Character guide

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.