 Kenneth Widmerpool is a fictional character in Anthony Powell 's novel sequence A Dance to the Music of Time , a 12 @-@ volume account of upper @-@ class and bohemian life in Britain between 1920 and 1970 . Regarded by critics as one of the more memorable characters of 20th century fiction , Widmerpool is the antithesis of the sequence 's narrator @-@ hero Nicholas Jenkins . Initially presented as a comic , even pathetic figure , he becomes increasingly formidable , powerful and ultimately sinister as the novels progress . He is successful in business , in the army and in politics , and is awarded a life peerage . His only sphere of failure is his relationships with women , exemplified by his disastrous marriage to Pamela Flitton . The sequence ends with Widmerpool 's downfall and death , in circumstances arising from his involvement with a New Age @-@ type cult . 
