# Susan Thorne — The Bellamy Trial character guide

> Susan Thorne in The Bellamy Trial by Frances Noyes Hart.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Susan Thorne Ives, Susan, Sue Ives, Susan Ives, Sue Thorne, Sue

**First appearance:** 0001-the-bellamy-trial

## Snapshot

The woman the state calls a murderess, whose defense rests on a single character witness — herself — and on the gamble that a jury will believe her face.

## Who they are

Susan Ives sits at the center of the People versus Susan Ives, a woman whose marriage into the Ives family and whose presence at the Bellamy house on the night of June 19 have made her the prosecution's chosen victim. Her counsel stakes everything on putting her on the stand, betting that the jury will see the gallant, true soul he describes rather than the calculating figure the state paints. Her testimony is the trial's emotional pivot: everything before it builds toward her voice, and everything after it measures what that voice was worth.

## Relationships

### [Mrs. Patrick Ives](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bellamy_trial_se/characters/mrs_patrick_ives)

_psychological_

Mrs. Ives manipulates Susan Thorne as a tool in her psychological games, keeping her close for control.

### [Madeleine Bellamy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bellamy_trial_se/characters/madeleine_bellamy)

_friendship_

Madeleine Bellamy and Susan Thorne are close friends, offering each other support and loyalty.

### [Robert MacDonald](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bellamy_trial_se/characters/robert_macdonald)

_social_

Robert MacDonald and Susan Thorne are acquaintances, their interactions limited to the social circles they share.

### [Elliot Farwell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bellamy_trial_se/characters/elliot_farwell)

_psychological_

Elliot Farwell exerts a manipulative influence over Susan Thorne, using her for his own ends.

### [Mrs. Patrick Ives](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bellamy_trial_se/characters/mrs_patrick_ives)

_psychological_

Mrs. Ives manipulates Susan Thorne as a tool in her psychological games, keeping her close for control.

### [Mrs. Patrick Ives](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bellamy_trial_se/characters/mrs_patrick_ives)

_psychological_

Mrs. Ives manipulates Susan Thorne as a tool in her psychological games, keeping her close for control.

### [Elliot Farwell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bellamy_trial_se/characters/elliot_farwell)

_psychological_

Elliot Farwell exerts a manipulative influence over Susan Thorne, using her for his own ends.

### [Robert MacDonald](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bellamy_trial_se/characters/robert_macdonald)

_social_

Robert MacDonald and Susan Thorne are acquaintances, their interactions limited to the social circles they share.

### [Madeleine Bellamy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bellamy_trial_se/characters/madeleine_bellamy)

_friendship_

Madeleine Bellamy and Susan Thorne are close friends, offering each other support and loyalty.

### [Madeleine Bellamy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bellamy_trial_se/characters/madeleine_bellamy)

_friendship_

Madeleine Bellamy and Susan Thorne are close friends, offering each other support and loyalty.

### [Elliot Farwell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bellamy_trial_se/characters/elliot_farwell)

_psychological_

Elliot Farwell exerts a manipulative influence over Susan Thorne, using her for his own ends.

## In the story

### [The Bellamy Trial](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bellamy_trial_se/chapters/the-bellamy-trial)

Defendant in the trial, charged alongside Stephen Bellamy.

### [The Bellamy Trial](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bellamy_trial_se/chapters/the-bellamy-trial)

The defendant, on trial for the murder of Mimi Bellamy.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bellamy_trial_se/chapters/i)

Defendant; described as a woman accustomed to luxury, witty and accomplished, who eloped with Patrick Ives and faced hardship in New York.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bellamy_trial_se/chapters/ii)

Defendant; stares contemptuously at Kathleen Page during cross-examination.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bellamy_trial_se/chapters/iii)

Mentioned as the subject of Farwell's warning and as being present at the club on the day of the murder.

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

Referred to as Susan Ives; mentioned in the context of the note and the possibility that Patrick Ives knew she committed the murder.

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

The defense attorney argues her innocence, portraying her as a gentle, gentle-hearted girl who has been unfairly accused.

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

Defendant; Lambert defends her, and Farr points to her confession of standing over the victim's body.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bellamy_trial_se/characters/susan_thorne
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bellamy_trial_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bellamy_trial_se/characters