# Jack Grace — Short Fiction character guide

> Jack Grace in Short Fiction by Ring Lardner.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Jack, V Jack Grace, Grace, Grace Carter, Johnny

**First appearance:** 0000-my-roomy

## Snapshot

A fight manager with a novelist's instinct for forgery, Jack Grace invents a love letter to make a lovesick boxer fight, and sleeps fine afterward.

## Who they are

Jack Grace is the strategist in the corner, the man who sees a fighter's heart as just another opening to exploit. When his boxer Burke refuses to fight because of a woman, Jack proposes a daily stream of fake love letters signed with her name, reasoning that a sap in love will swallow anything. His calm willingness to manufacture heartbreak for a payday is the engine of the story's moral unease, and the early arc asks whether the scheme will work and what it will cost.

## In the story

### [Champion](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/chapters/champion)

Midge's mistress, who writes him a letter asking for money and expressing her desire to be with him.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/chapters/iv)

An old lightweight boxer who is tasked with entertaining Burke in New York. He playfully invents stories about wealthy women to amuse Burke.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/chapters/v)

The mastermind behind the plan to use a fabricated romance to motivate Burke for his fight.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/chapters/vi)

Writes the fake letters to Burke, successfully manipulating his confidence.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/chapters/vii)

Places bets with the narrator and helps refocus Burkey before the fight.

### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/chapters/viii)

Involved in the scheme to send Esther to Europe.

### [Old Folks' Christmas](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/chapters/old-folks-christmas)

Mother who tries to preserve family rituals but is hurt by her children's indifference and modern attitudes.

### [High-Rollers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/chapters/high-rollers)

A wealthy friend of Walter and Marion, they rent a cottage behind his house. He is involved in the long-running gambling dispute between Parker and Hart, acting as a witness to their bets.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/jack_grace
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters