# Mr. Williams — Short Fiction character guide

> Mr. Williams in Short Fiction by M. R. James.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Williams

**First appearance:** 0013-the-tractate-middoth

## Snapshot

A library colleague drawn into the aftermath of a disturbing encounter, whose steady presence helps piece together what happened in the stacks.

## Who they are

Williams belongs to the small circle of library men around the afflicted Garrett, one of those contemporaries who arrives when something has gone badly wrong and stays to make sense of it. He is level-headed and observant, the sort of colleague whose visit steadies a shaken friend and whose questions quietly gather the facts others are too rattled to supply. In the story's middle stretch, his willingness to look closely at what Garrett saw keeps the supernatural thread from dissolving into mere hearsay.

## Relationships

### [Nisbet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_35_se/characters/nisbet)

_professional_

Mr. Williams and Nisbet are colleagues or employer-employee, with frequent work-related interactions.

### [Nisbet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_35_se/characters/nisbet)

_professional_

Mr. Williams and Nisbet are colleagues or employer-employee, with frequent work-related interactions.

### [Nisbet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_35_se/characters/nisbet)

_professional_

Mr. Williams and Nisbet are colleagues or employer-employee, with frequent work-related interactions.

## In the story

### [The Mezzotint](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_35_se/chapters/the-mezzotint)

The museum curator who receives the mysterious mezzotint and witnesses its changing figure.

### [The Ash-Tree](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_35_se/chapters/the-ash-tree)

Sir William Kentfield, a guest at the Hall who assists in the investigation of the tree.

### [Letter I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_35_se/chapters/letter-i)

The letter writer, referred to as W. R., who informs his brother of Uncle Henry's disappearance.

### [Letter IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_35_se/chapters/letter-iv)

The narrator, who writes the letter recounting the strange events of Christmas Day, including the discovery of his Uncle Henry's body.

### [A Neighbour's Landmark](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_35_se/chapters/a-neighbour-s-landmark)

The narrator of the chapter, a bookish Victorian who discovers the cryptic verse about Betton Wood.

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

The narrator who listens to Paxton's story and later discovers his body on the beach.

## Links

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