# Lord Gerald — The Duke’s Children character guide > Lord Gerald in The Duke’s Children by Anthony Trollope. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** Gerald, Lord Gerald Palliser, Gerald Palliser **First appearance:** 0000-i-when-the-duchess-was-dead ## Snapshot The Duke's younger son, barely twenty-one, who loses three thousand four hundred pounds at cards in a single night and must confess it to his father. ## Who they are Gerald is the Cambridge son whose gambling debt lands the family in a moral and financial crisis, forcing him to stand bolt upright before the Duke and admit the sum. His shame and his naive hope of winning back what he lost expose the recklessness beneath the Palliser name, while his instinct to turn to Silverbridge shows the brothers' loyalty. The Duke's Latin rebuke and Gerald's relief that the worst is over mark the generational gap the novel keeps probing. ## Relationships ### [Lord Silverbridge](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duke_s_children_se/characters/lord_silverbridge) _family_ Lord Gerald is Silverbridge's younger brother, with a warm but somewhat distant sibling relationship due to age and interests. ### [Lord Silverbridge](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duke_s_children_se/characters/lord_silverbridge) _family_ Lord Gerald is Silverbridge's younger brother, with a warm but somewhat distant sibling relationship due to age and interests. ### [Lord Silverbridge](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duke_s_children_se/characters/lord_silverbridge) _family_ Lord Gerald is Silverbridge's younger brother, with a warm but somewhat distant sibling relationship due to age and interests. ## In the story ### [When the Duchess Was Dead](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duke_s_children_se/chapters/i-when-the-duchess-was-dead) The Duke's younger son, sent to Trinity College, Cambridge after the family's return from abroad. ### [The Derby](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duke_s_children_se/chapters/xvii-the-derby) Silverbridge's younger brother, he defies Cambridge restrictions to attend the Derby, but is counseled by his brother to return before curfew. ### [One of the Results of the Derby](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duke_s_children_se/chapters/xviii-one-of-the-results-of-the-derby) Has been sent down from Cambridge for attending the Derby against orders; discusses his fate with Silverbridge. ### [No; My Lord, I Do Not](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duke_s_children_se/chapters/xix-no-my-lord-i-do-not) His gambling debt is the subject of Silverbridge's distress and the Duke's anger. ### [The Duke in His Study](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duke_s_children_se/chapters/xxii-the-duke-in-his-study) Mentioned as having been expelled from Cambridge, adding to the Duke's family sorrows. ### [A Family Breakfast-Table](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duke_s_children_se/chapters/xxv-a-family-breakfast-table) Engages in banter with his father and brother, learns he will inherit Scotch property, and faces a summer of tutoring after his Cambridge expulsion. ### [Crummie-Toddie](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duke_s_children_se/chapters/xxxviii-crummie-toddie) Accompanies Silverbridge to Crummie-Toddie; initially dismissed by Dobbes as a boy, but proves himself an excellent shot, shooting forty-two birds and earning Dobbes' respect. ### [Again at Killancodlem](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duke_s_children_se/chapters/xlii-again-at-killancodlem) At Crummie-Toddie, obedient to Dobbes and efficient in the shooting. ### [XLIV: How It Was Done](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duke_s_children_se/chapters/xliv-how-it-was-done) Sends a telegram to Silverbridge expressing concern about the race. ### [There Shall Not Be Another Word About It](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duke_s_children_se/chapters/xlv-there-shall-not-be-another-word-about-it) Mentioned as having gone back to Oxford; Silverbridge deflects questions about shooting by referring to Gerald. ### [Lord Gerald in Further Trouble](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duke_s_children_se/chapters/lx-lord-gerald-in-further-trouble) Writes to Silverbridge confessing a £3,400 gambling debt to Lord Percival, expresses distress and asks for help, while insisting the Duke not be told. ### [I Believe Him to Be a Worthy Young Man](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duke_s_children_se/chapters/lxiv-i-believe-him-to-be-a-worthy-young-man) Returns from Scotland, learns of Tregear's accident, and resolves to confess his gambling debt to the Duke. ### [Do You Ever Think What Money Is?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duke_s_children_se/chapters/lxv-do-you-ever-think-what-money-is) Confesses his gambling debt to his father and receives a moral lecture. ### [The Three Attacks](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duke_s_children_se/chapters/lxvi-the-three-attacks) Gerald returns to his college, briefly noted as part of the household movements. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duke_s_children_se/characters/lord_gerald - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duke_s_children_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duke_s_children_se/characters