Mickey Finn, is a slang term for a drink laced with a drug given to someone without his knowledge in order to incapacitate him...
by Uncle Fred. He is last mentioned in Galahad at Blandings
Galahad at Blandings
Galahad at Blandings is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on January 13, 1965 by Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York under the title The Brinkmanship of Galahad Threepwood, and in the United Kingdom on August 26 the same year by Herbert Jenkins, London.It forms part of...
as being in the employ of an American millionaire in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
.