# Mr. Churchill — The Inheritors character guide

> Mr. Churchill in The Inheritors by Joseph Conrad.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Churchill, the Right Honourable Mr. Churchill

**First appearance:** 0003-i

## Snapshot

A Right Honourable English politician whose affability and sub-sulkiness mask a man who has descended from his pedestal and regrets it.

## Who they are

Churchill moves through drawing rooms and Arctic schemes with the air of a man of the world among men of the world, yet his slow commercial English and sub-sulkiness betray a resentment at having left some higher sphere. He is father to Miss Churchill and a connection whose suffrage of accidents can elevate a journalist into a symbol of incomprehensible power. His blend of portentous probity and challenge matters because he embodies the respectable English scaffolding behind the Duc de Mersch's colonial philanthropy.

## In the story

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

Listed among the prominent people the narrator might write about.

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

Churchill is the Foreign Minister, mentioned as a supporter of the 'Hour' and a figure of political probity.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_inheritors_se/chapters/iv)

The Foreign Minister is revealed to be supporting the Greenland business, and the narrator is scheduled to interview him.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_inheritors_se/chapters/vi)

The Foreign Secretary, portrayed as aging and weary, discussing the Duc de Mersch and the Greenland affair.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_inheritors_se/chapters/vii)

Hosts the narrator, reveals his passion for writing about Cromwell, and proposes a collaboration.

### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_inheritors_se/chapters/viii)

Reluctantly agrees to meet the Duc de Mersch and Gurnard to discuss the Greenland railway; works with the narrator on the Life of Cromwell.

### [Chapter X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_inheritors_se/chapters/x)

Mentioned as having recommended the narrator to the Duc.

### [Chapter XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_inheritors_se/chapters/xii)

Referenced as a figure who will be brought down by de Mersch's collapse, representing the old order.

### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_inheritors_se/chapters/xiii)

Not directly present in this chapter.

### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_inheritors_se/chapters/xiv)

Mentioned as someone the narrator might return to work with.

### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_inheritors_se/chapters/xv)

Speaks at a political meeting; appears gray, tremulous, and aloof; the narrator feels a protective affection for him.

### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_inheritors_se/chapters/xvi)

Gives the narrator a task and touches his shoulder in a final, meaningful gesture before departing.

### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_inheritors_se/chapters/xvii)

Mentioned as the one who would stick to the saner policy, but likely to lose supporters.

### [Chapter XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_inheritors_se/chapters/xviii)

Mentioned as one of the 'vanquished' in the narrator's vision; later reported to have fallen from power, with a riot outside his brougham.

### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_inheritors_se/chapters/xix)

Mentioned as someone the narrator can never face again due to shame.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_inheritors_se/characters/churchill
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_inheritors_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_inheritors_se/characters