# Holroyd — Short Fiction character guide

> Holroyd in Short Fiction by H. G. Wells.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** III, And Holroyd, III Holroyd, So Holroyd

**First appearance:** 0069-a-dream-of-armageddon

## Snapshot

A Camberwell engineer who kicks his 'Pooh-bah' helper and lectures him on superstition, never guessing what the great dynamo is becoming in the man's mind.

## Who they are

Holroyd runs the dynamo shed at Camberwell, a bullying, whisky-softened rationalist who likes a helper he can kick and who will not pry into the machinery. He takes on Azuma-zi as a cheap, silent pair of hands and treats his religious beliefs as a joke to be lectured away. His casual cruelty and blindness to the 'odd possibilities' of the man beside him set the stage for the strange worship growing around the big dynamo.

## In the story

### [The Lord of the Dynamos](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_25_se/chapters/the-lord-of-the-dynamos)

The chief attendant of the dynamos, a heavy, red-haired brute who bullies Azuma-zi and is ultimately killed by the dynamo.

### [The Empire of the Ants](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_25_se/chapters/the-empire-of-the-ants)

An English engineer accompanying the expedition, skeptical of the ants' danger.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_25_se/chapters/i)

Lancashire engineer traveling with Gerilleau; observes the environment and learns about the ants, reflecting on humanity's fragility.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_25_se/chapters/ii)

The English observer who scrutinizes the ants and the derelict cuberta through field glasses, noting their intelligent behavior.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_25_se/chapters/iii)

Observes Gerilleau's actions with growing unease, reflecting on the ants' intelligence and the futility of their response.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_25_se/chapters/iv)

Narrator recounts Holroyd's story about intelligent ants; Holroyd is trying to 'excite people' about the threat before it's too late.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_25_se/characters/holroyd
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_25_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_25_se/characters