Anna of the Five Towns · Character

Mrs. Sutton

Beatrice's mother and a quiet force in Bursley society, she teaches a Monday-night class where Anna finds spiritual inspiration and a model of modest, fervent womanhood.

supporting

Also known as Bursley

First appearance: ii the miser s daughter

As a supporting figure in Anna of the Five Towns, Mrs. Sutton is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

See Mrs. Sutton in ii the miser s daughter Book page

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Mrs. Sutton occupies a respectable place in the Five Towns' chapel world, her Monday-night class drawing women like Anna Tellwright who hunger for guidance beyond their fathers' grim households. She is gentle where the town is rough, shielding her charges from worry and offering homilies that feel like wells of inspiration rather than sermons. Her modest influence matters because she gives Anna a glimpse of a life shaped by warmth rather than fear, quietly widening the young woman's sense of what devotion might mean.

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See Mrs. Sutton in ii the miser s daughter

Character Web

12 connections

A slice of how Mrs. Sutton sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Other

Character groups

Central family and suitors
Protagonist

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

This excerpt marks the dramatic climax because Anna reaches the emotional and psychological peak of her engage…

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In the story

Mrs. Sutton appears across 6 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

I: The Kindling of Love
Mrs. Sutton is a grey-haired, benevolent woman who emerges from the girls' door and invites people to the sewing-meeting. She is a distant relative of Mynors.
V: The Revival
Accompanies the revivalist in her carriage and later ministers to Anna during her spiritual crisis at the chapel.
VII: The Sewing Meeting
Hosts the sewing meeting and is praised by Anna as 'a splendid woman.'
IX: The Treat
Visits Tellwright to solicit a building fund donation and to arrange Anna's trip to the Isle of Man; successfully secures both; signals Anna to leave the room during negotiations.
X: The Isle
Mrs. Sutton is a maternal figure who wins Ephraim's consent for Anna's trip, leads a spiritual class, and organizes the holiday with her husband.
XIII: The Bazaar
Organiser of the Sunday-school stall; advises Anna on wedding preparations and suggests £100 might suffice for the trousseau and linen.

Chapter companion notes

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See Mrs. Sutton in ii the miser s daughter