# Mr. Ledbetter — Short Fiction character guide

> Mr. Ledbetter in Short Fiction by H. G. Wells.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Mr. Ledbetter⁠—the Mr. Ledbetter

**First appearance:** 0055-mr-ledbetter-s-vacation

## Snapshot

A rotund, bespectacled schoolmaster whose summer holiday boast about the decay of courage is tested when adventure arrives at his boardinghouse door.

## Who they are

Mr. Ledbetter is a clergyman-schoolmaster on a much-needed vacation at Hithergate-on-Sea, where he falls into whisky-fuelled talk about the vanished days of bravery and the burglar as the last true adventurer. He deplores the security that has made his own life stagnant, then walks out into the moonlight doubting whether he would truly welcome the risks he claims to envy. His self-comparison between his safe pedagogy and the imagined life of daring sets up the comic and unsettling turn his holiday is about to take.

## In the story

### [The Triumphs of a Taxidermist](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_25_se/chapters/the-triumphs-of-a-taxidermist)

The taxidermist who narrates his triumphs to the author.

### [The Red Room](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_25_se/chapters/the-red-room)

The narrator, a confident young man of twenty-eight who volunteers to test the haunted room.

### [The Plattner Story](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_25_se/chapters/the-plattner-story)

The narrator who interviews Plattner and writes down his account.

### [Mr. Ledbetter's Vacation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_25_se/chapters/mr-ledbetter-s-vacation)

A round-faced, mild-mannered curate who, after a drunken discussion about adventure, attempts a burglary to prove his courage, only to be captured and forced into aiding a real criminal.

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

The little man beside the narrator, commenting on the crowd and pointing out figures.

### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_25_se/chapters/viii)

The saint who boasts of his holy sufferings and is humbled by the Recording Angel's reading.

### [The Land Ironclads](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_25_se/chapters/the-land-ironclads)

A war correspondent observing the battle.

### [The Beautiful Suit](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_25_se/chapters/the-beautiful-suit)

The little man who cherishes his beautiful suit and ultimately wears it on a transformative night.

## Links

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