# Lady Rowley — He Knew He Was Right character guide > Lady Rowley in He Knew He Was Right by Anthony Trollope. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** Poor Lady Rowley, Rowley, poor Lady Rowley **First appearance:** 0000-i-showing-how-wrath-began ## Snapshot A mother caught between her daughters' romantic entanglements and her husband's fading authority, she negotiates suitors, separations, and grandchildren with weary pragmatism. ## Who they are Lady Rowley manages the practical machinery of her family's crises — receiving Hugh Stanbury's awkward proposal, arranging for a grandchild to be fetched from Italy, and tempering her husband's bluster. She is drawn to Stanbury's honesty yet recoils from his precarious income, and her heart still softens toward the son-in-law who has treated her daughter cruelly. Her mediating presence keeps the Rowley family from fracturing entirely under the weight of its romantic and financial pressures. ## Relationships ### [Louis Trevelyan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/he_knew_he_was_right_se/characters/louis_trevelyan) _family_ Lady Rowley is Louis's mother-in-law, and she is deeply concerned about his deteriorating marriage to her daughter. ### [Nora Rowley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/he_knew_he_was_right_se/characters/nora_rowley) _family_ Lady Rowley is Nora's mother, and they share a loving but sometimes conflicted relationship over Nora's romantic choices. ### [Louis Trevelyan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/he_knew_he_was_right_se/characters/louis_trevelyan) _family_ Lady Rowley is Louis's mother-in-law, and she is deeply concerned about his deteriorating marriage to her daughter. ### [Nora Rowley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/he_knew_he_was_right_se/characters/nora_rowley) _family_ Lady Rowley is Nora's mother, and they share a loving but sometimes conflicted relationship over Nora's romantic choices. ### [Nora Rowley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/he_knew_he_was_right_se/characters/nora_rowley) _family_ Lady Rowley is Nora's mother, and they share a loving but sometimes conflicted relationship over Nora's romantic choices. ### [Louis Trevelyan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/he_knew_he_was_right_se/characters/louis_trevelyan) _family_ Lady Rowley is Louis's mother-in-law, and she is deeply concerned about his deteriorating marriage to her daughter. ## In the story ### [LXI: Parker’s Hotel, Mowbray Street](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/he_knew_he_was_right_se/chapters/lxi-parker-s-hotel-mowbray-street) Returns with Sir Marmaduke; believes Emily should return to her husband to regain the child. ### [Lady Rowley Makes an Attempt](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/he_knew_he_was_right_se/chapters/lxii-lady-rowley-makes-an-attempt) Arranges and attends the meeting with Trevelyan, hoping to heal the breach between him and Emily. She is firm in her belief that Emily has done nothing wrong and leaves when Trevelyan demands penitence. ### [Sir Marmaduke at Home](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/he_knew_he_was_right_se/chapters/lxiii-sir-marmaduke-at-home) Learns of Nora's rejection of Mr. Glascock for Hugh; dismayed by Hugh's precarious profession as a penny newspaper writer. ### [River's Cottage](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/he_knew_he_was_right_se/chapters/lxvii-river-s-cottage) Accompanies Emily to Willesden; observes Trevelyan's alarming physical and mental decline; suggests consulting a physician. ### [Major Magruder's Committee](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/he_knew_he_was_right_se/chapters/lxviii-major-magruder-s-committee) Mentioned as having returned from River's Cottage the previous morning. ### [Showing What Nora Rowley Thought About Carriages](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/he_knew_he_was_right_se/chapters/lxx-showing-what-nora-rowley-thought-about-carriages) Listens to Hugh's proposal and opposes it due to his lack of financial security; suggests Nora return to the Mandarins and hints at a future marriage only if there is no correspondence. ### [Showing What Hugh Stanbury Thought About the Duty of Man](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/he_knew_he_was_right_se/chapters/lxxi-showing-what-hugh-stanbury-thought-about-the-duty-of-man) Advises Sir Marmaduke that Stanbury deserves a formal answer to his proposal, influencing the tone of the refusal letter. ### [The Rowleys Go Over the Alps](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/he_knew_he_was_right_se/chapters/lxxv-the-rowleys-go-over-the-alps) Hopes to cure Nora of her passion for Hugh Stanbury through further overtures from Mr. Glascock, but learns from an embassy visitor that Glascock is likely to marry an American girl. ### [We Shall Be So Poor](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/he_knew_he_was_right_se/chapters/lxxvi-we-shall-be-so-poor) Lady Rowley is anxious about Mr. Glascock's engagement to an American lady and continues to hope for a match between him and Nora. She also inquires about the Trevelyan situation. ### [The Future Lady Peterborough](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/he_knew_he_was_right_se/chapters/lxxvii-the-future-lady-peterborough) Watches Mr. Glascock and Wallachia with disbelief, hoping the engagement rumor is false and that Nora might still have a chance. ### [I Can Sleep on the Boards](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/he_knew_he_was_right_se/chapters/lxxix-i-can-sleep-on-the-boards) Assents to Emily's wish but suggests accompanying her; is overruled. ### [LXXX: “Will They Despise Him?”](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/he_knew_he_was_right_se/chapters/lxxx-will-they-despise-him) Embarrassed after realizing she confused Caroline Spalding with Wallachia Petrie as Mr. Glascock's intended bride. ### [The Baths of Lucca](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/he_knew_he_was_right_se/chapters/lxxxv-the-baths-of-lucca) Bitter about Nora's refusal of Mr. Glascock; struggles with Nora's decision to stay and marry Stanbury. ### [Lady Rowley Conquered](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/he_knew_he_was_right_se/chapters/xc-lady-rowley-conquered) Gradually gives way to Nora's wishes, mediates between Sir Marmaduke and Nora, and ultimately blesses the engagement. ### [Four O'Clock in the Morning](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/he_knew_he_was_right_se/chapters/xci-four-o-clock-in-the-morning) Weeps as she bids Hugh goodbye, showing her affection and support for him. ### [XCIII: “Say That You Forgive Me”](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/he_knew_he_was_right_se/chapters/xciii-say-that-you-forgive-me) Mentioned as having sailed with Sir Marmaduke; Trevelyan accuses her of threatening him with a madhouse. ### [XCIV: A Real Christian](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/he_knew_he_was_right_se/chapters/xciv-a-real-christian) Arranges for Nora to stay with Lady Milborough; discusses Nora's future and the Trevelyan situation. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/he_knew_he_was_right_se/characters/lady_rowley - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/he_knew_he_was_right_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/he_knew_he_was_right_se/characters