Mr. Turveydrop is the father of Prince Turveydrop and the father-in-law of Caddy Jellyby. A well-dressed and poised man, Mr. Turveydrop is the owner of a prestigious dance studio and is well known in fashionable and aristocratic circles, despite the fact that he is not of noble birth himself. He allows his son to work tirelessly in the dance studio but takes much of the money and most of the acclaim that goes along with this school. He takes on a selected group of student apprentices but then uses them as servants to run errands and do chores in the house. It is rumored that Prince’s mother, who died young, was completely besotted with her husband and worked herself to death in the dance school to pay for his lifestyle. Mr. Turveydrop is extremely careless about other people’s well-being and seems to only think about himself and his own comfort. He is emotionally manipulative and pressures Caddy and Prince into working for him and makes them feel guilty if they take any time off.