 At school ( not identified but generally recognised as Eton ) , Widmerpool is undistinguished academically and athletically , a " gauche <unk> " in the words of one literary commentator . He is the object of some ridicule , chiefly remembered for wearing the " wrong kind of overcoat " on his arrival at the school . Driven by ambition , instead of going on to university ( " much better get down to work right away " ) he is articled to a firm of solicitors , declaring this to be a springboard to wider horizons in business and politics . When Jenkins encounters him a few years after school , Widmerpool has achieved some social success and is a regular invitee at dinner @-@ dances . He has also acquired a commission as a lieutenant in the Territorial Army . 
