# Tom Marjoribanks — Miss Marjoribanks character guide

> Tom Marjoribanks in Miss Marjoribanks by Margaret Oliphant.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Thomas, Tom, Mr. Tom, the unlucky Tom, Mr. Thomas Marjoribanks, The unfortunate Tom

**First appearance:** 0001-ii

## Snapshot

Lucilla's hapless cousin, a young man whose genius for missing trains and arriving at the wrong hour makes him a permanent comic complication in the Marjoribanks household.

## Who they are

Tom arrives from India by the nine o'clock train just as the kitchen has been put to rights, hungry, apologetic, and utterly incapable of adapting to circumstance. His blunders are so reliable that Lucilla treats them as a fixed feature of the landscape, sending conciliatory messages downstairs while Nancy mutters about cold pie. He matters because he is the one person in the novel who cannot be managed, and his presence tests whether Lucilla's system can absorb the genuinely unabsorbable.

## Relationships

### [Lucilla Marjoribanks](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/miss_marjoribanks_se/characters/lucilla_marjoribanks)

_family_

Tom is Lucilla's cousin and a close companion, often supporting her social schemes with familial loyalty.

### [Lucilla Marjoribanks](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/miss_marjoribanks_se/characters/lucilla_marjoribanks)

_family_

Tom is Lucilla's cousin and a close companion, often supporting her social schemes with familial loyalty.

### [Lucilla Marjoribanks](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/miss_marjoribanks_se/characters/lucilla_marjoribanks)

_family_

Tom is Lucilla's cousin and a close companion, often supporting her social schemes with familial loyalty.

## In the story

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

Mentioned as an unexpected hindrance to Lucilla's plans, likely to make love to her.

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

Mentioned as arriving at an inconvenient time for Lucilla's plans.

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

Awkwardly measures the room for Lucilla and breaks a table, showing his clumsiness.

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

Disconsolate after being dismissed by Lucilla; brings an 'amusing' companion to luncheon.

### [Chapter VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/miss_marjoribanks_se/chapters/viii)

Lucilla's awkward cousin, who she ignores at breakfast and who appears in her nightmare as a rival groom.

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

On his last day in Carlingford, he works himself up to propose to Lucilla, but is rebuffed and advised to go to India.

### [Chapter XXVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/miss_marjoribanks_se/chapters/xxvii)

Writes from India about being wrecked and losing his boxes; asks his uncle to sell out funds; Lucilla finds comfort in his belief in her.

### [XXXVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/miss_marjoribanks_se/chapters/xxxviii)

Aunt Jemima's son, in India; his mother suspects he was once fond of Lucilla.

### [Chapter XLII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/miss_marjoribanks_se/chapters/xlii)

Mentioned by the Doctor as a 'stupid fellow' who will never be rich; Lucilla briefly considers him as a candidate for her social experiment.

### [XLVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/miss_marjoribanks_se/chapters/xlvii)

Tells Lucilla about Mr. Cavendish's visit and is sworn to secrecy in exchange for the hearth-brush.

### [LI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/miss_marjoribanks_se/chapters/li)

Shows tender devotion to Lucilla but is taken aback by her proposal to buy an estate.

### [Chapter the Last](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/miss_marjoribanks_se/chapters/chapter-the-last)

Returns to Carlingford, buys Marchbank, fits up the drawing-room in pale green, and wins over the community with his gifts and straightforwardness.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/miss_marjoribanks_se/characters/tom_marjoribanks
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/miss_marjoribanks_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/miss_marjoribanks_se/characters