# Viscount Saul — Short Fiction character guide

> Viscount Saul in Short Fiction by M. R. James.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Saul, the Viscount Saul, my Lord Viscount Saul, Lord Saul, the Lord Viscount Saul

**First appearance:** 0004-number-13

## Snapshot

A nobleman whose castle conceals something older and hungrier than hospitality, and whose courtesy to a visiting scholar may cost more than either expects.

## Who they are

Viscount Saul presides over his ancestral castle with the easy authority of a man accustomed to being obeyed, and he extends that authority generously to the antiquary who has come to study his family's papers. Yet his hospitality carries an undertow: he is eager, almost too eager, that his guest should see the castle's curiosities and understand its history. His interest in what his visitor might find — or awaken — makes him a host whose kindness the reader learns to distrust.

## In the story

### [The Residence at Whitminster](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_35_se/chapters/the-residence-at-whitminster)

Mentioned in folklore as a wicked lord who haunted the churchyard and pressed his face against windows.

## Links

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