# Backwater — Character guide

> Key figures in Backwater by Dorothy M. Richardson.

- [Miriam Henderson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/backwater_se/characters/miriam_henderson.md): Miriam Henderson stands at the head of a schoolroom and the edge of her own life, holding the lower school together while privately recoiling from the trams, the sore throats, and the certificates that measure her worth.
- [Miss Jenny Perne](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/backwater_se/characters/miss_jenny_perne.md): Miss Jenny Perne is the school's practical conscience, the one who recommends certificates, counts costs, and sees through Miriam's vague talk of a country family. Yet when she warns that Miriam is a madcap, her sharp vo
- [Eve](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/backwater_se/characters/eve.md): Eve moves through seaside holidays and family outings with a dimpling laugh, courting the Greens' comfortable world of plenty and strong, clever people. She listens to Miriam but does not agree, finding her teaching hard
- [Harriett](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/backwater_se/characters/harriett.md): Harriett Henderson is the sister whose cheerful, slangy letters arrive just when Miriam feels most blue, promising subscription dances and Gerald's ticket if she cannot stump up. She signs herself Harry and insists Miria
- [Julia Doyle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/backwater_se/characters/julia_doyle.md): Julia Doyle moves among the older girls who drift in after class, lacing boots, trading talk of ties and parties, and treating dancing as divine. She is part of the noisy social texture Miriam both manages and stands apa
- [Miss Haddie](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/backwater_se/characters/miss_haddie.md): Miss Haddie sits at the school table with eyes full of dark fear, alone and outraged, certain that Miriam is a fraud besides being vulgar. When Miriam offers her broadest home smile, Miss Haddie flushes scarlet and smile
- [Ted](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/backwater_se/characters/ted.md): A young boy, possibly a student or relative of Miriam.
- [Nancie Wilkie](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/backwater_se/characters/nancie_wilkie.md): A friend or fellow teacher, part of Miriam's social circle.
- [Sarah](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/backwater_se/characters/sarah.md): A servant or maid in the Henderson household.
- [Gerald](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/backwater_se/characters/gerald.md): A male acquaintance or potential love interest of Miriam.
- [Mr. Parrow](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/backwater_se/characters/mr_parrow.md): A local man, possibly a tradesman or neighbor.
- [Miss Deborah](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/backwater_se/characters/miss_deborah.md): A teacher or older woman at the school.
- [Margaret Wedderburn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/backwater_se/characters/margaret_wedderburn.md): A friend or fellow teacher, possibly Scottish.
- [Mrs. Henderson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/backwater_se/characters/mrs_henderson.md): Miriam's mother, a presence in the household.
- [Mary Allen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/backwater_se/characters/mary_allen.md): A friend or servant, possibly a childhood companion.
- [Eunice Dupont](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/backwater_se/characters/eunice_dupont.md): A friend or acquaintance, possibly French.
- [Beadie Fetherwell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/backwater_se/characters/beadie_fetherwell.md): A friend or acquaintance, possibly a fellow teacher.
- [Tommy Babington](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/backwater_se/characters/tommy_babington.md): A young boy, possibly a student or relative.
- [Burra](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/backwater_se/characters/burra.md): A friend or acquaintance, possibly a nickname.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/backwater_se/characters