# Liddy Allen — The Circular Staircase character guide

> Liddy Allen in The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Liddy, Liddy Allen, XV Liddy Gives the Alarm, Miss Liddy

**First appearance:** 0000-i-i-take-a-country-house

## Snapshot

Rachel's maid, whose nerves shatter at the first tapping and who refuses to set foot in the haunted hall.

## Who they are

Liddy is the household's barometer of dread: she sees the ghost, she insists upon it, and she will not be persuaded into the corridor for anyone's convenience. Her terror is comic and genuine at once, and it repeatedly forces Rachel to choose between comforting her maid and pursuing the strange noises herself. In a house full of secrets, Liddy's plain, unpolished fear keeps the supernatural menace feeling immediate and human.

## In the story

### [I: I Take a Country House](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_circular_staircase_se/chapters/i-i-take-a-country-house)

Rachel's maid, who is fearful and wants to leave after the servants depart and Thomas Johnson's warnings.

### [II: A Link Cuff-Button](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_circular_staircase_se/chapters/ii-a-link-cuff-button)

Rachel's nervous maid; she is terrified by the events and insists the figure was a man.

### [III: Mr. John Bailey Appears](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_circular_staircase_se/chapters/iii-mr-john-bailey-appears)

Terrified of the kitchen; screams and runs during the discovery of the body.

### [Where Is Halsey?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_circular_staircase_se/chapters/iv-where-is-halsey)

Helped Rachel to bed; searched for footprints; found a golf-stick on the lawn.

### [VII: A Sprained Ankle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_circular_staircase_se/chapters/vii-a-sprained-ankle)

Arms herself with a frying pan and reports Rosie missing.

### [XIII: Louise](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_circular_staircase_se/chapters/xiii-louise)

Attends to Louise in the sickroom, reports Louise's feverish talk about dead men and coffins, and shows nervousness about the house's mysteries.

### [XV: Liddy Gives the Alarm](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_circular_staircase_se/chapters/xv-liddy-gives-the-alarm)

Liddy raises the alarm about ghostly noises and claims to have seen a woman in white; she is terrified throughout the incident.

### [XVI: In the Early Morning](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_circular_staircase_se/chapters/xvi-in-the-early-morning)

Brings a light, runs for stimulants, and is mentioned as having brought Louise hot milk earlier.

### [XVIII: A Hole in the Wall](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_circular_staircase_se/chapters/xviii-a-hole-in-the-wall)

Liddy discovers the hole in the trunk-room wall and insists the house is haunted, threatening to leave.

### [Fourteen Elm Street](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_circular_staircase_se/chapters/xxi-fourteen-elm-street)

Brings Rachel torn scraps of paper from the library basket, which reveal a note arranging a meeting.

### [XXIII: While the Stables Burned](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_circular_staircase_se/chapters/xxiii-while-the-stables-burned)

Liddy reports the men near the stable, threatens to leave, but later assists Rachel by bringing a revolver and raising the alarm.

### [XXV: A Visit from Louise](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_circular_staircase_se/chapters/xxv-a-visit-from-louise)

Liddy expresses disapproval of the excitement and recalls Rachel's earlier shooting, showing her lingering trauma.

### [XXVI: Halsey's Disappearance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_circular_staircase_se/chapters/xxvi-halsey-s-disappearance)

Red-eyed and distressed, she mentions the new cook's suitcase initials do not match her name.

### [XXVII: Who Is Nina Carrington?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_circular_staircase_se/chapters/xxvii-who-is-nina-carrington)

Cries constantly; shares a moment of weeping with Rachel.

### [XXVIII: A Tramp and the Toothache](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_circular_staircase_se/chapters/xxviii-a-tramp-and-the-toothache)

Takes sick in the night; groans and mumbles in her sleep about handcuffs.

### [XXXII: Anne Watson’s Story](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_circular_staircase_se/chapters/xxxii-anne-watson-s-story)

Discovers the fresh break in the trunk-room wall and brings Rachel's muddy boots as evidence.

### [At the Foot of the Stairs](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_circular_staircase_se/chapters/xxxiii-at-the-foot-of-the-stairs)

Brings Rachel tea and a book, then naps before dinner.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_circular_staircase_se/characters/liddy_allen
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_circular_staircase_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_circular_staircase_se/characters