# Boythorn — Bleak House character guide

> Boythorn in Bleak House by Charles Dickens.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Lawrence Boythorn, Mr. Boythorn

**First appearance:** 0018-xvii-esther-s-narrative

## Snapshot

Jarndyce's oldest friend, a stentorian, warm-hearted giant who thunders comic fury at trifles and keeps a pet canary on principle.

## Who they are

Boythorn arrives at Bleak House like weather, booming about misdirected travelers and swearing eternal war on his neighbor Sir Leicester Dedlock over a disputed patch of ground. Underneath the superlatives and the roar is a generous, loyal man whose affection for Jarndyce dates back to schoolboy fists and broken teeth. He brings warmth and absurdity to the middle stretch of the book, and his feud with the Dedlocks quietly links the Jarndyce circle to Chesney Wold.

## In the story

### [Signs and Tokens](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bleak_house_se/chapters/ix-signs-and-tokens)

Visits Bleak House; described as impetuous, hearty, and with a tender side; once engaged but the lady 'died to him.'

### [Down in Lincolnshire](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bleak_house_se/chapters/lxvi-down-in-lincolnshire)

Continues his quarrel with Sir Leicester, though secretly considerate of his old foe.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bleak_house_se/characters/boythorn
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bleak_house_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bleak_house_se/characters