# Amy Reardon — New Grub Street character guide > Amy Reardon in New Grub Street by George Gissing. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Amy, Mrs. Reardon **First appearance:** 0000-i-a-man-of-his-day ## Snapshot Reardon's proud, clear-eyed wife, raised to expect distinction, must decide how long loyalty can survive the slow humiliation of a failing marriage. ## Who they are Amy Reardon married Edwin believing he would be a great man, and she has spent years watching that belief shrink into something she can no longer say aloud. She withdraws from friends like the Carters rather than endure their pity, invents studies and excuses to hide the truth, and grows quietly angry at a husband whose integrity she respects but cannot live on. Her return to her mother's house with the child marks the fracture the novel has been building toward, and her later encounters with Milvain test what she is willing to want. ## Relationships ### [Jasper Milvain](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/characters/jasper_milvain) _romantic_ Amy is drawn to Jasper's ambition and social success, leading to a relationship that contrasts sharply with her marriage to Edwin. ### [Edwin Reardon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/characters/edwin_reardon) _family_ Amy and Edwin are married, but their relationship deteriorates due to financial strain and differing values on art and success. ### [Harold Biffen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/characters/harold_biffen) _friendship_ Amy maintains a cordial friendship with Harold, who is a loyal friend to her estranged husband Edwin. ### [Alfred Yule](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/characters/alfred_yule) _social_ Alfred and Amy have a strained social relationship, marked by mutual suspicion and Alfred's disapproval of her abandonment of Edwin. ### [Edith Carter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/characters/edith_carter) _friendship_ Amy confides in Edith Carter as a friend and confidante, especially regarding her marital troubles and social ambitions. ### [Jasper Milvain](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/characters/jasper_milvain) _romantic_ Amy is drawn to Jasper's ambition and social success, leading to a relationship that contrasts sharply with her marriage to Edwin. ### [Edwin Reardon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/characters/edwin_reardon) _family_ Amy and Edwin are married, but their relationship deteriorates due to financial strain and differing values on art and success. ### [Jasper Milvain](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/characters/jasper_milvain) _romantic_ Amy is drawn to Jasper's ambition and social success, leading to a relationship that contrasts sharply with her marriage to Edwin. ### [Edwin Reardon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/characters/edwin_reardon) _family_ Amy and Edwin are married, but their relationship deteriorates due to financial strain and differing values on art and success. ### [Edith Carter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/characters/edith_carter) _friendship_ Amy confides in Edith Carter as a friend and confidante, especially regarding her marital troubles and social ambitions. ### [Alfred Yule](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/characters/alfred_yule) _social_ Alfred and Amy have a strained social relationship, marked by mutual suspicion and Alfred's disapproval of her abandonment of Edwin. ### [Harold Biffen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/characters/harold_biffen) _friendship_ Amy maintains a cordial friendship with Harold, who is a loyal friend to her estranged husband Edwin. ## In the story ### [A Man of His Day](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/i-a-man-of-his-day) Mentioned as discontented with modest living, having pushed Reardon into expensive arrangements. ### [An Author and His Wife](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/iv-an-author-and-his-wife) Urges Reardon to write for the market, expresses disappointment in his weakness, and reveals her growing pragmatism about money. ### [The Way Hither](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/v-the-way-hither) Introduced as John Yule's sister; Reardon meets her at the Grosvenor Gallery. ### [The Practical Friend](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/vi-the-practical-friend) Sits alone in the study, reflecting on her shifting interests from literary merit to practical success and gossip about authors. ### [IX: Invita Minerva](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/ix-invita-minerva) Tries to support Edwin but is sensitive to public opinion and criticizes his work. ### [X: The Friends of the Family](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/x-the-friends-of-the-family) Amy feels humiliated by her husband's lack of success and avoids society, pretending to be occupied with studies and household duties. She is distressed by their poverty and the need to sell books. ### [Respite](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/xi-respite) Shows vexation and shame at Reardon's borrowing from Carter, exhibits coldness and hardness as poverty strains the marriage. ### [Work Without Hope](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/xii-work-without-hope) Listens to Jasper's suggestions with interest, urges Reardon to be more sociable, feels the strain in her marriage. ### [XV: The Last Resource](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/xv-the-last-resource) Bitter and strained, she spends more time at her mother's house to save food and avoid conflict. ### [Rejection](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/xvi-rejection) Mentioned by Biffen as having been seen walking with Jasper Milvain in Tottenham Court Road. ### [XVII: The Parting](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/xvii-the-parting) Pragmatic and determined to maintain appearances, she opposes the clerkship as a disgrace and insists on a separation, returning to her mother. ### [The Old Home](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/xviii-the-old-home) Returns to her mother's home with her child after separating from Reardon; she is weary and defensive, rejecting her mother's suggestions to claim Reardon is mentally ill. ### [The Past Revived](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/xix-the-past-revived) Sends a cold, unsympathetic letter to Reardon about money and his duty to find work. ### [XX: The End of Waiting](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/xx-the-end-of-waiting) Mentioned as unwell and keeping to her room due to the shock of Reardon's actions. ### [XXIV: Jasper’s Magnanimity](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/xxiv-jasper-s-magnanimity) Discussed as being influenced by Jasper's talk of success, and as wanting her money for herself. ### [XXV: A Fruitless Meeting](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/xxv-a-fruitless-meeting) Living apart from Reardon; deposits his remittances in Willie's name, exchanges bitter letters, meets Reardon but refuses to return immediately, and agrees to a formal separation. ### [Married Woman's Property](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/xxvi-married-woman-s-property) Announces formal separation from Reardon, expresses intellectual growth and dissatisfaction with her life, criticizes love in novels, and engages in a pointed conversation with Jasper Milvain about his engagement. ### [XXVII: The Lonely Man](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/xxvii-the-lonely-man) Writes to Reardon offering to share her inheritance and return to him, but her letter is motivated by duty rather than love. ### [A Rescue and a Summons](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/xxxi-a-rescue-and-a-summons) Sends a telegram to Reardon from Brighton, where she is staying with Mrs. Carter, informing him that Willie is ill with diphtheria. ### [XXXII: Reardon Becomes Practical](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/xxxii-reardon-becomes-practical) Summons Reardon to Brighton due to Willie's illness; grieves the child's death and nurses Reardon. ### [Fever and Rest](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/xxxv-fever-and-rest) Writes a kind, appreciative letter to Biffen about his novel, which inadvertently deepens his emotional torment. ### [XXXVI: Jasper's Delicate Case](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/xxxvi-jasper-s-delicate-case) Writes to Jasper about Biffen's suicide; Jasper visits her to seek advice on his engagement to Marian. ### [XXXVII: Rewards](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/chapters/xxxvii-rewards) Now Mrs. Milvain, described as a perfectly-built woman with queenly grace; hosts a dinner party and tells an anecdote about Fadge. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/characters/amy_reardon - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/new_grub_street_se/characters