Character of the American in rich surroundings (5)
I believe the answer is:
faust
'character' is the definition.
(I know that Faust is a character)
'american in rich surroundings' is the wordplay.
'american' becomes 'US' (abbreviation for United States).
'in rich' becomes 'fat' (rich can describe fat or creamy food. I am not sure about the 'in' bit.).
'surroundings' indicates putting letters inside.
'us' going into 'fat' is 'FAUST'.
'of the' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for faust that I've seen before include "Alchemist" , "Literary scholar" , "Goethe play" , "Goethe's two-part tragedy" , "He sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for knowledge" .)