# Goarly — The American Senator character guide

> Goarly in The American Senator by Anthony Trollope.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mr. Goarly, scoundrel Goarly

**First appearance:** 0009-x-goarly-s-revenge

## Snapshot

A poor, ignorant Dillsborough man who killed a fox and went to law with a lord, becoming the unlikely cause of an American senator's crusade.

## Who they are

Goarly is a tenant so unfortunate with his land that he can hardly feed his children, and he has taken on Lord Rufford over seven shillings and sixpence an acre of damaged crops. The Senator admires him for killing the fox and for suing the lord, while Bean the gamekeeper would gladly hang him and the whole country feeling runs against him. He matters because his squalid grievance becomes the test case for whether English justice is anything more than feudalism.

## Relationships

### [Senator Gotobed](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_american_senator_se/characters/senator_gotobed)

_professional_

Goarly, a poacher, becomes a legal case study for Senator Gotobed's critique of English game laws.

### [Senator Gotobed](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_american_senator_se/characters/senator_gotobed)

_professional_

Goarly, a poacher, becomes a legal case study for Senator Gotobed's critique of English game laws.

### [Senator Gotobed](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_american_senator_se/characters/senator_gotobed)

_professional_

Goarly, a poacher, becomes a legal case study for Senator Gotobed's critique of English game laws.

## In the story

### [Goarly's Revenge](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_american_senator_se/chapters/x-goarly-s-revenge)

Appears with a gun on his own land, denies poisoning the fox, threatens to shoot any hound that enters his field, and is the focus of the crowd's anger.

### [XIV: The Dillsborough Feud](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_american_senator_se/chapters/xiv-the-dillsborough-feud)

The farmer accused of poisoning foxes, now pursuing a claim against Lord Rufford with Bearside's help.

### [Mr. Gotobed's Philanthropy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_american_senator_se/chapters/xvi-mr-gotobed-s-philanthropy)

The poor farmer who killed a fox and is suing Lord Rufford for crop damage; receives the Senator's sympathy.

### [XIX: “Who Valued the Geese?”](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_american_senator_se/chapters/xix-who-valued-the-geese)

The poor farmer at the center of the dispute; locals consider him a cheating knave, but the Senator sees him as a victim of feudalism.

### [The Senator's Letter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_american_senator_se/chapters/xxix-the-senator-s-letter)

Avoids meeting the Senator at the Bush Inn; his wife pesters the Senator for money; the Senator is dissatisfied with him.

### [The Beginning of Persecution](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_american_senator_se/chapters/xxxiii-the-beginning-of-persecution)

Has accepted 7s. 6d. an acre from Lord Rufford and withdrawn his claim, to the triumph of the club and Mr. Masters.

### [Mary's Letter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_american_senator_se/chapters/xxxiv-mary-s-letter)

Meets Lawrence Twentyman in Dillsborough Wood and is rebuffed by him.

### [XLI: The Senator Is Badly Treated](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_american_senator_se/chapters/xli-the-senator-is-badly-treated)

Absent from home; his wife claims he has been gone for a week and knows nothing of his whereabouts or the lawsuit.

### [The Senator’s Second Letter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_american_senator_se/chapters/li-the-senator-s-second-letter)

Goarly has turned evidence against Scrobby, confirming his rascality, but the Senator insists this does not affect the principle of the case.

### [Scrobby's Trial](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_american_senator_se/chapters/lxix-scrobby-s-trial)

Key witness for the prosecution, admits to laying down herrings supplied by Scrobby but denies knowledge of poison. His testimony helps convict Scrobby.

### [LXXII: “Bid Him Be a Man”](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_american_senator_se/chapters/lxxii-bid-him-be-a-man)

Skulks in Dillsborough Wood and attempts to sell his land to Larry, but is rebuffed.

### [The Senator's Lecture.—No. II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_american_senator_se/chapters/lxxviii-the-senator-s-lecture-no-ii)

Referenced in the Senator's anecdote about the hunting incident and Mrs. Goarly's goose.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_american_senator_se/characters/goarly
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_american_senator_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_american_senator_se/characters