The Humbugs of the World · Characters
Character guide
Key figures in The Humbugs of the World by P. T. Barnum.
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Old Grizzly Adams
major
Also known as Grizzly Adams, Old Adams, Adams
A battered bear-taming showman who rides grizzlies down Broadway while his skull, caved in by his own students, quietly forecasts the end.
Monsieur Mangin
major
Also known as Mangin
A French conjurer whose confessed trickery becomes Barnum's Exhibit A that humbug, practiced boldly enough, can pass for genius.
Apollonius Tyanaeus
supporting
Also known as young Apollonius, Apollonius, the mighty Apollonius
A first-century sage who advised emperors, dodged a death sentence by vanishing, and left Barnum wondering where miracle ends and humbug begins.
Joanna Southcott
supporting
Also known as Joanna, Sanderson, Sharp, Poor Joanna
A prophetess who convinced thousands she carried a divine child, proving that humbug thrives most luxuriantly in the soil of sincere faith.
Tom Simmons
supporting
Also known as Alderman, Alderman Tom Simmons
An alderman of such credulous appetite that a petrified man, a painted giant, or any well-told lie could empty his pockets and fill the town's gossip.
Count of St. Germain
supporting
Also known as Count de St. Germain, St. Germain
A polished adventurer who claimed centuries of life, charmed European courts, and never explained where the diamonds or the years came from.
Monsignore Cristoforo Rischio
supporting
Also known as Cristoforo, Cristoforo Rischio
Cristoforo Rischio, called Créso by the crowd, holds a three-hour clinic twice weekly in the open daylight, a skeleton swaying beside him and skulls grinning below. He is no diplomaed physician, yet may have mastered enough Materia Medica to effect real cures — which only makes his pretension to greater wisdom the sharper fraud. His career, from Siennese farm boy to bankrupt Alfieri aspirant to druggist's hawker, illustrates how disappointed ambition curdles into humbug.
Count Alessandro di Cagliostro
supporting
Also known as Cagliostro, Count Cagliostro
Cagliostro stands among the grandest specimens of humbug Barnum catalogs — a man whose alchemical posturings and magnetic cures won him aristocratic patrons and, eventually, the attention of authorities. His career demonstrates how occult mystification and social climbing intertwine, each feeding the other's credibility. For Barnum's argument that humbug pervades every rank, Cagliostro is the aristocratic case in point: the swindler who nearly passed for a sage.
Mr. Barnum
major
Also known as Barnum
Barnum narrates this survey of deception from the inside, admitting his own trade while insisting humbug is nearly universal — in religion, politics, business, medicine, and science alike. His voice moves between amused confession and moral taxonomy, treating the humbug as both social menace and American art form. His authority is the book's central tension: can the greatest showman be trusted to expose the show?
Matthias
supporting
Also known as Master Matthias
Matthias presided over a luxurious establishment funded by the credulous Mr. Folger, claiming all Christian marriages void and wicked while indulging in petty tyranny. Insolent yet cowardly, he crumpled whenever a strong-minded auditor seized him by the throat or threatened a shave by force. His career shows how religious humbug feeds on a patron's need to believe — and how quickly the prophet becomes a prisoner when the belief falters.
John Law
supporting
Also known as Law
Law combined genuine economic insight with the gambler's instinct for grandeur, persuading a desperate French crown to stake its finances on imaginary riches in Louisiana. His system drew dukes and chambermaids alike into the rue Quincampoix, all trading paper fortunes on a promise no one could redeem. Barnum treats him as the archetypal financial humbug — not a petty cheat but a visionary whose confidence was itself the bubble.
Dr. Benjamin Brandreth
supporting
Also known as Brandreth, Dr. Brandreth
Brandreth built a fortune on the universal faith that a pill could cure whatever ailed you, blanketing the press with testimonials and warnings against counterfeits. His success rested less on pharmacy than on publicity — the same machinery Barnum himself mastered. In Barnum's gallery of humbugs, Brandreth represents the respectable quack: a businessman whose product may have been harmless, whose claims were not.
Messrs. Boehmer
supporting
Also known as Boehmer, Bassange, Messrs. Boehmer & Bassange
Messrs. Boehmer and Bassange are the craftsmen-creditors at the center of the Diamond Necklace affair, holding an ornament so extravagant no buyer will touch it. Their anxiety is commercial and reputational: they need a purchaser of royal stature, and a cardinal's eager mediation seems like deliverance. Their willingness to extend credit on grand assurances shows how ambition and trust can be exploited, and their plight helps Barnum illustrate that even sober businessmen can be swept into a humbug's orbit.
Paine
minor
Also known as Mr. Paine
A man who attempted to humbug Barnum with a fake mermaid.
Robert Matthews
supporting
Also known as Matthews
Robert Matthews is one of Barnum's prime specimens of religious humbug: a man who claims divine authority and builds a small kingdom of believers around his person. His power rests on charisma, scriptural improvisation, and the willingness of devotees to surrender judgment and property. His career matters to the book's argument because it shows how the machinery of faith can be hijacked by a confident impostor, and how thoroughly ordinary people will follow a voice that promises certainty.
Pierson
minor
Also known as Elijah Pierson, the unhappy Pierson
A follower of Matthias who was murdered by the prophet.
Louis de Rohan
supporting
Also known as de Rohan
Cardinal de Rohan moves through the highest circles of pre-revolutionary France, wealthy, well-connected, and acutely sensitive to his standing at court. His desire to regain the queen's goodwill is so strong that he accepts extraordinary assurances without scrutiny, becoming the central dupe of the Diamond Necklace affair. Barnum uses him to demonstrate that education and rank offer no immunity to humbug when self-importance and longing for favor cloud the judgment.
George W. Gage
minor
Also known as George
A showman who exhibited a fake mermaid with Barnum.
Jeanne de St. Remi
supporting
Also known as Jeanne
Jeanne de St. Remi operates in the shadowy space between aristocratic pretension and genuine poverty, using her wit and connections to maneuver among cardinals, jewelers, and courtiers. Her driving need is status and money, and she pursues both through impersonation, forged letters, and carefully placed confidences. She is the engine of the Diamond Necklace conspiracy, and her story lets Barnum show how a single audacious schemer can exploit the vanities of the powerful.
Riza Bey
minor
A Turkish adventurer who claimed to be a prince and swindled people.
Colorado Jewett
minor
Also known as Jewett
A showman who exhibited a fake mermaid with Barnum.
Cornelius Agrippa
minor
Also known as Agrippa
A Renaissance magician and occult writer, cited as a historical humbug.
The Davenports
minor
Spiritualist mediums who performed fake spirit manifestations.
Mr. Locke
minor
Also known as Locke
A man who attempted to humbug Barnum with a fake letter.
Henry B. Allen
minor
Also known as Allen, Harry, Mr. B.
A young man who helped Barnum with a humbug about a petrified man.
Princess Cariboo
minor
Also known as the Princess Cariboo
A woman who posed as a foreign princess and was exhibited by Barnum.
Mr. Addison
minor
Also known as Addison, the cold-blooded Addison
A merciless showman who exhibited a fake mermaid.
Pease
minor
Also known as Mr. Pease
A showman who exhibited a fake mermaid with Barnum.
Sir John Herschel
minor
Also known as Herschel
An astronomer whose name was used in the Great Moon Hoax.
Marie Antoinette
minor
Also known as the amiable Marie Antoinette
Queen of France, involved in the Diamond Necklace affair.
Hans Von Vleet
minor
Also known as von Vleet, Hans, Von Vleet
A Dutch showman who exhibited a fake mermaid.
Sir John Blunt
minor
Also known as Blunt, John, the speculative Blunt
A director of the South Sea Company, involved in the bubble.
Doctor Roback
minor
Also known as Roback
A quack doctor who sold fake medicines.
Mr. Wells
minor
A showman who exhibited a fake mermaid with Barnum.
Folger
minor
Also known as Mr. Folger, poor Folger
A man who was swindled by a humbug about a petrified man.
Dr. Newton
minor
Also known as Newton, the learned Dr. Newton
A quack doctor who claimed to cure diseases with electricity.
Virgil
minor
Also known as poor Virgil
A medieval magician, cited as a historical humbug.
Madame Campan
minor
Also known as Madame
A lady-in-waiting to Marie Antoinette, involved in the Diamond Necklace affair.
Cuvier
minor
A naturalist who debunked the fake mermaid.
Mr. Croesus
minor
Also known as Croesus
A wealthy man who was swindled by a humbug.
Mr. Theodore Tilton
minor
Also known as Mr. Tilton
A man who was involved in a humbug about a spiritualist.
Mrs. Conant
minor
Also known as Mrs. H., Mrs. J. H. Conant
A spiritualist medium who performed fake manifestations.
J. V. Mansfield
minor
Also known as Mansfield
A showman who exhibited a fake mermaid.
Andrew Jackson Davis
minor
Also known as Andrew Jackson, Jackson, the said Davis
A spiritualist who claimed to have visions and heal people.
Old Colonel P.
minor
Also known as Colonel, Colonel P.
A man who was swindled by a humbug about a petrified man.
Faust
minor
A legendary magician, cited as a historical humbug.
Master Joe
minor
Also known as Joe, the cunning Joseph
A young man who helped Barnum with a humbug.
Mr. Mills
minor
Also known as Mills
A showman who exhibited a fake mermaid.
Abraham Thornton
minor
Also known as Thornton
A man tried for murder, who used a legal humbug to escape.
The Cabiri
minor
Ancient mystery cult deities, cited as a historical humbug.
Charles Talbot
minor
Also known as Charlie Talbot
A young man who was swindled by a humbug.
Ira Davenport
minor
Also known as Ira
One of the Davenport brothers, spiritualist mediums.
Mr. Greeley
minor
Also known as Greeley
A newspaper editor who was humbugged by Barnum.
The Peter Funks
minor
Also known as the Funks
A group of showmen who exhibited fake animals.
Gay d'Oliva
minor
Also known as Miss Gay d'Oliva
A woman who impersonated Marie Antoinette in the Diamond Necklace affair.
Pyrrhus
minor
Also known as the Romans
An ancient king who fought the Romans, cited as a historical humbug.
Mr. Adams
minor
Also known as Adams, old Adams
A showman and partner of Grizzly Adams in exhibiting animals.
Monsieur Gosling
minor
Also known as Gosling, the great Gosling
A French humbug who performed fake feats of strength and magic.
Mr. Rolleum
minor
Also known as Rolleum, Mr. Peter Rolleum
A showman who exhibited a fake petrified man.
Prince de Conti
minor
Also known as de Conti
A French prince who quarreled with John Law over shares.
Kirby
minor
Also known as Mr. Kirby
A showman who exhibited a fake mermaid with Barnum.
Monsignore Créso
minor
Also known as Créso
An Italian adventurer who posed as a nobleman and swindled people.
Warren
minor
A man who helped Barnum with a humbug about a petrified man.
Monsieur Barnum
minor
A French showman who imitated Barnum's humbugs.
Monsieur Guillaudeu
minor
A French showman who exhibited a fake mermaid.
Villette de Rétaux
minor
Also known as Villette
A forger involved in the Diamond Necklace affair.
Genin
minor
Also known as the Genin
A hatter who made a fortune from a humbug about a hat.
Ben Bolt
minor
A character in a song, used as a humbug by Barnum.
James C. Adams
minor
A showman who exhibited a fake mermaid with Barnum.
Doctor Brandreth
minor
Also known as Brandreth
A patent medicine seller, similar to Dr. Benjamin Brandreth.
Dexter
minor
Also known as Mr. Dexter
A showman who exhibited a fake mermaid with Barnum.
Mr. Bennett
minor
Also known as Bennett
A newspaper editor who was humbugged by Barnum.
Mr. Leonard Gosling
minor
Also known as Mr. Gosling
A showman who exhibited a fake mermaid.
B. Brittan
minor
Also known as S. B. Brittan, Brittan
A spiritualist writer and lecturer.
Mr. W. Howard
minor
Also known as Mr. Howard
A showman who exhibited a fake mermaid.
The Cretans
minor
Ancient people known for lying, cited as a historical humbug.
Daniel Webster
minor
Also known as Webster, the prophet Daniel, Daniel
A statesman and orator, mentioned in a humbug context.
Mr. Jewett
minor
Also known as Jewett, the distinguished Mr. Jewett
A showman who exhibited a fake mermaid.
Mr. Foster
minor
Also known as Foster
A showman who exhibited a fake mermaid.
Morande
minor
A French adventurer and blackmailer, involved in the Diamond Necklace affair.
Jo Smith
minor
Also known as Joseph
Founder of Mormonism, cited as a religious humbug.