Character guide

David

major

Also known as Dear David, little David, David A⸺

David is the boy the narrator borrows for walks, stories, and small errands, and he reports back on Mary's rival literary ambitions with a child's disarming candor. He loses his footing when he descends to the practical, yet he is loyal enough to defend Mary hotly when the narrator sneers at her homemade box. His presence turns idle afternoons into Patagonian expeditions and gives the narrator both an audience and a weapon.

Peter Pan

major

Also known as Peter, Poor little Peter Pan, XIV Peter Pan

Peter Pan is the boy Solomon Caw keeps among the birds, learning their ways, building their nests, and treating every small task as a thing of vast importance. He is good-natured enough to give away his nightgown for nest-lining, yet shrewd enough to recognize Shelley's banknote as a means of reaching the Gardens. His longing for a mother and his fear of being barred out make him the story's tenderest and most unsettling figure.

Maimie Mannering

major

Also known as the famous Maimie Mannering, Dear Maimie

Maimie is the famous child who slips into Kensington Gardens after hours and finds Peter Pan, who loves her because she is like a beautiful nest. She is sharp enough to refuse her fur to the birds and woman enough to contradict herself about wanting a nest in her neck. Her certainty that her mother will always want her collides with Peter's woeful story of being barred out, and that collision is the heart of the book's middle chapters.

Timothy

supporting

Also known as Timothy Mary, Mary, a Timothy

Timothy is the narrator's dog, a steady presence through walks, stories, and the small domestic rituals that frame the Kensington Gardens adventures. His loyalty is absolute, and the narrator's affection for him is one of the few uncomplicated attachments in the book. He matters because he anchors the narrator's wandering imagination in something warm, breathing, and unquestionably faithful.

William Paterson

supporting

Also known as William, Paterson, Mr. Paterson

Paterson tends the Gardens and attaches himself to the narrator with a gratitude out of all proportion to any kindness received. He spreads newspaper over sofas, calls out 'Hie, hie, hie!' at doorsteps, and sits down with a thud, and his red-rimmed eyes follow the narrator fondly. The narrator's growing suspicion about him becomes one of the book's strangest and most disquieting threads.

Irene

supporting

Also known as Miss Irene

Irene moves through the early chapters as a governess and then a wife, her life unfolding alongside the narrator's stories and the Gardens' small society. She is connected to the domestic and romantic currents that the narrator observes with a mixture of sympathy and detachment. Her presence helps ground the book's fantastical flights in the ordinary hopes and arrangements of its human characters.

Porthos

supporting

Also known as Whereupon Porthos, Whereas Porthos

Porthos escorts David everywhere, growling softly at strangers and barking his knock-and-ring bark at Mary's door, a guardian so cautious at crossings that an accident to him seems impossible. When he fails to come home one day, the narrator is distraught and David turns aside to cry in private, and their grief opens the way to a wistful stranger at the Story-seat. His absence is the quiet engine of the book's middle chapters, turning a familiar walk into a search.

Joey

supporting

Also known as old Joey

Joey belongs to the working life of Kensington Gardens, one of those figures who watches the birds, the boats, and the small dramas of the Serpentine and remembers them. His knowledge of the Gardens' ways makes him a natural confidant for anyone trying to understand Peter, Solomon Caw, or the strange economy of crusts and banknotes. He matters because he grounds the book's fairy-tale flights in the plain, observing habits of a man who has rowed these waters for years.

Mary A⸺

minor

Also known as Mary

A woman associated with the narrator's household, possibly a servant or relative.

Solomon Caw

supporting

Also known as old Solomon Caw, Solomon, that grim old Solomon

Solomon Caw rules the bird community in Kensington Gardens, receiving messages from ladies, judging their requests, and sending Class A babies or comic ones according to his mood. He is vain of his cleverness, easily ruffled, and given to sulking with his head buried in his wings when the birds cast black looks at him. His favor is indispensable to Peter Pan, and his whims shape the book's central comedy of how children are made and delivered.

Oliver Bailey

minor

Also known as Bailey

A friend or acquaintance of the narrator who appears in club scenes.

Tony

minor

A young boy who plays in the Gardens and interacts with David.

Mary Queen of Scots

minor

Also known as Mary of Scots

A historical figure briefly mentioned in a story told to David.

Mabel Grey

minor

Also known as Miss Mabel Grey

A young girl who appears in the Kensington Gardens narrative.

Brownie

minor

Also known as Duchess Brownie

A dog belonging to one of the families in the Gardens.

Barbara

minor

Also known as XXIV Barbara, little Barbara

A little girl who appears in a later chapter of the book.

Mr. B⸺

minor

Also known as B⸺

A gentleman acquaintance of the narrator, possibly a club member.

Queen Mab

minor

Also known as Mab, Naturally Queen Mab

The fairy queen who rules over the fairies in Kensington Gardens.

Mrs. Hicking

minor

A woman who appears in the domestic scenes of the story.

The Cupids

minor

Small fairy-like beings who appear in the Gardens.

Pilkington

minor

A character associated with a club or establishment in the story.

Malcolm the Bold

minor

Also known as Malcolm

A historical or legendary figure mentioned in passing.

Josy

minor

A minor character, possibly a child or servant.

The Big Penny

minor

A personified large penny coin in a fantasy sequence.

Mrs. Finch

minor

Also known as a Mrs. Finch

A woman mentioned in the narrative, possibly a neighbor.

Angela Clare

minor

A young woman mentioned in the club or social scenes.

Marmaduke Perry

minor

A character referenced in the cricket match chapter.

Sooty

minor

A dog or pet mentioned in the Gardens narrative.

Shelley

minor

The poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, briefly alluded to.

Duke

minor

A dog belonging to a character in the story.

Joeykin

minor

A diminutive form of Joey, possibly a child or small animal.

Benjamin

minor

A minor character, possibly a child or servant.