# The Squire — Short Fiction character guide

> The Squire in Short Fiction by M. R. James.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Squire

**First appearance:** 0016-martin-s-close

## Snapshot

A country landowner whose family history is bound up with an old book and an old wrong, and whose inquiries keep circling back to a black-cloaked stranger.

## Who they are

The Squire moves through the affair as a man of standing and conscience, anxious about a young librarian he has indirectly injured and pressing for details others would rather suppress. He is courteous, a little imperious, and clearly carrying knowledge he does not fully share, which makes his questions about the black-cloaked gentleman land with weight. His urgency to trace the book and the man behind it gives the early investigation its momentum, and his sense of responsibility keeps the human cost in view.

## In the story

### [Canon Alberic's Scrapbook](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_35_se/chapters/canon-alberic-s-scrapbook)

Dennistoun's companion who comments on the cost of masses for Alberic de Mauléon.

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

Sir Richard Fell is referred to as the Squire; he is the central figure in the later part of the story.

### [Count Magnus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_35_se/chapters/count-magnus)

The innkeeper at the village near Råbäck; he provides Wraxall with local traditions about Count Magnus, including the Black Pilgrimage, but is evasive about details.

### [A View from a Hill](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_35_se/chapters/a-view-from-a-hill)

Squire Richards, Fanshawe's host. He provides the binoculars and later reveals knowledge of Baxter's dark experiments.

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

Mentioned as the rector's companion during the initial conversation about the crowns.

### [An Evening’s Entertainment](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_35_se/chapters/an-evening-s-entertainment)

Exhausted after a day's shooting, he dozes by the fire and grumbles at the children's noise.

## Links

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