# William Legrand — Short Fiction character guide

> William Legrand in Short Fiction by Edgar Allan Poe.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Mr. Willis, Mr. William Legrand, Legrand, Mr. Legrand

**First appearance:** 0044-the-gold-bug

## Snapshot

A reclusive naturalist on a South Carolina island whose obsessive pursuit of a cipher and buried gold tests his friend's patience and his own reason.

## Who they are

Legrand lives in self-imposed exile with his freedman Jupiter, his fortunes dashed and his temper moody, until a chance discovery sets his analytical mind ablaze. His feverish certainty about a hidden treasure strains the narrator's loyalty and the reader's trust in his sanity. Whether he is a genius or a madman is precisely the tension the story's middle arc refuses to resolve.

## Relationships

### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_14_se/characters/unknown_narrator)

_friendship_

The narrator is a close friend and confidant of Legrand, often accompanying him on his adventures and investigations.

### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_14_se/characters/unknown_narrator)

_friendship_

The narrator is a close friend and confidant of Legrand, often accompanying him on his adventures and investigations.

### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_14_se/characters/unknown_narrator)

_friendship_

The narrator is a close friend and confidant of Legrand, often accompanying him on his adventures and investigations.

## In the story

### [The Gold-Bug](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_14_se/chapters/the-gold-bug)

Legrand is the eccentric protagonist who deciphers the cryptic map and leads the excavation.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_14_se/characters/william_legrand
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_14_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_14_se/characters