Character guide

Lord Peter Wimsey

major

Also known as Wimsey, Peter, old Wimsey, Lord Peter, dear Lord Peter, the notorious Lord Peter Wimsey, VII Lord Peter Wimsey

Lord Peter Wimsey moves easily through drawing rooms and vicarages alike, his languid wit masking a relentless investigative mind. What begins as a professional puzzle becomes deeply personal once he meets Harriet Vane in the dock and decides she is innocent. His willingness to impersonate a friend of the accused, charm reluctant witnesses, and pursue uncomfortable truths drives the novel's central inquiry.

Harriet Vane

major

Also known as Vane, Miss Vane

Harriet Vane stands accused not only of murder but of moral impropriety, her bohemian love affair with Philip Boyes laid bare for a disapproving jury. A self-made woman of thirty-nine who built an independent life through her detective fiction, she now finds her own genre used against her as evidence of cunning. Her guarded dignity in the witness box and her refusal to beg for sympathy make her both a compelling defendant and the emotional center of the story.

Miss Climpson

supporting

Also known as Miss Katharine Climpson, a Miss Climpson, Miss Kitty Climpson, Climpson, Kate

Miss Climpson runs a typing bureau that is not quite a typing bureau, placing intelligent women in positions where their observations prove invaluable. Her ability to deduce a stranger's entire history from a silver frame and a bunch of narcissus makes her indispensable to Wimsey's methods. Beneath her gossipy manner lies a disciplined investigator who can sit through a séance and note every detail worth noting.

Mr. Norman Urquhart

supporting

Also known as Mr. Urquhart, Both Mr. Urquhart, Neither Mr. Urquhart, Now Mr. Urquhart, Urquhart, this fellow Urquhart, one Mr. Norman Urquhart

Mr. Norman Urquhart is the kind of man who advises against libel actions and consults doctors before consulting police, a solicitor whose caution may conceal more than it reveals. When suspicion first surfaces about his nephew's death, he takes the sensible course of warning the accuser rather than pursuing the truth. His position as both grieving relative and legal adviser places him at the intersection of family loyalty and self-preservation.

Miss Murchison

supporting

Also known as XIII Miss Murchison, Murchison

Miss Murchison spent twelve years in a financier's office before the juggler's eggs all smashed and she found herself jobless at thirty-seven. Her advertisement brought her to Miss Climpson's bureau and, eventually, to Lord Peter's flat, where she accepts crumpets and a dangerous assignment with the same composure. Her unremarkable appearance and well-regulated heart make her the perfect agent to work unnoticed inside Mr. Urquhart's office.

Philip Boyes

supporting

Also known as Boyes, Philip, Mr. Boyes, this Mr. Boyes, this fellow Boyes, this unsavoury blighter Boyes, Mr. ¬ÝPhilip Boyes, the said Philip Boyes

Philip Boyes wrote five novels and many essays advocating doctrines the prosecution calls immoral and seditious, and he conducted his private life accordingly. He pursued Harriet Vane with unceasing importunities until she surrendered to an arrangement he refused to formalize, leaving her socially exposed and emotionally worn. His death by arsenic transforms him from a minor literary provocateur into the silent center of a murder trial that will judge his lover's character as much as her actions.

Bunter

supporting

Also known as Mr. Bunter

Bunter moves through Wimsey's world with the quiet competence of a man who has seen his employer through shell-shock, scandal, and the Bellona Club affair, and who now watches him fall for a woman on trial for murder. When Wimsey calls the situation damnable, Bunter calls it romantic, and his refusal to desert the ship signals a loyalty that runs deeper than service. His willingness to drop a hint when his lordship is being obvious makes him the one person Wimsey cannot deceive, and the early investigation depends on his discretion.

Miss Booth

minor

Also known as Booth

Witness and acquaintance connected to the Boyes case.

Chief Inspector Parker

supporting

Also known as Mr. Bleeding Chief Inspector Parker, Parker, Mr. Parker, old Parker, Charles, Charles Parker, Chief Detective Inspector Parker

Parker is the policeman who made a mistake at the start of the Boyes case, a fact that haunts his standing with Wimsey's family even as his competence earns quiet praise. He is also the man courting Lady Mary, which sets him against the Duke of Denver's conviction that Mary cannot marry a policeman. His position forces him to work the murder from the official side while Wimsey works it from the outside, and the friction between procedure and friendship shapes the investigation's early course.

Lady Mary Wimsey

minor

Also known as Christmas, Wimsey, Lady Mary Wimsey who had arrived late on Christmas Eve, Mary, Polly

Lord Peter's sister, who arrives for the Christmas holiday.

Mrs. Wrayburn

minor

Also known as This Wrayburn, Mrs. Wrayburn of Windle, Wrayburn, Windle, dear Mrs. Wrayburn

A woman involved in the spiritualist circles connected to the case.

Gerald de Wimsey

minor

Also known as Gerald, Wimsey

Lord Peter's elder brother, the Duke of Denver.

Mr. Pond

minor

A solicitor or legal figure involved in the case.

Hannah Westlock

minor

Also known as Hannah

A young woman connected to the spiritualist circle.

Mr. Bill Rumm

minor

Also known as Bill

A man with knowledge of the poison used in the murder.

Freddy Arbuthnot

minor

Also known as the Hon . Freddy, The Hon . Freddy, Freddy, the industrious Freddy Arbuthnot, the Hon . Freddy Arbuthnot, Fred

A friend of Lord Peter's, often involved in social matters.

Mr. Ryland Vaughan

minor

Also known as Mr. Vaughan, Now Mr. Vaughan, Vaughan, the man Vaughan, Ryland Vaughan, Ryland

A poet and acquaintance of Philip Boyes.

Sir Impey Biggs

minor

Also known as Sir Impey

Harriet Vane's defense barrister at her trial.

Miss Marjorie Phelps

minor

Also known as Marjorie, Marjorie Phelps

A friend of Harriet Vane's from the literary world.

Sylvia Marriott

minor

Also known as Sylvia

A friend or acquaintance of Harriet Vane.

Eiluned Price

minor

Also known as Eiluned

A young woman involved in the spiritualist circle.

Mr. Crofts

minor

Also known as Crofts, beast Crofts, XVI Mr. Crofts, Get Mr. Crofts

A chemist or pharmacist involved in the poison inquiry.

Nurse Williams

minor

A nurse attending to a character during the story.

Mrs. Pettican

minor

A witness or acquaintance in the investigation.

Pongo

minor

A nickname for a minor character, possibly a friend of Lord Peter.

Henry Brown

minor

Also known as Harry, “ Harry

A witness or minor figure in the investigation.

Mrs. Hodges

minor

A landlady or housekeeper providing information.

Mrs. Pegler

minor

A witness in the case.

Mrs. Craig

minor

Also known as this Mrs. Craig

A woman connected to the spiritualist meetings.

Waffles Newton

minor

Also known as Waffles, Newton

A minor acquaintance from Lord Peter's social circle.

Salcombe Hardy

minor

A journalist covering the trial.

Captain Tommy Bates

minor

Also known as Captain Bates, Tommy, Tom

A military acquaintance of Lord Peter.

Duchess Helen

minor

Also known as The Duchess, The Duchess Helen, Helen

Lord Peter's mother, the Dowager Duchess of Denver.

Mabel Herridge

minor

Also known as Mabel, darling Mabel

A friend or acquaintance of a character.

Miss Tweall

minor

A witness or minor figure in the investigation.

Mrs. Featherstone

minor

A woman involved in the spiritualist circle.

Mrs. Rumm

minor

Also known as Rumm

Bill Rumm's wife, involved in the poison inquiry.

Dr. Weare

minor

A doctor who provides medical evidence.

Mrs. Dimsworthy

minor

Also known as Mrs. “ Freak ” Dimsworthy

A woman involved in the spiritualist circle.

Sir James Lubbock

minor

Also known as Sir James

A legal figure or judge in the case.

Mr. Challoner

minor

Also known as Challoner

A minor character connected to the investigation.

Mr. Harringay

minor

Also known as Harringay

A witness or acquaintance in the case.

Ellen Pate

minor

Also known as Pate, Ellen

A servant or witness in the investigation.

Miss Etheredge

minor

A minor character in the spiritualist circle.

Cuthbert Logan

minor

A minor character mentioned in the narrative.

Madame Kropotky

minor

A spiritualist medium consulted in the case.

Alice Gibbons

minor

Also known as Alice

A servant or witness in the investigation.