# Mr. John Eldred — Short Fiction character guide

> Mr. John Eldred in Short Fiction by M. R. James.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** John, John Eldred, a Mr. John Eldred, Eldred, a Mr. Eldred

**First appearance:** 0003-the-ash-tree

## Who they are

A courteous, methodical man who chases a library book and finds his inquiries shadowed by another reader's collapse and a black-cloaked stranger.

## In the story

### [The Tractate Middoth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_35_se/chapters/the-tractate-middoth)

An elderly man with Piccadilly weepers who seeks the Tractate Middoth at the library.

### [The Tractate Middoth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_35_se/chapters/the-tractate-middoth)

The nephew who inherited the estate after his uncle's death, now hunting for the book.

### [A Warning to the Curious](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_35_se/chapters/a-warning-to-the-curious)

The rector who tells Paxton the legend of the three holy crowns and the Ager family's guardianship.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_35_se/characters/mr_eldred
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_35_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_35_se/characters