# Mr. Thomas Shap — The Book of Wonder character guide

> Mr. Thomas Shap in The Book of Wonder by Lord Dunsany.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Mr. Shap, Shap, the spiritual Shap, the real Shap, other Shap, Dirty Chu-bu, Chu-bu

**First appearance:** 0002-the-book-of-wonder

## Snapshot

A ponderable London clerk whose humdrum life cracks open into coronation and spiritual transformation, splitting him into a public self and a secret, other Shap.

## Who they are

Mr. Thomas Shap moves through the ordinary world of ledgers and routine, yet something in him answers to a stranger, more ceremonial calling. The tension lies between the respectable man his colleagues know and the 'real Shap' who worships at an altar no one else can see. His doubling matters because the early arc turns on whether a man can be crowned in secret without losing the life he already has.

## In the story

### [The Book of Wonder](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_wonder_se/chapters/the-book-of-wonder)

Appears as a spiritual figure in the chronicle.

### [The Coronation of Mr. Thomas Shap](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_wonder_se/chapters/the-coronation-of-mr-thomas-shap)

The protagonist, a businessman who escapes into a fantasy world where he becomes king, ultimately losing touch with reality.

### [List of Illustrations](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_wonder_se/chapters/list-of-illustrations)

Referenced in the illustration 'The Coronation of Mr. Thomas Shap'.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_wonder_se/characters/mr_thomas_shap
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_wonder_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_wonder_se/characters