# The Lady of the Barge — Character guide

> Key figures in The Lady of the Barge by W. W. Jacobs.

- [Bill Hicks](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lady_of_the_barge_se/characters/bill_hicks.md): A bargee skipper whose fierce religious argument with a passing schooner mate sets the comic tone for a domestic surprise aboard the Arabella.
- [Nick Gunn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lady_of_the_barge_se/characters/nick_gunn.md): A maimed, menacing stranger who descends on an old shipmate's inn, calling in a fifteen-year-old debt with a grin and a pistol.
- [Trayton Burleigh](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lady_of_the_barge_se/characters/trayton_burleigh.md): A young mate and brother-in-law to the skipper, whose cheerful announcement of a lady guest plunges the barge into quiet uproar.
- [Jimmy Fletcher](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lady_of_the_barge_se/characters/jimmy_fletcher.md): A young bargeman whose romantic errand and easy manner stir the Arabella's crew into a tangle of domestic complications.
- [Mr. Negget](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lady_of_the_barge_se/characters/negget.md): A wily, matchmaking presence whose persistent scheming nudges the barge's passengers toward entanglements they never planned.
- [Mr. Halibut](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lady_of_the_barge_se/characters/halibut.md): A diplomatic and persistent figure whose patient maneuvering keeps the barge's quarrels from tipping into outright disaster.
- [Jem Benson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lady_of_the_barge_se/characters/jem_benson.md): A dark, brooding man whose bitter words about a blackmailing loafer hide more than they reveal, especially when a whisper from the well calls his name.
- [Ann Pullen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lady_of_the_barge_se/characters/ann_pullen.md): A flustered housekeeper whose fumbling fingers and slow reading turn a lawyer's letter into a household crisis, then an unexpected fortune.
- [Old Miller](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lady_of_the_barge_se/characters/old_miller.md): A wily, triumphant old bargeman whose sharp tongue and sharper bargains steer the Arabella through domestic storms and religious quarrels alike.
- [Wilfred Carr](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lady_of_the_barge_se/characters/wilfred_carr.md): A charming, reckless cousin whose gambling debts and taste for blackmail turn a friendly game of billiards into a quiet, desperate threat.
- [Mr. Martin Bodfish](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lady_of_the_barge_se/characters/martin_bodfish.md): A barge master whose stubborn Baptist pride and suspicious eye make every passenger, parcel, and proposal a matter for slow, wary scrutiny.
- [George Kettle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lady_of_the_barge_se/characters/george_kettle.md): A young bargeman whose cheerful courtship and impulsive schemes drag his brother-in-law's household into one comic complication after another.
- [Bob Pretty](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lady_of_the_barge_se/characters/bob_pretty.md): Bob Pretty moves through the river folk as a man who always seems to know more than he lets on, trading on other people's assumptions while keeping his own counsel. His gift for talk gets him out of scrapes and into sche
- [Dr. Frank Carson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lady_of_the_barge_se/characters/frank_carson.md): Dr. Frank Carson belongs to the respectable shore-side world that the barge folk regard with a mixture of deference and distrust. His medical authority gives him access to private moments and private knowledge, which pla
- [Major Brill](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lady_of_the_barge_se/characters/major_brill.md): Major Brill carries the bearing of a man accustomed to being obeyed, which makes him an easy target for the quieter humiliations of civilian life. His romantic intentions, however well-meant, tend to land him in awkward 
- [Mrs. Riddel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lady_of_the_barge_se/characters/mrs_riddel.md): An astonished female character in the stories.
- [Mr. White](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lady_of_the_barge_se/characters/mr_white.md): A character appearing in the stories, possibly related to Mrs. White.
- [Captain Rogers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lady_of_the_barge_se/characters/captain_rogers.md): A captain who appears as a character in a dedicated story.
- [Henery Walker](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lady_of_the_barge_se/characters/henery_walker.md): A local character mentioned in the village tales.
- [Old Wiggett](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lady_of_the_barge_se/characters/old_wiggett.md): A startled older character in the stories.
- [Olive](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lady_of_the_barge_se/characters/olive.md): A female character with a small number of mentions.
- [Mr. Tidger](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lady_of_the_barge_se/characters/mr_tidger.md): A male character with a minor role.
- [Joan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lady_of_the_barge_se/characters/joan.md): A female character with a small number of mentions.
- [Mullet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lady_of_the_barge_se/characters/mullet.md): A character with a minor presence in the tales.
- [Thomas Geary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lady_of_the_barge_se/characters/thomas_geary.md): An older character with a minor role.
- [Herbert White](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lady_of_the_barge_se/characters/herbert_white.md): A character related to Mr. White, with a minor role.
- [Mrs. White](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lady_of_the_barge_se/characters/mrs_white.md): The wife of Mr. White, with a minor role.
- [Mrs. Benson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lady_of_the_barge_se/characters/mrs_benson.md): A female character, possibly related to Jem Benson.
- [Loo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lady_of_the_barge_se/characters/loo.md): A character with a small number of mentions.
- [Sergeant-Major Morris](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lady_of_the_barge_se/characters/sergeant_major_morris.md): A military character with a minor role.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lady_of_the_barge_se/characters