Character guide

Fenn

major

Also known as The talented Fenn, XIV Fenn, The elder Fenn, Mr. Fenn

Fenn is the talented senior whose refusal to back Kennedy has split Kay's into two sulking camps, a rift Jimmy Silver loudly calls drivelling lunacy. Proud, quick with a quote, and quicker to bang a knocker when a Cockney doorkeeper bars his way, he nurses grievances as carefully as he hoards jam. His looming dread of exposure over an unauthorized absence gives the early arc its engine: if he can only get the cap back, he vows, he will reform and throw his weight behind licking the house into shape.

Kennedy

major

Also known as XII Kennedy

Kennedy is the conscientious Head of Kay's, the one man standing between the house and Mr. Kay's relentless keyhole raids, and he bears it with a weary, painstaking patience. His isolation is the ache of the early book: Fenn won't back him, Kay rags him weekly, and he can only vent by picking the housemaster to pieces in Fenn's study once the truce is made. His stubborn hope that Kay's might yet win a cup makes him the story's quiet spine.

Jimmy Silver

major

Also known as Silver, James, Jimmy, The astute James

Jimmy Silver moves easily between Fenn and Kennedy, the rare chap welcome in both camps, and he uses that position to deliver unwelcome home truths in a theatrical voice meant to hide how serious he is. He calls the feud perfect rot, brands Fenn a stuffed frog, and prescribes a mock-liturgical apology with the air of an old man wishing them well. His prodding plants the idea of a fresh start that sets the middle of the book in motion.

Mr. Kay

major

Also known as Kay

Mr. Kay rules his house by keyhole and indignation, bursting into Kennedy's study with sensational tales of fags misbehaving and mice in lockers, like a dog proudly bringing a rat into a drawing-room. His ragging is so relentless that Fenn and Kennedy keep a betting book on it, wagering shillings on whether each week's record will be beaten. His peculiar methods are the comic pressure that makes Kay's nearly ungovernable and gives the house its reputation for changing Heads every two terms.

Walton

supporting

Walton is the sort of senior who separates a fight and then rebukes only the boy he dislikes, letting his protégé Wren off scot-free. He dislikes Billy Silver partly for his own sake and partly because he has crossed Jimmy before, always with unsatisfactory results. His favoritism and old grudges feed the camp tensions that spill into the raid on the guard tent and keep Kay's politics simmering through the middle of the book.

Wren

supporting

Also known as Master Wren

Wren is the small, redheaded schemer of Kay's, first met trading blows with Billy Silver over tent space and later sneaking down town for honey on another boy's errand. Protected by Walton's patronage, he slips out of trouble that would sink anyone else, and his embarrassed shuffle in the grocer's doorway hints at a talent for awkward situations. His guile drives the camp episodes and the small conspiracies that keep Kay's internal warfare lively.

Blackburn

minor

Also known as the Blackburn, Mr. Blackburn

A figure associated with the house, possibly a master or senior student.

Spencer

minor

Also known as the vindictive Spencer, Master Spencer

A vindictive student who causes trouble in the house.

Mulholland

minor

Also known as Mr. Mulholland

A master or adult figure at the school.

Billy Silver

supporting

Also known as young Billy Silver, young Billy, Billy, William

Billy Silver moves through the school as the younger sibling of the steady, plain-spoken Jimmy, a boy whose scrapes and small crises give the older characters something to fret over and lecture about. His missing cap becomes a private worry that pushes him toward a half-formed resolve to mend his ways and stop making an idiot of himself. He matters because his presence sharpens Jimmy's role as the sensible friend and shows how even minor figures get caught up in Kay's atmosphere of grudges and fresh starts.

Private Jones

minor

Also known as Jones

A soldier or guard encountered during camp or adventures.

Dencroft

minor

Also known as Mr. Dencroft, Dencroft's

A master or figure at the school, possibly a housemaster.

Challis

minor

A student or master mentioned in the narrative.

Perry

minor

Also known as The ingenious but not industrious Perry

An ingenious but lazy student at the school.

MacPherson

minor

A student or figure at the school, possibly Scottish.

Higgs

minor

Also known as Mr. Higgs, the great Higgs

A notable figure, possibly a master or senior student.

Watson

minor

A student or master mentioned briefly.

Williams

minor

A student mentioned in passing.

Crake

minor

A student involved in house events.

Milligan

minor

A student mentioned in the narrative.

Peel

minor

A student or figure at the school.

Wayburn

minor

A student or master mentioned in the story.

Eckleton

minor

Possibly a place name or a character; likely a school house.

Morrell

minor

A student or figure at the school.

Leveson

minor

A student mentioned in the narrative.

Maybury

minor

A student or figure at the school.

Wodyer

minor

A character with a distinctive dialect, possibly a servant or local.

Gorrick

minor

A student or figure at the school.

Baker

minor

A student mentioned in passing.

Bob

minor

Also known as Dear Bob

A friend or relative addressed in correspondence.

Curtis

minor

A student or figure at the school.

Taylor

minor

A student mentioned in the narrative.