# Mr. Moulder — Orley Farm character guide

> Mr. Moulder in Orley Farm by Anthony Trollope.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Moulder, whereat Mr. Moulder, Whereupon Mr. Moulder, the great Moulder, LXVII Mr. Moulder, Moulder⁠, Mr. Moulder⁠

**First appearance:** 0008-ix-a-convivial-meeting

## Snapshot

A commercial traveler of enormous appetite and equally enormous opinions, who carries the Orley Farm scandal through England's inns and parlors.

## Who they are

Mr. Moulder is a prosperous bagman whose dinners, brandy, and loud certainties make him a minor power among the men who move goods and gossip between London and the provinces. Fond of Dockwrath and contemptuous of anything he cannot chew or pay for, he treats the Orley Farm case as a fine story to be told over a chop. Through him Trollope shows how a legal quarrel becomes public property — retold, distorted, and relished far from any courtroom.

## Relationships

### [Miriam Usbech](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/orley_farm_se/characters/miriam_usbech)

_family_

Miriam Usbech is Mr. Moulder's wife, and their marriage is marked by her quiet suffering and his boorish indifference.

### [Miriam Usbech](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/orley_farm_se/characters/miriam_usbech)

_family_

Miriam Usbech is Mr. Moulder's wife, and their marriage is marked by her quiet suffering and his boorish indifference.

### [Miriam Usbech](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/orley_farm_se/characters/miriam_usbech)

_family_

Miriam Usbech is Mr. Moulder's wife, and their marriage is marked by her quiet suffering and his boorish indifference.

## In the story

### [The Commercial Room, Bull Inn, Leeds](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/orley_farm_se/chapters/vi-the-commercial-room-bull-inn-leeds)

A fat commercial traveler who enters the room with Kantwise; initially hostile to Dockwrath but later shares information about Joseph Mason and his father's business.

### [A Convivial Meeting](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/orley_farm_se/chapters/ix-a-convivial-meeting)

President of the commercial table, he enforces the rule of equal payment for wine, leading to a heated argument with Dockwrath.

### [Mr. Dockwrath in Bedford Row](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/orley_farm_se/chapters/xvi-mr-dockwrath-in-bedford-row)

Travels in the same train as Dockwrath from Leeds, but in a first-class carriage; he is dismissive of Dockwrath and Kantwise.

### [Christmas in Great St. Helens](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/orley_farm_se/chapters/xxiv-christmas-in-great-st-helens)

Hosts the Christmas dinner, boasts about his turkey and brandy, and engages in theological discussion.

### [John Kenneby Goes to Hamworth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/orley_farm_se/chapters/xlii-john-kenneby-goes-to-hamworth)

Mentioned as part of the Christmas party that advised Kenneby to visit Hamworth.

### [John Kenneby's Courtship](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/orley_farm_se/chapters/xliii-john-kenneby-s-courtship)

Mr. Moulder returns home drunk and irritable, disrupting the planned evening. He falls asleep in his chair, snoring loudly.

### [Mr. Moulder Backs His Opinion](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/orley_farm_se/chapters/lxvii-mr-moulder-backs-his-opinion)

Accompanies Kenneby to Alston, argues with Dockwrath about the trial outcome, and offers a ten-pound bet to back his opinion.

### [John Kenneby's Doom](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/orley_farm_se/chapters/lxxvii-john-kenneby-s-doom)

Hosts the supper party to celebrate Lady Mason's triumph, but becomes angry when guests suggest her guilt.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/orley_farm_se/characters/mr_moulder
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/orley_farm_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/orley_farm_se/characters