Something of a scientific polymath, at age 15 Cuthbert went up to read Physics at St. Edmund (Teddy) Hall, Oxford before continuing on to obtain his doctorate in the same place. The subject had been undergoing something of a revolution, and after this he focused his research on building mechanical apparatus to aid in astronomy, with a goal of discovering the mysterious Planet X. A fortunate coincidence of timing saw him obtain a Professorship while in his 20s, but then things began to go downhill.
 
In February 1930 Planet X, aka Pluto, was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, USA. While insistent that his instruments pointed to this not being the last word on unknown planets, more senior colleagues disagreed, and within a few years the bulk of Cuthbert’s funding, along with his Professorship, dried up. The situation was not helped by Cuthbert’s comparatively poor political and social skills.
 
Since early 1933 Cuthbert has been in London, gaining employment at C. W. Bailey and Sons booksellers in Covent Garden while he searches for other ways to delve into the workings of the cosmos. The shop had been a favourite of his father’s, and it is where his prized possession - a first edition copy of Newton’s Principia Mathematica - was purchased in his youth. He works regular hours, dealing with customers as the need arises, but the main skill he brings is the assessment of scientific books and those written in languages other than English.
 
He believes smoking and alcohol are vices which dull the mind, and much prefers the milk (and Coca-Cola) sold at the nearby Sunshine Milk Bar. Although no longer a formal Professor, he retains an association and stipend from Teddy Hall, and several of his colleagues there and in London are happy to help when he requests access to their laboratories or libraries. He retains a particular soft spot for Mr. Wetherfeld, the old Porter at Teddy Hall, who has been there for decades.