Phineas Finn · Characters
Character guide
Key figures in Phineas Finn by Anthony Trollope.
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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.