# Nordenholt — Nordenholt’s Million character guide > Nordenholt in Nordenholt’s Million by J. J. Connington. **Role:** major **Also known as:** V Nordenholt, Mr. Nordenholt, the Nordenholt, Nordenholt VII Nordenholt, the Nordenholt Gang **First appearance:** 0001-nordenholt-s-million ## Snapshot A millionaire of colossal will who seizes a blighted world by the throat, forcing the survivors of his Nitrogen Area into a brutal race against extinction. ## Who they are Nordenholt rules the sealed-off Clyde Valley as a self-appointed despot, driving mines and factories past breaking point while his spies watch a starving England beyond the frontier. His harshness grows from an obsession with finishing the work before catastrophe overtakes it, and even his closest lieutenants wonder where the man ends and the machine begins. Every early crisis in the Area is ultimately his to answer for. ## Relationships ### [Elsa Huntingtower](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nordenholt_s_million_se/characters/elsa_huntingtower) _psychological_ Elsa is both a trusted confidante and a moral counterweight to Nordenholt's ruthless pragmatism, creating a tense, obsessive bond. ### [Flint](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nordenholt_s_million_se/characters/flint) _professional_ Flint serves as Nordenholt's chief enforcer and right-hand man, carrying out orders with cold efficiency. ### [Jack](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nordenholt_s_million_se/characters/jack) _professional_ Jack is a subordinate and reluctant follower of Nordenholt's authoritarian plans, often clashing with his methods. ### [Uncle Stanley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nordenholt_s_million_se/characters/uncle_stanley) _family_ Uncle Stanley is Nordenholt's uncle and a familial figure, though their relationship is strained by Nordenholt's cold ambition. ### [Reverend John P. Vester](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nordenholt_s_million_se/characters/reverend_john_p_vester) _rivalry_ Nordenholt and Reverend Vester are ideological enemies, with Vester representing religious and humanitarian resistance to Nordenholt's control. ### [Mitchell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nordenholt_s_million_se/characters/mitchell) _professional_ Mitchell is a subordinate scientist or engineer working under Nordenholt's command, carrying out technical tasks. ### [Saxenham](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nordenholt_s_million_se/characters/saxenham) _professional_ Saxenham is a colleague or advisor to Nordenholt, involved in the administrative machinery of the survival project. ### [Simpson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nordenholt_s_million_se/characters/simpson) _professional_ Simpson is a subordinate or functionary who interacts with Nordenholt in a strictly businesslike capacity. ### [Jack](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nordenholt_s_million_se/characters/jack) _professional_ Jack is a subordinate and reluctant follower of Nordenholt's authoritarian plans, often clashing with his methods. ### [Flint](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nordenholt_s_million_se/characters/flint) _professional_ Flint serves as Nordenholt's chief enforcer and right-hand man, carrying out orders with cold efficiency. ### [Elsa Huntingtower](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nordenholt_s_million_se/characters/elsa_huntingtower) _psychological_ Elsa is both a trusted confidante and a moral counterweight to Nordenholt's ruthless pragmatism, creating a tense, obsessive bond. ### [Elsa Huntingtower](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nordenholt_s_million_se/characters/elsa_huntingtower) _psychological_ Elsa is both a trusted confidante and a moral counterweight to Nordenholt's ruthless pragmatism, creating a tense, obsessive bond. ## In the story ### [Nordenholt's Million](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nordenholt_s_million_se/chapters/nordenholt-s-million) Reveals his plan to isolate the Clyde Valley and save a million people, demonstrating his authoritarian vision. ### [III: B. Diazotans](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nordenholt_s_million_se/chapters/iii-b-diazotans) Not directly present, but the chapter sets the stage for his later actions by detailing the global food crisis. ### [IV: Panic](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nordenholt_s_million_se/chapters/iv-panic) Not directly present in this chapter, but the narrator's eventual involvement with Nordenholt's plans is foreshadowed by the Prime Minister's summons. ### [Nordenholt](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nordenholt_s_million_se/chapters/v-nordenholt) The 'Platinum King' and master strategist. He blackmails Prime Minister Biles, exposes the government's inaction, and declares himself dictator to implement his survival plan. ### [Nordenholt](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nordenholt_s_million_se/chapters/v-nordenholt) The unnamed narrator, an industrialist attending the meeting. He is impressed by Nordenholt's character and observes the political drama. ### [The Psychology of the Breaking-Strain](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nordenholt_s_million_se/chapters/vi-the-psychology-of-the-breaking-strain) Reveals his psychological depth, Spartan tastes, and philosophy of finance as a game; discusses civilization's impending death and his plans for the future. ### [VII: Nordenholt's Million](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nordenholt_s_million_se/chapters/vii-nordenholt-s-million) Demonstrates foresight and self-reliance by having posters ready immediately after the meeting; outlines his recruitment strategy and psychological manipulation of the public; reveals his plan to abandon money and labor laws in the colony. ### [VIII: The Clyde Valley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nordenholt_s_million_se/chapters/viii-the-clyde-valley) Establishes himself as the ultimate authority, implements a system of workmen's committees, uses propaganda through newspapers, and builds an Intelligence Division to monitor disaffection. ### [IX: Intermezzo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nordenholt_s_million_se/chapters/ix-intermezzo) Shows a caring side as Elsa recounts how he comforted her as a child; participates in the evening's conversation and insists on weekly outings to prevent burnout. ### [X: The Death of the Leviathan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nordenholt_s_million_se/chapters/x-the-death-of-the-leviathan) Organizes the intelligence department, orchestrates the psychological campaign of rumour and false plague warnings, and controls the flow of information to break the social organism. ### [XI: Fata Morgana](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nordenholt_s_million_se/chapters/xi-fata-morgana) Silent observer during drives; reveals his plan to make Jack his successor and imposes conditions for the role. ### [XIII: Reconstruction](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nordenholt_s_million_se/chapters/xiii-reconstruction) Guides the narrator on reconstruction, emphasizing the brute basis of humanity and the need for practical, flexible planning; remains aloof and grimly focused on his own tasks. ### [Document B. 53. X. 15](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nordenholt_s_million_se/chapters/xv-document-b-53-x-15) Shows visible signs of exhaustion and aging; refuses Elsa's plea to help the South, citing impossibility; expresses pity for the narrator's involvement with Elsa. ### [In the Nitrogen Area](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nordenholt_s_million_se/chapters/xvi-in-the-nitrogen-area) Discusses Elsa's emotional state with the narrator, admits she hates him now, and shows his own vulnerability. Also becomes more dictatorial as labor unrest grows. ### [Per Iter Tenebricosum](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nordenholt_s_million_se/chapters/xvii-per-iter-tenebricosum) Warns the narrator about the psychological danger of the revival and the threat posed by Reverend John Wester; contrasts his own rational appeal with Wester's emotional manipulation. ### [XVIII: The Eleventh Hour](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nordenholt_s_million_se/chapters/xviii-the-eleventh-hour) Imposes a despotic system, trebles output, deports failing groups, and grimly faces the sabotage of the pits, considering decimation as a last resort. ### [XIX: The Breaking-Strain](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nordenholt_s_million_se/chapters/xix-the-breaking-strain) Dies of exhaustion after overseeing the successful test of the atomic engine; his death marks the end of his leadership. ### [Asgard](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nordenholt_s_million_se/chapters/xx-asgard) Deceased; his death marks the beginning of the narrator's leadership and the reorganization of the Area. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nordenholt_s_million_se/characters/nordenholt - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nordenholt_s_million_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/nordenholt_s_million_se/characters