# Mrs. Verrall — In the Days of the Comet character guide

> Mrs. Verrall in In the Days of the Comet by H. G. Wells.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** old Mrs. Verrall, young Verrall, Young Verrall, Verrall

**First appearance:** 0010-ii-nettie

## Snapshot

The Verrall matriarch whose carriage and grays are an event in Clayton, and whose visits make clergymen shine like the sun.

## Who they are

Mrs. Verrall belongs to the family that owns the great estate, the collieries, and more than half of Rawdon's pot-bank; her arrival at a Clayton doorstep is a small social earthquake. She is glimpsed through windows and doorways — a coachman, a pair of grays, a name that commands deference — and her presence measures the gulf between Willie's world and Edward's. She matters as the visible machinery of the old order the comet is about to sweep away.

## In the story

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

Rich widow for whom Nettie's father works as head gardener.

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

Mentioned as the mother of Edward Verrall, part of the wealthy family that owns the estate.

### [III: The Revolver](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/in_the_days_of_the_comet_se/chapters/iii-the-revolver)

Encountered by Willie in the gardens; he delivers a hostile outburst toward her.

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

Mentioned indirectly as the mother of young Verrall, the suspected paramour.

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

Mentioned indirectly as the mother of the man Nettie has run off with, though not named in the excerpt.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/in_the_days_of_the_comet_se/chapters/vii)

Appears richly dressed and clean, comes to compromise the disaster of her son's affair with Nettie.

### [IV: War](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/in_the_days_of_the_comet_se/chapters/iv-war)

Willie recalls insulting her, which marked his transformation into a representative of the disinherited.

### [Chapter I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/in_the_days_of_the_comet_se/chapters/i)

Mentioned as the person Willie insulted at the start of his descent into representative rebellion.

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

Arrives in a grand carriage to discuss charitable matters with the curate.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/in_the_days_of_the_comet_se/characters/old_mrs_verrall
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/in_the_days_of_the_comet_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/in_the_days_of_the_comet_se/characters