# Mrs. Drabdump — The Big Bow Mystery character guide

> Mrs. Drabdump in The Big Bow Mystery by Israel Zangwill.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Poor dear Mrs. Drabdump

**First appearance:** 0003-i

## Snapshot

The careworn widow who keeps 11 Glover Street and discovers the locked room, a landlady whose grim foresight has never once been wrong.

## Who they are

Mrs. Drabdump has buried a husband and two children and expects the worst as a matter of habit, so the fog and the gas bill and the stopped clock all fit her view of things. She rents rooms to Arthur Constant and knows the small domestic details that later become evidence, from the shilling-a-week gas arrangement to the exact hour she lights the kitchen fire. Her discovery of the locked door sets the mystery in motion, and her plain testimony anchors the case in stubborn fact.

## Relationships

### [Arthur Constant](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_big_bow_mystery_se/characters/arthur_constant)

_professional_

Mrs. Drabdump is Arthur Constant's landlady, providing him lodging and basic domestic services.

### [Peter Crowl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_big_bow_mystery_se/characters/peter_crowl)

_social_

They are neighbors and casual acquaintances, interacting mainly about the murder and local events.

### [Denzil Cantercot](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_big_bow_mystery_se/characters/denzil_cantercot)

_social_

Cantercot is a lodger in Mrs. Drabdump's house, leading to frequent but superficial interactions.

### [Tom Mortlake](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_big_bow_mystery_se/characters/tom_mortlake)

_social_

Mrs. Drabdump knows Mortlake as a fellow lodger and local figure, with no particular closeness.

### [Peter Crowl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_big_bow_mystery_se/characters/peter_crowl)

_social_

They are neighbors and casual acquaintances, interacting mainly about the murder and local events.

### [Denzil Cantercot](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_big_bow_mystery_se/characters/denzil_cantercot)

_social_

Cantercot is a lodger in Mrs. Drabdump's house, leading to frequent but superficial interactions.

### [Denzil Cantercot](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_big_bow_mystery_se/characters/denzil_cantercot)

_social_

Cantercot is a lodger in Mrs. Drabdump's house, leading to frequent but superficial interactions.

### [Arthur Constant](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_big_bow_mystery_se/characters/arthur_constant)

_professional_

Mrs. Drabdump is Arthur Constant's landlady, providing him lodging and basic domestic services.

### [Tom Mortlake](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_big_bow_mystery_se/characters/tom_mortlake)

_social_

Mrs. Drabdump knows Mortlake as a fellow lodger and local figure, with no particular closeness.

### [Peter Crowl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_big_bow_mystery_se/characters/peter_crowl)

_social_

They are neighbors and casual acquaintances, interacting mainly about the murder and local events.

### [Tom Mortlake](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_big_bow_mystery_se/characters/tom_mortlake)

_social_

Mrs. Drabdump knows Mortlake as a fellow lodger and local figure, with no particular closeness.

## In the story

### [The Big Bow Mystery](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_big_bow_mystery_se/chapters/the-big-bow-mystery)

The landlady who discovers Arthur Constant's body and raises the alarm.

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

The anxious landlady who discovers Constant's door locked and unresponsive, and fetches Grodman.

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

Testifies at the inquest, describing her discovery of the body and her interactions with the lodgers.

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

Landlady; her attempts to wake Constant and her discovery of the body are key to the timeline.

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

Found by Wimp at Arthur Constant's grave on Bank Holiday, soaked by rain, claiming she always makes an excursion on holidays.

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

Gains a new lodger, the old gentleman with a long gray beard, who rents Constant's rooms.

### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_big_bow_mystery_se/chapters/xii)

Mentioned as the landlady whose predictable reaction was part of Grodman's plan.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_big_bow_mystery_se/characters/mrs_drabdump
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_big_bow_mystery_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_big_bow_mystery_se/characters