 Through his social contacts Widmerpool secures a job in the politico @-@ legal department of the Donners @-@ Brebner industrial conglomerate , a post that brings him into close contact with Sir Magnus Donners , for whom he exhibits a respect bordering on reverence . He develops a talent for intrigue , which irritates Sir Magnus to the extent that Widmerpool is asked to leave the organisation . He joins a City firm of bill @-@ brokers and still under the age of 30 , becomes an influential and respected figure in the financial world . By the late 1930s , Widmerpool is advising Donners @-@ Brebner again . Just before the outbreak of war in September 1939 , he oversees a scheme on behalf of Donners to corner the Turkish market in chromite and emerges unscathed when the project collapses . 
