# Elihu Willsson — Red Harvest character guide

> Elihu Willsson in Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Mr. Willsson, old Elihu, Willsson, the Willsson, Elihu, Mr. Elihu Willsson, Old Elihu

**First appearance:** 0003-ii-the-czar-of-poisonville

## Snapshot

The aging industrialist who owns Personville's mines and newspapers, a ruthless old rowdy who armed the town's gangsters and now wants the mess cleaned up.

## Who they are

Elihu built Personville's power structure by importing gunmen to break a strike, then lost control of the men he hired, and his reform-minded son Donald was murdered after trying to expose the corruption. When the narrator presses him for the inside of Personville politics, Elihu bellows and throws him out, insisting the killing was a private matter and refusing to admit his own role. His refusal to talk sense is what forces the narrator to work the town from the bottom up, playing the gangs against each other.

## Relationships

### [The Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/characters/the_narrator)

_rivalry_

Elihu Willsson, the corrupt industrialist who controls the town, is the Narrator's primary antagonist, representing the ultimate source of the city's corruption.

### [The Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/characters/the_narrator)

_rivalry_

Elihu Willsson, the corrupt industrialist who controls the town, is the Narrator's primary antagonist, representing the ultimate source of the city's corruption.

### [The Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/characters/the_narrator)

_rivalry_

Elihu Willsson, the corrupt industrialist who controls the town, is the Narrator's primary antagonist, representing the ultimate source of the city's corruption.

## In the story

### [Red Harvest](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/red-harvest)

The powerful and corrupt 'Czar of Poisonville' and father of Donald.

### [I: A Woman in Green and a Man in Gray](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/i-a-woman-in-green-and-a-man-in-gray)

Referred to as the 'Czar of Poisonville' who used his son in a reform scheme.

### [II: The Czar of Poisonville](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/ii-the-czar-of-poisonville)

The czar of Poisonville, propped up in bed, angrily blames his daughter-in-law for the murder and dismisses political angles.

### [V: Old Elihu Talks Sense](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/v-old-elihu-talks-sense)

Kills a burglar (Yakima Shorty) in self-defense; hires the Continental Detective Agency for $10,000 to rid Personville of corruption.

### [VII: That’s Why I Sewed You Up](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/vii-that-s-why-i-sewed-you-up)

Mentioned as the source of the check and the target of the narrator's scheme to expose corruption.

### [XVII: Reno](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/xvii-reno)

Mentioned as receiving a visit from Lew Yard and Pete the Finn.

### [XVIII: Painter Street](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/xviii-painter-street)

His house is mentioned as a location for Whisper Thaler and as a potential meeting place for peace talks.

### [XIX: The Peace Conference](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/xix-the-peace-conference)

Hosts the peace conference, attempts to broker a compromise, and later admits to being a hostage in his own home.

### [XXIII: Mr. Charles Proctor Dawn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/xxiii-mr-charles-proctor-dawn)

His love letters to Dinah Brand are found in Dawn's possession.

### [Wanted](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/xxiv-wanted)

The narrator plans to blackmail him with love letters stolen from Dawn.

### [XXV: Whiskeytown](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/xxv-whiskeytown)

The narrator ends up on his front steps after escaping the gunfight.

### [XXVI: Blackmail](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/chapters/xxvi-blackmail)

Is blackmailed by the narrator into reclaiming Personville; offers the narrator the chief of police position but is refused.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/characters/elihu_willsson
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/red_harvest_se/characters