# Our American Cousin — Character guide

> Key figures in Our American Cousin by Tom Taylor.

- [Asa Trenchard](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_american_cousin_se/characters/asa_trenchard.md): A drawling Vermont cousin who inherits an English fortune and, with rough-hewn decency, quietly hands it to the girl who deserves it.
- [Lord Dundreary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_american_cousin_se/characters/lord_dundreary.md): A lisping, whisker-blessed English lord who mistakes syllabubs for cherubims and turns every drawing-room errand into a small catastrophe.
- [Florence Trenchard](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_american_cousin_se/characters/florence_trenchard.md): Sir Edward's sharp-eyed daughter, quick to see through fortune hunters and quicker to champion the cousin she means to see happy.
- [Mary Meredith](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_american_cousin_se/characters/mary_meredith.md): The penniless orphan of Trenchard Manor whose gentle patience hides a claim to the estate she never dreamed of making.
- [Sir Edward Trenchard](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_american_cousin_se/characters/sir_edward_trenchard.md): The baronet of Trenchard Manor, mortgaged to the hilt and weighing whether to sell his daughter to save his name.
- [Mr. Binny](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_american_cousin_se/characters/mr_binny.md): Mr. Binny keeps the Trenchard household running in name if not in practice, appearing at doorways to announce arrivals and descending to the wine cellar to pour for his betters. In the vaults he drinks alongside Mr. Coyl
- [Georgina Mountchessington](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_american_cousin_se/characters/georgina_mountchessington.md): Georgina moves through the Trenchard drawing room as the family's most bankable asset, her beauty deployed by her mother in a campaign for a wealthy match. Lord Dundreary circles her with muddled gallantry, drawn by her 
- [Augusta Mountchessington](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_american_cousin_se/characters/augusta_mountchessington.md): Augusta sits beside her mother in the drawing room, coached to flatter the newly arrived American heir with talk of Sam Slick and Indian dresses. She performs breathless wonder at Asa's supposed frontier life, but her as
- [Mrs. Mountchessington](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_american_cousin_se/characters/mrs_mountchessington.md): Mrs. Mountchessington steers her daughters through the Trenchard drawing room like a field commander, instructing Augusta to study Bancroft and Sam Slick before greeting the American visitor. She greets Asa's every blunt
- [Captain De Boots](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_american_cousin_se/characters/captain_de_boots.md): Captain De Boots moves through the family's morning gatherings with a newspaper in hand and a mild apology always ready, more interested in old Soloman's crop than in the romantic weather around him. He belongs to the co
- [Abel Murcott](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_american_cousin_se/characters/abel_murcott.md): Abel Murcott works in Mr. Coyle's office and knows exactly how the steward's accounts have been cooked, which makes him both a liability and a weapon. In the wine cellar he lifts the keys from his unconscious master's po
- [Mr. Trenchard](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_american_cousin_se/characters/mr_trenchard.md): Mr. Trenchard belongs to the moneyed, letter-reading circle at Trenchard Manor, where Florence hands out the morning post and marriages are negotiated like treaties. His stake in the inheritance dispute keeps him hoverin
- [Hi](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_american_cousin_se/characters/hi.md): A minor character, possibly a servant, with brief dialogue.
- [Ma](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_american_cousin_se/characters/ma.md): A minor character, possibly a servant or family member, briefly mentioned.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/our_american_cousin_se/characters