# Henry Ritchie — Short Fiction character guide

> Henry Ritchie in Short Fiction by Charles Beaumont.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Hank, Ritchie

**First appearance:** 0000-the-beautiful-people

## Snapshot

Criminal lawyer Henry Ritchie defended the nameless prisoner brilliantly, and now he drinks near midnight, unable to shake the man's warning that killing him will end the world.

## Who they are

Ritchie is the attorney whose unusually passionate defense of a common vagrant killer tipped off his friend Kaplan that something was wrong, and he is also a man whose marriage is audibly coming apart. He mocks the prisoner's logic—dreams within dreams, worlds with their own pasts—but the argument lands anyway, and he keeps pouring drinks to keep ahead of it. His skepticism and his dread pull in opposite directions, and the clock striking midnight is the story's tightening wire.

## Relationships

### [Max Kaplan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_8_se/characters/max_kaplan)

_friendship_

Henry Ritchie and Max Kaplan share a close bond, likely as allies or companions in their endeavors.

### [Mrs. Cuberle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_8_se/characters/mrs_cuberle)

_social_

Henry Ritchie and Mrs. Cuberle are likely acquaintances, possibly through family or community events.

### [Max Kaplan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_8_se/characters/max_kaplan)

_friendship_

Henry Ritchie and Max Kaplan share a close bond, likely as allies or companions in their endeavors.

### [Max Kaplan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_8_se/characters/max_kaplan)

_friendship_

Henry Ritchie and Max Kaplan share a close bond, likely as allies or companions in their endeavors.

### [Mrs. Cuberle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_8_se/characters/mrs_cuberle)

_social_

Henry Ritchie and Mrs. Cuberle are likely acquaintances, possibly through family or community events.

## In the story

### [Traumerei](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_8_se/chapters/traumerei)

Ritchie, the criminal lawyer who defended the boy, tries to maintain a cynical facade but is visibly shaken by the impending execution and Kaplan's probing questions.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_8_se/characters/henry_ritchie
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_8_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_8_se/characters