# Mrs. Tebrick — Lady Into Fox character guide

> Mrs. Tebrick in Lady Into Fox by David Garnett.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** his wife, Silvia Fox, Silvia, fox, Poor Miss Silvia

**First appearance:** 0001-lady-into-fox

## Snapshot

A reserved, well-bred young wife with a hidden wildness at heart, who vanishes into fox-shape on a winter walk and gazes back at her husband with pleading eyes.

## Who they are

Silvia Tebrick is twenty-three, small, beautiful, and quietly self-possessed, raised strictly by a governess and her uncle yet suspected by her old nurse of being 'always a little wild at heart.' She dreads the hunt and hangs back when her husband drags her toward the hounds, and in that moment of resistance she becomes a bright red fox. Her beseeching gaze — asking pity, asking recognition — anchors the novel's central question of identity and love across an impossible divide.

## Relationships

### [Mr. Richard Tebrick](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_into_fox_se/characters/mr_richard_tebrick)

_romantic_

Husband and wife, deeply in love but strained by her transformation into a fox and his desperate attempts to maintain their bond.

### [Little Polly](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_into_fox_se/characters/little_polly)

_family_

Daughter and mother; Little Polly is confused and distressed by her mother's transformation into a fox.

### [Nanny](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_into_fox_se/characters/nanny)

_professional_

Employer and nanny; Nanny is devoted to the family but increasingly wary of Mrs. Tebrick's fox-like behavior.

### [Rev. Canon Fox](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_into_fox_se/characters/rev_canon_fox)

_family_

Daughter and father; Canon Fox is horrified and heartbroken by his daughter's transformation, struggling with faith and reality.

### [Puss](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_into_fox_se/characters/puss)

_friendship_

Former pet cat and transformed fox; Puss is initially a companion but later becomes a rival as Mrs. Tebrick's fox instincts grow.

### [Esther](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_into_fox_se/characters/esther)

_professional_

Servant and mistress; Esther serves Mrs. Tebrick with loyalty but is unsettled by her transformation.

### [Janet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_into_fox_se/characters/janet)

_professional_

Servant and mistress; Janet is a maid who remains dutiful but increasingly frightened of Mrs. Tebrick's feral state.

### [Nelly](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_into_fox_se/characters/nelly)

_professional_

Mistress and servant; Nelly is a maid who serves Mrs. Tebrick but is disturbed by her animalistic behavior.

### [Mr. Richard Tebrick](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_into_fox_se/characters/mr_richard_tebrick)

_romantic_

Husband and wife, deeply in love but strained by her transformation into a fox and his desperate attempts to maintain their bond.

### [Mr. Richard Tebrick](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_into_fox_se/characters/mr_richard_tebrick)

_romantic_

Husband and wife, deeply in love but strained by her transformation into a fox and his desperate attempts to maintain their bond.

### [Rev. Canon Fox](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_into_fox_se/characters/rev_canon_fox)

_family_

Daughter and father; Canon Fox is horrified and heartbroken by his daughter's transformation, struggling with faith and reality.

## In the story

### [Lady Into Fox](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_into_fox_se/chapters/lady-into-fox)

The vixen, now fully wild, is sullen and aggressive, refusing food and attempting to escape. She bites Mr. Tebrick and eventually leaves him when he opens the garden gate.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_into_fox_se/characters/mrs_tebrick
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_into_fox_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lady_into_fox_se/characters