# Flora Carwell — Short Fiction character guide

> Flora Carwell in Short Fiction by J. Sheridan Le Fanu.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mrs. Carwell, Mrs. Flora Carwell, Flora Guy

**First appearance:** 0004-passage-in-the-secret-history-of-an-irish-countess

## Snapshot

A buxom housekeeper who scans the execution lists like a reader skipping to the last page, and finds there a name she cannot unsee.

## Who they are

Known in the household only as Mrs. Carwell, she has resumed her maiden name and buried her history so thoroughly that no one but her master suspects it. That history binds her to a scarlet-and-ermine judge whose crafty patronage placed her in her post, and whose cold disposal of a certain troublesome man she half-resents, half-fears. When the newspaper prints the hangings, her composure cracks over the little daughter who believes her father long dead, and the reader learns how much of this woman's beef-and-pudding practicality is armor.

## In the story

### [IV: Interruption in Court](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/iv-interruption-in-court)

Formerly Mrs. Pyneweck, she learns of her husband's execution and feels a mix of horror and self-upbraiding.

### [V: Caleb Searcher](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/v-caleb-searcher)

The Judge's housekeeper and Pyneweck's widow; questioned about her husband's family.

### [VIII: Somebody Has Got Into the House](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/viii-somebody-has-got-into-the-house)

The housekeeper, Mrs. Carwell, is summoned by the Judge to drink tea and discuss his dream. Later, her daughter reports seeing a strange man in the sedan-chair, and Mrs. Carwell investigates, becoming frightened.

### [IX: The Judge Leaves His House](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/ix-the-judge-leaves-his-house)

Sees a ghostly figure with a rope on the staircase; later becomes hysterical.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/characters/flora_carwell
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/characters