Kate Plus 10 · Characters
Character guide
Key figures in Kate Plus 10 by Edgar Wallace.
Skim names here — open a free preview to see character cards and Character Web beside the page as you read.
Michael Pretherston
major
Also known as Inspector Pretherston, Inspector Michael Pretherston, Mike, the soothing Michael, the new Michael, Poor Michael
Michael moves through drawing rooms and police files with equal ease, his elaborate Baker Street flat and inherited money marking him as no ordinary inspector. He first met Kate Westhanger over a vanished King's messenger's bag, and his estimate of her character has been modified but never shaken. His habit of sympathizing with the very people he hunts is the flaw that gives the investigation its strange, personal heat.
The Girl
major
Also known as the girl
She moves through the Flanborough household and beyond with a secretary's notebook and a gaze that misses nothing, her down-turned lips and grey eyes suggesting a sorrow she has not actually lived. Men explain things to her over and over, which is precisely the arrangement she prefers. Her true role in the theft and in Michael's investigation is the quiet engine driving the reader forward.
Sir Ralph Sapson
supporting
Also known as Ralph Sapson, Sir Ralph, Ralph, Sapson
Sir Ralph prides himself on summing up any man before he opens his mouth, yet he cannot see that the charming woman whose car broke down outside his house was working him from the first. He comes to Michael with two confidences: a business arrangement and the suspicion that his fiancee is carrying on with another man. His vanity and his money make him both a useful pawn and a liability in the case.
Kate Westhanger
supporting
Also known as Kate, Katharine Westhanger, the real Kate, Poor Kate
Michael first encountered her during a cross-channel case involving a King's messenger's bag, and later when the Muranic's strongroom was forced and twenty-five packets of diamonds vanished at sea. He judged her hastily at first, then revised his estimate without ever changing it. She is the criminal intelligence that gives the investigation its shape, and the personal history that gives it its sting.
Lady Moya Felton
supporting
Also known as Lady Moya, Moya, Felton, née Felton, little Moya, Moya Felton
Lady Moya employs a secretary, tolerates her father's condescension, and finds her fiance's attentions more suffocating than flattering. She meets a man in the park to sketch, a fact Sir Ralph reports to Michael with considerable agitation. Her old acquaintance with Michael Pretherston, and her cool, detached admiration of him, make her both a suspect's ally and a complication in the household where the pearls vanished.
Lord Flanborough
supporting
Also known as Flanborough, the enraged Flanborough, The Earl of Flanborough
George Percy Allington Felton brought two million pounds and a mean temper to a title he was only remotely related to, and he has been insufferable ever since. When eighty-three graduated pearls disappear from his household, he drafts an advertisement and whittles the reward down from two hundred pounds to a vague promise. His parsimony, his suspicion of everyone beneath him, and his uneasy relationship with his daughter make the Flanborough house a hothouse of resentment.
Señor Gregori
supporting
Also known as Gregori, Gregori the Kicker, the gallant Gregori
Gregori belongs to the shadowy crew operating the engine works, a man whose nickname suggests both menace and theatrical flair. When Michael pounds on the locked door demanding entry in the name of the law, Gregori answers only with a shuffle, an oath, and silence — then escapes with his confederates while hoisting the unconscious Dr. Garon into the locomotive cab. His cool evasion in the grey dusk shows how slippery Kate's organization is, and why Michael's pursuit keeps slipping through his fingers.
The Colonel
supporting
Also known as the Colonel, Colonel Westhanger, Colonel mio, Colonel
Colonel Westhanger is Kate's father and the nominal head of the conspirators' table, yet he alone receives no papers and is silenced when he questions her orders. His mild tolerance of her lateness and his growled objection to burning the instructions reveal a man whose authority has quietly passed to his daughter. That inversion — the Colonel seated at the head but taking orders — gives the early arc its uneasy family tension and hints at how completely Kate has remade the world around her.
Reggie Boltover
supporting
Also known as Reggie, Mr. Reggie Boltover, Boltover, Boltover senior, Mr. Boltover, Mr. Reginald Boltover, Reginald Boltover
Reggie Boltover moves in respectable circles, the kind of agreeable young man Mulberry describes with unctuous warmth after their very long talk together. Whatever was arranged between them is sealed in a stiff parchment that Kate reads and approves, making Boltover a quiet hinge between polite society and the criminal enterprise. His amiability is precisely what makes him useful — and what makes a curious reader wonder what a man like that is doing in a room like this.
A Young Man
minor
Also known as a young man
A recurring unnamed young man, possibly a narrative perspective.
Alphonso Blaxton
minor
Also known as Alphonso, Mr. Alphonso Blaxton, Mr. Blaxton, Fonso Blaxton, Fonso, the offending Fonso
A man involved in the events, possibly a suspect or associate.
Commissioner T. B. Smith
minor
Also known as T. B. Smith, T. B.
A police commissioner overseeing the investigation.
Mr. Mulberry
minor
Also known as The obedient Mr. Mulberry, the docile Mr. Mulberry, The meek Mr. Mulberry, Mulberry, Later Mr. Mulberry, H. Mulberry
A meek character who appears in various scenes.
Mr. Millet
minor
Also known as Millet, the puzzled Mr. Millet, the admirable Mr. Millet
A puzzled gentleman involved in the story's events.
Miss Vera Flemming
minor
Also known as Miss Flemming, Vera, Vera Flemming, Miss Vera Flemming
A woman with a role in the plot, possibly a secretary or companion.
The Princess Bacheffski
minor
Also known as Princess, Princess Bacheffski
A princess whose presence triggers key events in the story.
Mr. Cunningham
minor
Also known as Cunningham
A character who appears in the narrative.
Dr. Philip Garon
minor
Also known as Dr. Garon, Garon
A doctor who is consulted during the investigation.
Martin
minor
Also known as the tearful Martin, Mrs. Martin
A tearful servant or minor character.
Barr
minor
Also known as Barr
A minor character mentioned in the book.
Emil Tolmini
minor
Also known as Tolmini
A minor character with a brief appearance.
T. B. Michael
minor
Also known as T. B., Michael
A possible alias or separate identity related to Michael Pretherston.
The Doctor
minor
Also known as the doctor, The doctor
A medical professional who appears in the narrative.
Miss Tenby
minor
Also known as Miss Tenby
A minor character mentioned in the narrative.
Mr. Colling Jacques
minor
Also known as Colling Jacques, Jacques
A character involved in the story's events.
Francis Stockmar
minor
Also known as little Stockmar, Stockmar
A minor character referred to as 'little Stockmar'.
Señor Rahboulla
minor
Also known as Rahboulla
A foreign character with a minor role.
Beston
minor
Also known as Beston
A minor character mentioned in passing.
Sibble
minor
Also known as Sibble
A minor character with a few mentions.
Sebo
minor
Also known as Sebo
A minor character, possibly a location or person.
Emma/Evangeline
minor
Also known as Emma, Evangeline
A woman briefly mentioned, possibly confused with another.
Miss Westhanger
minor
Also known as Miss Westhanger
A relative of Kate Westhanger, mentioned briefly.
Parsons
minor
Also known as Parsons
A minor character, possibly a servant.
Thomas Massey
minor
Also known as Assistant-Inspector Thomas Massey
An assistant inspector who arrives from London.
Kate Pretherston
minor
Also known as Kate Pretherston
A possible married name for Kate, mentioned briefly.
