Character guide

Emily Byrd Starr

major

Also known as Emily, Emily Byrd, little Emily, Emily Starr, Starr, V Diamond Cut Diamond Emily, Miss Starr, IX A Special Providence Emily, Emily B. Starr, Em'ly Starr, Em'ly, Juliet Starr

After her father's death leaves her penniless, Emily is claimed by the Murray aunts she has never met and transplanted to the stern, beautiful world of New Moon. She is a creature of vivid inner life—writing stories in her Jimmy-books, cursing those who speak ill of her dead father, and refusing to be ashamed of either. Her hunger to become a writer and her un-Murray-like defiance set her at odds with Aunt Elizabeth, but it is precisely this stubborn spark that makes her the story's beating heart.

Aunt Elizabeth Murray

major

Also known as Elizabeth Murray, The Murray, Elizabeth, a Murray, Aunt Elizabeth Murray, Murray, Whereupon Aunt Elizabeth, Dear Aunt Elizabeth

Aunt Elizabeth rules New Moon with a code of duty, dignity, and unbending principle, and she takes Emily in less from love than from Murray obligation. She is genuinely scandalized by Emily's writing, her curses, and her Starr blood, yet she is also a woman of real integrity who would never shirk what she believes is right. Her slow, grudging accommodation to Emily's spirit is one of the novel's quietest and most affecting arcs.

Miss Brownell

supporting

Also known as Miss Emily, Miss Brownell Emily

Miss Brownell is the kind of teacher who mistakes cruelty for discipline, and she takes an immediate, personal dislike to Emily's imaginative independence. Her public humiliations drive Emily into a private anguish that Aunt Elizabeth's own anger only deepens, leaving the child sleepless and heartsick. She matters because she is the first adult outside the family to test Emily's spirit—and because her pettiness teaches Emily something about the cost of being different.

Dean Priest

major

Also known as Jarback Priest, Dean, Whereby Dean Priest, Dean Priest Emily, Priest, Jarback, Jarback Praste

Dean Priest is a Murray cousin by blood and a wanderer by temperament, a man whose bitterness and erudition make him a strange companion for a young girl. He talks to Emily as an equal, feeding her hunger for Athens, Rome, and the magic of well-wedded words, while gently warning her that a thrilling life demands suffering as its price. His attention is flattering and formative, but his cynicism and his loneliness cast a shadow over the friendship that a careful reader will not forget.

Aunt Laura Murray

supporting

Also known as Laura, Murray, Laura Murray, the Murray, Aunt Laura.вАЭ Laura Murray, poor Aunt Laura, Laura Murray tradishun

Where Aunt Elizabeth commands, Aunt Laura soothes; she is the aunt who slips Emily small comforts and defends her when she can, without ever quite daring to defy the family code outright. Her tenderness is real but timid, and her position as the unmarried sister under Elizabeth's roof makes her both ally and bystander. She matters because she shows Emily—and the reader—that Murray pride is not the only inheritance available at New Moon.

Father Cassidy

minor

Also known as Father, Father Dear, Dear Father, dear Father

Emily's beloved, poetic father who dies before the story begins.

Cousin Jimmy Murray

supporting

Also known as Jimmy Murray, Murray, Cousin Jimmy Murray, Cousin, Jimmy, cousin Jimmy, Jim, Simple Jimmy Murray, Jimmy Murray

Cousin Jimmy is called simple by the world, but his garden is a work of genius and his heart is the warmest at New Moon. He becomes Emily's first true friend in the house, sharing her love of growing things and offering her the unconditional affection her aunts cannot. His garden is also the story's emblem of beauty worth protecting, and his quiet loyalty gives Emily a refuge when the Murray world presses hardest.

Great-Aunt Nancy Priest

supporting

Also known as Nancy, Aunt Nancy, Great Aunt Nancy, Great - Aunt Nancy, Dear Great - Aunt Nancy, Great - Aunt Nancy Priest, Nancy Priest

Wealthy, eccentric mistress of Wyther Grange, whose sharp tongue and unpredictable fancies make her a test Emily must charm.

Perry Miller

supporting

Also known as Perry

Rough, ambitious hired boy from Stovepipe Town who matches Emily's pride with his own hunger to rise above his birth.

Teddy Kent

supporting

Also known as Teddy

Quiet, gifted boy whose drawings and gentle spirit make him Emily's kindred soul among the Blair Water children.

Ellen Greene

supporting

Also known as Ellen, Greene, Helena

Blunt, superstitious housekeeper who tends Emily's dying father and lectures the grieving child on propriety and gratitude.

Ilse Burnley

supporting

Also known as Elizabeth Burnley, Burnley, Ilse, homesick Great - great - aunt Elizabeth stalking about in her bonnet, agile , quick - witted Ilse

Wild, red-haired whirlwind of Blair Water, whose fiery temper and fierce loyalty make her Emily's most electric companion.

Caroline Priest

minor

Also known as Caroline, Caroline⁠

Dean Priest's spinster sister, keeper of the Priest family home.

Mr. Carpenter

supporting

Also known as old Carpenter

Crusty, drink-soaked schoolmaster whose gruff honesty and sharp eye single out Emily's writing for both praise and correction.

Rhoda Stuart

minor

Also known as Rhoda, a Rhoda Stuart

Jealous, spiteful classmate of Emily's at the Shrewsbury school.

Aunt Ruth

minor

Also known as Ruth, your Aunt Ruth

Emily's other Murray aunt, strict and less sympathetic than Laura.

Dr. Burnley

minor

Also known as Dr. ¬ÝBurnley, Dr. Burnly

Ilse's distracted, grieving father, the town doctor.

Saucy Sal

minor

Also known as Sal, Father⁠—and Mike⁠—and Saucy Sal

Emily's beloved doll from her childhood in the house in the hollow.

Uncle Wallace

minor

Also known as Wallace, grim old Uncle Wallace, Uncle Wallace⁠—she

Wealthy, domineering Murray uncle who disapproves of Emily's writing.

Lofty John

minor

Also known as John, Mrs. Lofty John, вАЬbut Lofty John, Lofty John Sullivan, a Lofty John, Mr. Lofty John, Lofty JohnвАЩs

Irish neighbor who builds a fence that sparks a feud with the Murrays.

Mike II

minor

Also known as Mike, Mike II, Holy Mike, Mike Sullivan, dear Mike, Sullivan

Emily's faithful pet cat at New Moon.

Mrs. Kent

minor

Teddy's reclusive, mentally fragile mother.

Douglas Starr

minor

Also known as Kin Douglas Starr, Douglas

Emily's deceased father, a journalist and poet.

Old Kelly

minor

Also known as Old Jock Kelly, Jock Kelly, Mr. Kelly, Kelly, Old Mr. Kelly

An old Irish neighbor who tells stories and befriends Emily.

Beatrice Burnley

minor

Also known as Beatrice

Ilse's deceased mother, a source of family tragedy.

Juliet Murray

minor

Also known as Juliet

A beautiful, tragic Murray aunt who died young.

Uncle Oliver

minor

Also known as Oliver

Another Murray uncle, less severe than Wallace.

Jennie Strang

minor

Also known as Jennie

A gossipy townswoman and friend of Ellen Greene.

Allan Burnley

minor

Also known as Allan

Ilse's older brother, away at school.

Aunt Eva

minor

Also known as Eva, your Aunt Eva

A kind Murray aunt who lives away from New Moon.

Rev. Mr. Dare

minor

Also known as Mr. Dare

The local minister in Blair Water.

Aunt Tom

minor

Also known as the Tom, Tom

An elderly relative of the Murrays, known for her bluntness.

Mary Leon

minor

Also known as Leo, little Leo, Mary, Leon

A frail, imaginative child Emily meets at school.

Hugh Murray

minor

Also known as old Hugh Murray, Hugh, old Hugh

The stern, long-dead patriarch of the Murray family.

Mr. James Lee

minor

Also known as Mr. Lee, James Lee

A merchant in Shrewsbury who employs Perry Miller.

Aunt Addie

minor

Also known as Adam, your Aunt Addie

Another of Emily's Murray aunts, mentioned in family discussions.

Uncle Archibald

minor

A deceased Murray uncle, often referenced by the family.

Mary Murray

minor

Also known as Mary

Emily's deceased mother, a Murray who married against family wishes.

Muriel Porter

minor

Also known as Muriel

A girl at the Shrewsbury school, part of Rhoda's circle.

Cora Lee

minor

A friend of Ilse's from the village.

Lady Trevanion

minor

A wealthy, eccentric Englishwoman who visits Blair Water.

Mrs. Simms

minor

A neighbor who boards Perry Miller for a time.

Fred Clifford

minor

Also known as Fred

A boy from Shrewsbury who briefly courts Ilse.

Smoke and Buttercup

minor

Also known as Smoke, Buttercup

Two of Emily's pet cats at New Moon.

Wind Woman

minor

Also known as The Wind Woman

Emily's personification of the wind, a source of imaginative comfort.

Grandfather Murray

minor

The deceased former master of New Moon, remembered as stern.

Mr. Morris

minor

A shopkeeper in Shrewsbury.

Silas Lee

minor

Also known as Silas

An old farmer in the Blair Water area.

Mrs. Thomas Anderson

minor

Also known as Mrs. Anderson, Thomas

A woman who briefly takes in Perry Miller.

Editha

minor

A girl at the Shrewsbury school, friend of Rhoda Stuart.

Miss Puss

minor

A cat belonging to the Priest household.

Nat Priest

minor

Also known as Nat millan, Nathaniel

A relative of Dean Priest, mentioned in family history.

Dot Payne

minor

A girl at the Shrewsbury school.

Garrett Marshall

minor

Also known as Garrett, Whereupon Garrett Marshall

A young man from a neighboring town who shows interest in Ilse.

George Bates

minor

A boy at the Shrewsbury school.

Shipley

minor

Also known as Mary Shipley

A woman from the village, mentioned in passing.

Chestnut

minor

A horse owned by the Murray family.

Fred Stuart

minor

Also known as Fred

Rhoda Stuart's brother.

Jimmy Ball

minor

A boy from the village, mentioned in school contexts.

Grandmother Murray

minor

Also known as poor little Mike and Great - great - Grandmother Murray

The deceased matriarch of the Murray family.

Christiana

minor

Also known as Christian

A servant in the Priest household.

Carrie King

minor

Also known as King, Caroline

A girl from Shrewsbury who attends school with Emily.

Ruth Dutton

minor

A woman from the village, mentioned in gossip.

Mr. Slade

minor

A shopkeeper in Shrewsbury.

Jolly Jim

minor

Also known as Jimmy

A cheerful boy from the village.

Mrs. John Killegrew

minor

Also known as John

A woman from the village, mentioned in passing.

Mr. Tom Bennet

minor

Also known as Tom

A farmer in the Blair Water area.

Jimmy Joe Belle

minor

A boy from the village, mentioned in school contexts.