# Miss Volumnia — Bleak House character guide

> Miss Volumnia in Bleak House by Charles Dickens.

**Role:** minor

**Also known as:** Volumnia

**First appearance:** 0037-xxxvi-chesney-wold

## Who they are

Sir Leicester's flirtatious, aging cousin who visits Chesney Wold.

## In the story

### [The Ironmaster](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bleak_house_se/chapters/xxviii-the-ironmaster)

A poor relation of Sir Leicester, she is a young lady of sixty who lives on an annual present and is outraged by the Ironmaster's views.

### [National and Domestic](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bleak_house_se/chapters/xl-national-and-domestic)

Volumnia is a sprightly, dim-witted cousin who engages Sir Leicester in political talk, hopping about at dances for patriotic duty. She is innocent and eager for entertainment.

### [In Mr. Tulkinghorn’s Room](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bleak_house_se/chapters/xli-in-mr-tulkinghorn-s-room)

Mentioned in a dream sequence involving a dower and a hideous old general.

### [The Track](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bleak_house_se/chapters/liii-the-track)

Expresses dramatic grief and curiosity about the case, writing cocked-hat notes and adjusting her pearl necklace.

### [LVI: Pursuit](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bleak_house_se/chapters/lvi-pursuit)

Discovers Sir Leicester collapsed in the library, raising the alarm in the household.

### [LVIII: A Wintry Day and Night](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bleak_house_se/chapters/lviii-a-wintry-day-and-night)

A cousin, anxious about her inheritance, parading the mansion and refusing to go to bed.

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

Reads to Sir Leicester in the evenings and attends rare public balls, finding Lincolnshire life a vast blank.

## Links

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