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Frederick Altamont Cornwalis Twistleton, fifth Earl of Ickenham is a fictional character from the short stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse, who is widely regarded as one of the great comic writers of the 20th century, once described as "English literature's performing flea."
Uncle Fred is usually confined to the country, for when he is unleashed in London, he tends to step high, wide, and plentiful. I do not know if you know the meaning of the word "excesses," but these are what Uncle Fred invariably commits when at liberty. His main problem is that he acts as young as he feels, which is a slightly inebriated twenty-two.
His main talent is impersonation: in his time he has impersonated Edwin Smith, of 14 Nastursium Road, East Dulwich; a veternarian come to clip the claws of a parrot at the Cedars, Mafecking Road, Mitching Hill; the resident of the same address; Mr. J. B. Bulstrode, a neighbor of same; and he claims he would have impersonated the parrot as well, on broad impressionistic lines.
He has also masqueraded as Major Brabazon-Plank, the famed explorer, and as his older brother, Brabzon-Plank Major, a mining engineer. (The Major is a miner and the minor is a Major.)
The Uncle Fred stories comprise:
- Uncle Fred in the Springtime (1939)
- Uncle Dynamite (1948)
- Cocktail Time (1958)
