A High Wind in Jamaica · Characters
Character guide
Key figures in A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes.
Skim names here — open a free preview to see character cards and Character Web beside the page as you read.
Emily Thornton
major
Also known as Emily, Laura, thin Emily, small Emily, Baby Emily, Emily Laura, poor Emily, Only Emily, little Emily, Emily Bas-Thornton, Emily Thornton
Emily drifts between Jamaica and a pirate schooner with a child's eerie adaptability, drawing pictures in the captain's cabin and hoarding her one great possession, an earthquake. Miss Dawson's gentle interrogations about bloodshed meet only her stubborn, gentle silence, while Edward's invented heroics are believed by everyone. Her private sense that time has slipped by, that she is nearly eleven and has lived nothing, makes her the story's quiet center of gravity.
Captain Jonsen
major
Also known as Captain Jonsen, Still Jonsen, Jonsen, IV Captain Jonsen, presently Jonsen, V Captain Jonsen
Jonsen runs the schooner with Nordic tidiness and a schemer's patience, staking everything on returning the children safely to discredit his accusers. Yet the cabin wall still bears Emily's puerile drawings, and the pencil among his bedding triggers a flood of memories he cannot afford. His astute plan works perfectly, and no premonition warns him of the whispering already underway aboard the steamer.
Rachel Thornton
major
Also known as Rachel
Rachel moves through the schooner as the responsible elder sister, the one whose judgment the younger children quietly lean on. Because she knows the pirates are deadly wicked, she never contradicts Edward's tales of bloodshed, reasoning they probably happened when she wasn't looking. Her unexamined trust becomes the hinge on which the children's shared version of events turns.
Edward Thornton
supporting
Also known as Edward
Edward treats the pirate ship as a playground, rehearsing galley-stormings with Harry and swathing himself in the flying-jib for hide-and-seek. When adults come asking for tales of bloodshed, he sees at once what they want and supplies it, backed by Harry and unchallenged by Rachel. His eager, self-convinced storytelling becomes the narrative the grown-ups prefer to Emily's silence.
Mrs. Thornton
supporting
Also known as Mr. Bas-Thornton, Mrs. Thornton, Consequently Mrs. Thornton, Mr. Thornton, Mr. and Mrs. Thornton, Mr. and Mrs. Bas-Thornton, Thornton
Mrs. Thornton presides over the family's tropical life with an eye on appearances, wary of the wild Fernandez children running barefoot like negroes and of a governess whose blood is possibly not pure. She is nonetheless persuaded that the Exeter climate is healthy and that intercourse with other children does her own good, whatever the risk of bad ways. Her cautious, class-bound mothering sets the children on the road that leads to the schooner.
Margaret Fernandez
supporting
Also known as Margaret Fernandez, Margaret
Margaret comes from the ramshackle estate the Thorntons visit, a household of barefoot children, hairbrush beatings, and questionable bloodlines. She is among the young passengers caught up in the Clorinda affair, and Jonsen later counts it a near thing with that little bitch Margaret, lucky the second boat picked her up. Her presence sharpens the stakes of his scheme to return the children and bury the episode.
Otto
supporting
Also known as Otto, III Otto
Otto is the pirate who must prepare the captured Thornton children to be handed off to a steamer bound for England, feeding them a cover story about rescue rather than piracy. His anxiety is the scene's engine: he watches Emily's gentle, unreadable stare and silently despairs that she cannot hold a secret for ten seconds, even as she agrees with unnerving ease. His awkward, tender handling of the children — and his failure to fully trust them — makes him the human face of the crew's precarious deception.
Mr. Mathias
minor
Also known as Mr. Mathias, Mathias
A lawyer or official involved in the children's affairs.
Captain Marpole
minor
Also known as Captain Marpole, Marpole, poor stunned Captain Marpole
Captain of a ship encountered by the pirates.
Redheaded John
minor
Also known as Redheaded John, John, Both fat John, Poor John
A pirate crew member on Jonsen's ship.
Harry
minor
Also known as Harry, Henry, Harry Marghie, Marghie, little Harry, Harold
A young boy among the captured children.
José
minor
Also known as José, old José, Darling José
An old pirate or sailor on the ship.
Miss Dawson
minor
Also known as Miss Dawson
A governess or chaperone for the children.
Dutch Captain
minor
Also known as the Dutch captain
Captain of a Dutch ship encountered at sea.
Quacko Sam
minor
Also known as Quacko Sam, Sam, Lame-foot Sam, old Sam
An old sailor or servant on the pirate ship.
Young Henry Marpole
minor
Also known as Young Henry Marpole, Marpole, Henry, Harry, Presently Harry
Son of Captain Marpole, briefly appears.
John Dodson
minor
Also known as John Dodson, John
A sailor or crew member on a ship.
Sam
minor
Also known as Sam, Old Sam
A servant or crew member.
Louisa Dawson
minor
Also known as Louisa Dawson, Lulu
A young girl, possibly a relative of Miss Dawson.
Tabby
minor
Also known as Tabby, poor Tabby
A cat on the pirate ship.
Parson Audain
minor
Also known as Parson Audain, Audain
A clergyman in Jamaica.
John Marghie
minor
Also known as John Marghie, Marghie, John
A minor character, possibly a sailor.
Miss Fernandez
minor
Also known as Miss Fernandez
Relative of Margaret Fernandez.
Jimmie Fernandez
minor
Also known as Jimmie Fernandez, Jimmie
A young boy, possibly Margaret's brother.
Jacko
minor
Also known as Jacko, Poor little Jacko
A monkey on the pirate ship.
