# Perriam — Gallions Reach character guide

> Perriam in Gallions Reach by H. M. Tomlinson.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mr. Perriam, old Perriam

**First appearance:** 0001-gallions-reach

## Snapshot

A self-convinced employer whose eloquent monomania turns a routine rebuke into a theatrical indictment of a quiet young man's whole existence.

## Who they are

Perriam is a figure of lasting, exhausting power—a man who mistakes his own eloquence for justice and his employee's patience for fraud. He paces, he accuses, he raises his arm in trenchant reprobation, genuinely believing himself wronged by Colet's silence. His tirade drives Jimmy out into the London night and becomes the hinge on which the novel's early arc turns: the moment a mild clerk stops merely enduring and starts moving.

## In the story

### [Gallions Reach](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gallions_reach_se/chapters/gallions-reach)

Returns to his office after Colet's departure, unaware of the significance of the moment.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gallions_reach_se/chapters/ii)

Reprimands Colet for not settling the warehouse dispute, emphasizing loyalty to the firm.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gallions_reach_se/chapters/iii)

Mentioned as an 'artful old dog' and a symbol of the commercial world Colet despises.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gallions_reach_se/chapters/iv)

Mentioned by Helen as 'the ogre' and by Colet in the context of his business troubles.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gallions_reach_se/chapters/v)

Returns from Manchester, agitated and confrontational, dies after being struck by Colet.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gallions_reach_se/chapters/vi)

Though dead, Perriam's presence looms over Colet's thoughts as he replays the events and questions the reality of what occurred.

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gallions_reach_se/chapters/ix)

Mentioned as the former owner of the Altair, now dead.

### [XXXIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gallions_reach_se/chapters/xxxix)

Thought of by Colet as an old adversary; Colet decides he can wait.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gallions_reach_se/characters/perriam
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gallions_reach_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gallions_reach_se/characters