# Mr. Weintraub — The Haunted Bookshop character guide

> Mr. Weintraub in The Haunted Bookshop by Christopher Morley.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Weintraub, Herr Weintraub

**First appearance:** 0005-iv-the-disappearing-volume

## Snapshot

A German druggist and bookshop customer whose pale violet ink and heavy suitcases of books do not add up to anything innocent.

## Who they are

Mr. Weintraub runs the pharmacy down the street and drifts in and out of the Haunted Bookshop with the easy familiarity of a regular, leaving a locked suitcase of old books to be called for by a friend. He writes his labels in a distinctive violet ink and eyes Aubrey with a wariness that Aubrey cannot quite explain. His presence threads the shop, the drug store, and the larger wartime anxieties of the story together, and the question of what is really inside his suitcase drives the book's middle act.

## In the story

### [Aubrey Walks Part Way Home—and Rides the Rest of the Way](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_haunted_bookshop_se/chapters/v-aubrey-walks-part-way-home-and-rides-the-rest-of-the-way)

The druggist with stained fingers, denies smoking, and acts suspiciously when Aubrey visits his shop.

### [Aubrey Goes to the Movies, and Wishes He Knew More German](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_haunted_bookshop_se/chapters/viii-aubrey-goes-to-the-movies-and-wishes-he-knew-more-german)

Aubrey notices Weintraub eyes him queerly at the pharmacy and uses pale violet ink.

### [XI: Titania Tries Reading in Bed](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_haunted_bookshop_se/chapters/xi-titania-tries-reading-in-bed)

Seen by Aubrey using a key to enter the bookshop stealthily at night, retrieving a book with a flashlight, and leaving quietly.

### [Aubrey Determines to Give Service That’s Different](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_haunted_bookshop_se/chapters/xii-aubrey-determines-to-give-service-that-s-different)

Observed by Aubrey in his prescription room and cellar; his face transforms into a cruel, jowlish mask, and he is seen conducting suspicious chemical work.

### [XIII: The Battle of Ludlow Street](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_haunted_bookshop_se/chapters/xiii-the-battle-of-ludlow-street)

Aubrey expected to see Weintraub on the train, but he does not appear, deepening Aubrey's suspicions.

### [XIV: The Cromwell Makes Its Last Appearance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_haunted_bookshop_se/chapters/xiv-the-cromwell-makes-its-last-appearance)

Weintraub is implicated in the plot; he left a suitcase of books at the shop and is suspected of making a fake key and a fake phone call.

### [Mr. Chapman Waves His Wand](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_haunted_bookshop_se/chapters/xv-mr-chapman-waves-his-wand)

Revealed to have been a bomb-maker; commits suicide after arrest.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_haunted_bookshop_se/characters/weintraub
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_haunted_bookshop_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_haunted_bookshop_se/characters