# Sir Maurice Harpenden — The Green Hat character guide

> Sir Maurice Harpenden in The Green Hat by Michael Arlen.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** old Maurice Harpenden, Major-General Sir Maurice Harpenden, Maurice, Sir Maurice

**First appearance:** 0005-iii

## Snapshot

A distinguished Major-General whose rigid old-world code collides with his son Napier's restless generation, making every family dinner a quiet battlefield of values.

## Who they are

Sir Maurice belongs to the older England of military honor and unspoken duty, a world the novel's young people are busy dismantling. His authority over Napier is real but brittle, and the friction between father and son exposes how much the war generation has drifted from its parents. He matters because that generational fracture runs beneath the whole story, shaping choices the younger characters make.

## In the story

### [XI: St. George for England!](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_green_hat_se/chapters/xi-st-george-for-england)

The owner of Sutton Marle, referred to as the 'lion of England'; Iris blames him for her past sacrifice.

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

Mentioned by Iris as someone who knows her better than the narrator; part of the promise not to tell Venice all.

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

Napier's father who forbade their relationship, calling Iris 'rotten stock'; Iris plans to confront him.

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

Hosts the confrontation; accuses Iris of stabbing 'us' in the back and questions her character.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_green_hat_se/characters/maurice_harpenden
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_green_hat_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_green_hat_se/characters