Character guide

Phineas Finn

major

Also known as Mr. Finn, Mr. Phineas Finn, Mr. Phineas, Finn, young Finn, Monk

Phineas arrives in London with charm, ambition, and almost no money, and quickly discovers that a parliamentary seat is only the beginning of the game. He is drawn to Lady Laura Standish's political world and to Violet Effingham's beauty, yet he cannot afford to marry either without sacrificing the career that defines him. His habit of walking over volcanoes — courting danger in love and politics alike — makes him the book's restless center.

Lady Laura Standish

major

Also known as Lady Laura, Laura Standish, Lady Laura Kennedy, Laura

Lady Laura Standish is the daughter of the Earl of Brentford and the woman who first steers Phineas toward a parliamentary career. She chooses Mr. Kennedy for position rather than affection, and the marriage quickly becomes a cage of punctuality and duty. Her fierce loyalty to Phineas — and her confession that she married wrongly — drives the novel's central tangle of love, friendship, and ambition.

Violet Effingham

major

Also known as Miss Effingham, Miss Violet Effingham, Violet

Violet Effingham is beautiful, rich, and pursued by more suitors than she cares to count, including the volatile Lord Chiltern and the penniless Phineas Finn. She deflects proposals with wit and keeps her true feelings close, even as Lady Laura presses her to accept Phineas. Her independence and her refusal to be traded like property make her the emotional prize at the center of the novel's courtship plot.

Lord Chiltern

supporting

Also known as XI Lord Chiltern, Chiltern, red devil Chiltern, Dear Chiltern

Lord Chiltern is the son of the Earl of Brentford and Lady Laura's brother, a man whose reckless temper and dangerous riding make him both feared and pitied. He has proposed to Violet Effingham more than once and been refused, yet he cannot let her go. His feud with Phineas Finn — culminating in a duel — forces the novel's characters to choose sides between passion and prudence.

Mr. Kennedy

supporting

Also known as Mr. Robert Kennedy, Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, old Mr. Kennedy, Robert

Mr. Kennedy is a rich, rigidly regular member of Parliament whose wealth and political weight make him a useful ally and a suffocating husband. He marries Lady Laura believing she will submit to his clockwork household, and his jealousy and coldness slowly turn the marriage into a prison. His inability to imagine that his wife might have a will of her own makes him one of Trollope's most quietly chilling figures.

Madame Max Goesler

supporting

Also known as Madame Goesler, Madame Max, dear Madame Max, Goesler

Madame Max Goesler is a widow of mysterious origins whose charm and intelligence have won her a place in the highest political circles. She is courted by the Duke of Omnium, but she will be tender only on her own terms, and Lady Glencora watches her with wary admiration. Her independence and her refusal to be bought make her a quiet counterweight to the novel's marriage market.

Lord Brentford

supporting

Also known as VI Lord Brentford, old Lord Brentford, Brentford, the Brentford

Lord Brentford is the great Whig magnate whose interest at Loughton gives Phineas his seat in Parliament, and whose Berkeley Square house becomes the young Irishman's second home. He is estranged from his fiery son Chiltern and pins his hopes on a marriage between Chiltern and Violet Effingham, so the news that Phineas fought a duel over the same lady strikes him as a personal betrayal. His slow, wounded discovery of what everyone else already knows makes him both a patron and a test of Phineas's honesty.

Lady Glencora Palliser

supporting

Also known as Lady Glencora, Dear Lady Glencora

Lady Glencora moves through the novel's drawing rooms as the cleverest and most candid voice in them, married to the wealthy, rising Plantagenet Palliser. She confesses to Violet that she wed for ambition rather than love, and warns her friend against repeating the mistake, while cheerfully admitting she keeps her own secrets close. Her warmth toward Phineas and her frank self-knowledge make her the moral counterweight to the novel's calculations of rank and money.

Mary Flood Jones

supporting

Also known as Miss Flood Jones, Miss Mary Flood Jones, Mary Flood, Miss Jones, dear little Mary Flood Jones, Poor Mary

Mary Flood Jones belongs to Phineas's Killaloe life, the world of the Finns and the Flood Joneses that he leaves behind for Westminster. She refuses Mr. Elias Bodkin almost ignominiously and would wait forever if Phineas asked, but he is a gentle traitor, distracted by Lady Laura and the grandees of London. Her quiet constancy measures the cost of his ambition, and her mother's sharp-eyed skepticism keeps the romance from turning merely sentimental.

Mr. Low

minor

Also known as V Mr. and Mrs. Low, Mrs. Low, Low, And Mr. Low, Mr. and Mrs. Low

Phineas's former mentor and a London barrister.

Mr. Turnbull

supporting

Also known as Turnbull

Mr. Turnbull stands for the kind of uncompromising radicalism that the whips regard as a disease in a young member. Barrington Erle cites him as the sort of man who breaks himself on his own convictions, and his presence shadows Phineas's choice to support Monk's motion against his own side. He matters less as a personality than as the embodiment of the question the novel keeps asking: whether a politician can keep his principles and his place at the same time.

Mr. Mildmay

supporting

Also known as Mildmay, poor old Mildmay

Mr. Mildmay is the elder statesman at the head of the Liberal party, the man whose name gives a government its shape and whose retirement would set every ambition loose. He is spoken of with affection and a little pity, as a leader whose day is passing, and the maneuvering around his position drives much of the novel's political weather. For Phineas, he represents the establishment that must be served, admired, and eventually outgrown.

Laurence Fitzgibbon

supporting

Also known as Mr. Fitzgibbon, Fitzgibbon, Mr. Laurence Fitzgibbon, Laurence, poor Laurence Fitzgibbon

Laurence Fitzgibbon is Phineas's easygoing compatriot in the House, always true to him after a fashion and never quite solvent. When Phineas's career wobbles, Laurence's counsel is characteristically practical: pop the question to Madame Max, whose money is all true. His cheerful recklessness and his own scrapes with debt make him both a comfort and a warning, the friend who shows Phineas what a parliamentary life without discipline can become.

Barrington Erle

supporting

Also known as Erle, Barrington, Mr. Erle, Mr. Barrington Erle

Barrington Erle moves through London's Liberal circles as a fixer and whip, distantly connected to Lady Laura Standish and useful to anyone with ambition. Phineas Finn suspects that his own surprising selection for Loughshane owes less to merit than to Erle's management on Laura's behalf—a favor that quietly binds him. Erle embodies the machinery of Victorian politics: patronage, obligation, and the unspoken debts that shape a newcomer's rise.

Lady Baldock

minor

Also known as Phineas Finn Lady Baldock, the Baldock, Baldock, old Lady Baldock

Violet's strict aunt and guardian.

Mr. Quintus Slide

supporting

Also known as Mr. Slide, Quintus Slide, dear Slide, Quintus

Quintus Slide edits a paper that thrives on scandal and the humiliation of public men, and he nurses grudges with the patience of a man who owns a press. Where Phineas Finn wants to rise on merit and connection, Slide represents the darker arithmetic of Victorian public life—where a single paragraph can undo a career. His vendetta against Phineas makes him a persistent, petty, and genuinely dangerous antagonist.

Mr. Bunce

minor

Also known as Bunce, poor Bunce, the indignant Bunce, Whence Mr. Bunce

Phineas's landlord and a radical workingman.

Mr. Gresham

minor

Also known as Gresham

A leading Liberal politician and future prime minister.

Mr. Clarkson

minor

Also known as Clarkson, Whereupon Mr. Clarkson

A moneylender who pursues Fitzgibbon.

Mrs. Bunce

minor

Also known as Bunce

Mr. Bunce's kind wife who looks after Phineas.

Mr. Ratler

minor

Also known as Ratler, Poor Ratler

A government whip and political operator.

Lord Cantrip

minor

Also known as Cantrip

A cabinet minister and ally to Phineas.

Mr. Daubeny

minor

Also known as poor Daubeny, Daubeny

The Conservative leader and rival to Mildmay.

Mr. Bonteen

minor

Also known as Bonteen

A jealous politician who opposes Phineas.

Lord Fawn

minor

Also known as young Lord Fawn, XLI Lord Fawn

A timid young nobleman who courts Violet.

Plantagenet Palliser

supporting

Also known as Mr. Plantagenet Palliser, Mr. Palliser, Palliser, Plantagenet

Plantagenet Palliser is the earnest, somewhat stiff future Duke of Omnium, a man whose integrity is real but whose manner makes him easy to underestimate. He moves in the same parliamentary and drawing-room circles as Phineas Finn, and his cautious courtship of Lady Glencora—conducted with more conscience than charm—becomes a study in the collision of ambition, duty, and feeling. He matters because he shows what a serious political life costs a man who cannot be charming.

Lord Tulla

minor

Also known as old Lord Tulla

An Irish landlord and political figure.

Dr. Finn

minor

Also known as Loughshane Dr. Finn, Dr. Finn, Dr. Finn—Malachi Finn

Phineas's father, a country doctor in Ireland.

Mrs. Finn

minor

Also known as Finn, Dear Mrs. Finn, old Mrs. Finn

Phineas's mother in Killaloe.

Barbara Finn

minor

Also known as Barbara, Babara Finn

Phineas's younger sister.

Duke of Omnium

minor

Also known as The Duke, Duke of Omnium, The Duke of Omnium, Duke

A wealthy, reclusive old duke.

George Morris

minor

Also known as The Hon. George Morris, George, George Morris, Morris

A young man about town and friend of Fitzgibbon.

Mrs. Flood Jones

minor

Mary Flood Jones's mother.

Augusta Boreham

minor

Also known as Augusta, Miss Boreham

A young woman in society.

Lord Baldock

minor

Lady Baldock's husband, a minor nobleman.

Oswald Standish

minor

Also known as Oswald, Poor Oswald, Fancy Oswald

Lady Laura's younger brother, a dissipated heir.

Aspasia Fitzgibbon

minor

Also known as Miss Fitzgibbon, Miss Aspasia Fitzgibbon

Laurence Fitzgibbon's sister.

Mrs. Bonteen

minor

Also known as Dear Mrs. Bonteen

Mr. Bonteen's social-climbing wife.

Lady Hartletop

minor

Also known as old Lady Hartletop

An elderly society matron.

Bonebreaker

minor

Lord Chiltern's dangerous horse.

Lord de Terrier

minor

Also known as de Terrier, Lord De Terrier

A Conservative prime minister.

Mr. Robson

minor

Also known as Robson

A radical MP and ally of Turnbull.

Lady Cantrip

minor

Wife of Lord Cantrip, a society hostess.

Sir Everard Powell

minor

Also known as Sir Everard, poor Sir Everard

An elderly MP who dies, creating a vacancy.

Lady Blood

minor

Also known as old Lady Blood

An Irish neighbor of the Finns.

Duke of St. Bungay

minor

Also known as the St. Bungay people, The Duke of St. Bungay

A senior statesman and advisor.

Gustavus

minor

A servant or minor character in the Standish household.

Mrs. Stackpoole

minor

An Irish acquaintance of the Finns.

Dr. Macnuthrie

minor

A doctor who attends to a duel.

Sir Marmaduke Morecombe

minor

Also known as Sir Marmaduke

A political figure and friend of Phineas.

Captain Colepepper

minor

Also known as Colepepper

A friend of Lord Chiltern.

Mr. Appledom

minor

Also known as Old Mr. Appledom, Poor Mr. Appledom

An elderly gentleman in society.

Meg Merrilies

minor

Also known as Meg

A gypsy woman who tells fortunes.

Mr. Roby

minor

Also known as Roby

A Conservative whip.

Sir Harry Coldfoot

minor

A government minister.

Lord Silverbridge

minor

The Duke of Omnium's grandson.

Moroni

minor

A servant of Madame Goesler.

Miss Pouncefoot

minor

A minor society figure.

Lord Plinlimmon

minor

Also known as Plinlimmon

A Welsh peer and political figure.

Mr. Shortribs

minor

Also known as Shortribs

A minor MP.

Marian Persse

minor

Also known as Miss Persse

An Irish acquaintance of Phineas.

Charles Standish

minor

Also known as Charles

A relative of Lady Laura.

Donald Bean

minor

Also known as XV Donald Bean, Bean

A Scottish pony dealer.

Captain Clutterbuck

minor

Also known as A certain Captain Clutterbuck

A friend of Lord Chiltern.

Viscount Thrift

minor

A minor political figure.

Mr. Vellum

minor

Also known as Vellum

A lawyer involved in legal matters.

Lord James FitzHoward

minor

Also known as young Lord James FitzHoward, Lord James

A young nobleman in society.

Lambert St. George

minor

Also known as Mr. Lambert St. George, Mr. St. George, George

A friend of Phineas from Ireland.

Mr. Elias Bodkin

minor

Also known as Mr. Bodkin

A Dublin attorney.

Frank Moody

minor

Also known as Moody, old Moody

A servant at Loughlinter.

Mary Rivers

minor

A young woman in Killaloe.

Sir Walter Morrison

minor

Also known as Walter, Morrison

A political figure.

Mrs. Gresham

minor

Also known as Gresham

Wife of Mr. Gresham.

Mr. Western

minor

A minor political figure.

Dr. O'Shaughnessy

minor

Also known as O'Shaughnessy

An Irish doctor.

Mr. Fothergill

minor

Also known as Fothergill

The Duke of Omnium's agent.

Mrs. Callaghan

minor

Also known as old Mrs. Callaghan

An Irish neighbor.

Mr. Howard Macleod

minor

A Scottish friend of Phineas.