Character guide

Tom Driscoll

major

Also known as Marse Driscoll, Marse Tom Driscoll, young Tom Driscoll, Young Tom Driscoll, Thomas à Becket Driscoll, Thomas à Becket, Tommy

Tom returns from college to his uncle's household as the presumed Driscoll heir, expecting indulgence and finding his aunt's and the Judge's hopes pinned on his reform. He craves money, status, and the freedom to spend both without consequence, and his charm curdles fast when denied. His letters home are flattering fictions, and Wilson's private wink at Mrs. Pratt's praise signals how much of Tom's respectability is performance.

Roxana

major

Also known as Roxy, old Roxy

Roxy belongs to Judge Driscoll's household, a woman whose beauty, nerve, and fierce maternal love set her apart even in bondage. After years of steamboat work she returns to Dawson's Landing poor, disabled, and dreaming of her son's kindness, though she knows his crueler side too well. Her mixture of cunning, tenderness, and self-deception makes her the quiet engine of the novel's central deception.

Pudd'nhead Wilson

major

Also known as David Wilson, Mr. David Wilson, young Wilson, Mr. Wilson, Dave Wilson, Dave, Misto Wilson

Wilson arrives in Dawson's Landing as a young lawyer and is promptly ruined socially by a remark the town misreads as idiocy. He keeps his humor, his calendar of aphorisms, and his hobby of fingerprinting, befriending the Italian twins when no one else will. His patient observation and unfashionable science make him the one man in town who might eventually read the truth others cannot see.

Chambers

supporting

Also known as Valet de Chambers

Chambers grows up as young Tom's valet and whipping boy, learning deference so thoroughly that it shapes his voice and bearing. He is mocked, ordered about, and treated as property, yet he shares a household and a childhood with the boy who will inherit everything. His quiet endurance and the stark contrast with Tom's arrogance make him the story's living measure of what the town's racial order costs.

Judge Driscoll

supporting

Also known as the Judge, the old Judge, York Leicester Driscoll, Old Driscoll

The Judge is the town's leading man, secure enough in his standing to hold unorthodox views and keep his place. He dotes on his nephew Tom with a mixture of pride and anxious hope, and he treats Wilson with a tenderness that the rest of the town finds puzzling. His authority and his blind spots both matter: he sets the social weather of the story and cannot imagine the deception unfolding under his own roof.

Count Luigi

supporting

Also known as Luigi

Luigi and his brother Angelo take lodgings with Aunt Patsy Cooper, becoming the town's first exotic sensation and the object of everyone's curiosity. He is polished, traveled, and self-possessed, but his foreignness and his willingness to defend his honor make him a target for local suspicion. His friendship with Wilson and his presence at the center of the town's gossip place him squarely in the novel's social drama.

Count Angelo Capello

supporting

Also known as Angelo Capello, Angelo

The gentler half of a pair of Italian twins, Angelo Capello is courteous, devout, and quietly overshadowed by his brother's theatrics in a town that barely knows what to make of foreigners.

Pembroke Howard

minor

Also known as Howard

A lawyer and friend of Judge Driscoll, involved in the duel.

Constable Blake

minor

Also known as Blake

The town constable who investigates the murder.

Mrs. Rachel Pratt

minor

Also known as Mrs. Pratt, Pratt

A kind woman who helps Roxana after her return.

Rowena

minor

A young woman briefly courted by Tom.

Aunt Patsy Cooper

minor

Also known as Aunt Patsy, Patsy Cooper, Patsy

A local woman who hosts the twins and others.

Mrs. Percy Driscoll

minor

Also known as Percy Driscoll

Tom's mother, who dies early in the story.

John Buckstone

minor

Also known as Buckstone

A local politician and friend of Judge Driscoll.

Dawson

minor

The founder of Dawson's Landing, mentioned in the town's name.

William Hicks

minor

A minor character mentioned in passing.

Justice Robinson

minor

Also known as Mr. Justice Robinson

A local justice involved in legal proceedings.

Sally Jackson

minor

Also known as Jackson

A minor character mentioned in the narrative.

Jim Bangs

minor

A minor character in the town.