# Sarah Leeson — The Dead Secret character guide > Sarah Leeson in The Dead Secret by Wilkie Collins. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Sarah, Leeson **First appearance:** 0001-i-the-twenty-third-of-august-1829 ## Snapshot A servant who fled Porthgenna with a deathbed letter in her keeping, and has been crumbling under its weight ever since. ## Who they are Sarah Leeson stood at her mistress's deathbed and came away with a secret she was never meant to carry, a letter still hidden in her own hands. Fearing and failing is the whole history of her life, as she herself admits, and the guilt has made her strange enough that other servants call her stranger than ever in her ways. Her dread of being found out is the buried fuse beneath Rosamond's bright homecoming. ## Relationships ### [Mrs. Jazeph](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dead_secret_se/characters/mrs_jazeph) _psychological_ Mrs. Jazeph and Sarah Leeson are the same person, creating an internal psychological struggle of identity and concealment. ### [Rosamond Frankland](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dead_secret_se/characters/rosamond_frankland) _family_ Rosamond is the daughter of Sarah Leeson, though she does not know this, creating a poignant hidden bond. ### [Mrs. Jazeph](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dead_secret_se/characters/mrs_jazeph) _psychological_ Mrs. Jazeph and Sarah Leeson are the same person, creating an internal psychological struggle of identity and concealment. ### [Mrs. Jazeph](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dead_secret_se/characters/mrs_jazeph) _psychological_ Mrs. Jazeph and Sarah Leeson are the same person, creating an internal psychological struggle of identity and concealment. ### [Rosamond Frankland](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dead_secret_se/characters/rosamond_frankland) _family_ Rosamond is the daughter of Sarah Leeson, though she does not know this, creating a poignant hidden bond. ### [Rosamond Frankland](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dead_secret_se/characters/rosamond_frankland) _family_ Rosamond is the daughter of Sarah Leeson, though she does not know this, creating a poignant hidden bond. ## In the story ### [Book I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dead_secret_se/chapters/book-i) The servant who hides the secret letter and flees Porthgenna Tower after Mrs. Treverton's death. ### [The Twenty-Third of August, 1829](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dead_secret_se/chapters/i-the-twenty-third-of-august-1829) Summoned to her mistress's deathbed, she is terrified and hesitant, swears oaths under duress, and hides the secret letter after Mrs. Treverton's death. ### [II: The Child](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dead_secret_se/chapters/ii-the-child) Tormented by the secret letter and her oath, she nearly destroys it but is frightened by a moving curtain, then resolves to deliver it. ### [III: The Hiding of the Secret](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dead_secret_se/chapters/iii-the-hiding-of-the-secret) Hides the secret letter in the Myrtle Room, writes a farewell note, and resolves to flee Porthgenna Tower. ### [Book II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dead_secret_se/chapters/book-ii) Her past actions and secrets continue to influence the present. ### [Book IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dead_secret_se/chapters/book-iv) Her past actions and the hidden letter become a focal point of the chapter. ### [I: A Plot Against the Secret](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dead_secret_se/chapters/i-a-plot-against-the-secret) Frantically plots to retrieve the hidden letter from the Myrtle Room before Rosamond discovers it; tormented by fear and guilt. ### [II: Outside the House](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dead_secret_se/chapters/ii-outside-the-house) Anxious and fearful, she reveals the letter is locked in a container and that she threw the key down a well; she is overwhelmed by memories upon seeing Porthgenna Moor and the church. ### [III: Inside the House](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dead_secret_se/chapters/iii-inside-the-house) Desperate to reach the Myrtle Room, she slips away from the group, retrieves the keys, and is paralyzed by a mysterious sound she believes is her late mistress's ghost. ### [IV: Mr. Munder on the Seat of Judgment](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dead_secret_se/chapters/iv-mr-munder-on-the-seat-of-judgment) Faints after a frightening experience near the north rooms; trembles and clings to Uncle Joseph, pleading not to be questioned about what scared her. ### [V: Mozart Plays Farewell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dead_secret_se/chapters/v-mozart-plays-farewell) Sarah is anxious and fearful after the encounter at Porthgenna Tower, insists on leaving quickly, and feels the sorrow of parting from her uncle. ### [Book V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dead_secret_se/chapters/book-v) Her past actions and the secret letter are central to the chapter's revelations. ### [VI: The Telling of the Secret](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dead_secret_se/chapters/vi-the-telling-of-the-secret) Sarah Leeson is identified in the letter as the biological mother of Rosamond, having written the letter under Mrs. Treverton's dictation. ### [Book VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dead_secret_se/chapters/book-vi) Her past actions and the hidden letter become a focal point as the Franklands' visit stirs up old memories. ### [I: Uncle Joseph](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dead_secret_se/chapters/i-uncle-joseph) Referred to as the niece of Uncle Joseph, the writer of the secret letter and its postscript, and the former servant who hid the letter. Her deteriorating handwriting in letters to Uncle Joseph indicates her declining health and distress. ### [III: The Story of the Past](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dead_secret_se/chapters/iii-the-story-of-the-past) Revealed to have been pregnant after a promise to marry miner Polwheal; forced into a lifelong secret by Mrs. Treverton's scheme. ### [IV: The Close of Day](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dead_secret_se/chapters/iv-the-close-of-day) Ill and suffering from a hallucination at close of day; overjoyed to see Rosamond and shares keepsakes from her past. ### [VI: The Dawn of a New Life](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dead_secret_se/chapters/vi-the-dawn-of-a-new-life) Recently buried; her weary pilgrimage has ended, and she is remembered at the grave with the miner's headstone. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dead_secret_se/characters/sarah_leeson - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dead_secret_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dead_secret_se/characters