# The Avenger — The Lodger character guide

> The Avenger in The Lodger by Marie Belloc Lowndes.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Avenger

**First appearance:** 0005-iv

## Snapshot

The unseen killer stalking fog-bound London, leaving three-cornered grey cards in red ink and turning every stranger into a suspect.

## Who they are

The Avenger is less a person than a pressure—a name scrawled on grey paper and pinned to the dead, a series of murders that have all of London reading columns and locking doors. The killer's victims haunt Mrs. Bunting's imagination even as she walks home to her own narrow house, which looks as if it could keep any secret closely hidden. The Avenger's faceless menace is what makes the lodger's odd hours and quiet habits unbearable, and what turns an ordinary lodging house into a place where every creak on the stairs might mean something.

## Relationships

### [Mrs. Bunting](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lodger_se/characters/mrs_bunting)

_psychological_

Mrs. Bunting is haunted by the fear and mystery surrounding the Avenger, the serial killer her lodger may be.

### [Joe Chandler](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lodger_se/characters/joe_chandler)

_rivalry_

Joe Chandler is a police officer actively hunting the Avenger, making them direct adversaries.

### [Mrs. Bunting](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lodger_se/characters/mrs_bunting)

_psychological_

Mrs. Bunting is haunted by the fear and mystery surrounding the Avenger, the serial killer her lodger may be.

### [Joe Chandler](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lodger_se/characters/joe_chandler)

_rivalry_

Joe Chandler is a police officer actively hunting the Avenger, making them direct adversaries.

### [Joe Chandler](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lodger_se/characters/joe_chandler)

_rivalry_

Joe Chandler is a police officer actively hunting the Avenger, making them direct adversaries.

## In the story

### [The Lodger](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lodger_se/chapters/the-lodger)

The serial killer whose murders are terrorizing London, creating an atmosphere of fear.

### [The Black Museum](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lodger_se/chapters/ix)

Discussed as a cunning madman; a letter signed 'The Avenger' posted in Edgware Road is mentioned, linking the case to the Buntings' neighborhood.

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

Mrs. Bunting imagines him as a black shadow; she feels shame for hoping he has murdered again.

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

The subject of the newspaper articles and the inquest; the Special Investigator is tracking him.

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

The unseen subject of the inquest; his identity and whereabouts remain mysterious, drawing journalists and officials together.

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

The subject of the inquest; witnesses describe his appearance and actions.

### [Chapter XX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lodger_se/chapters/xx)

The inquest and victims haunt Mrs. Bunting's thoughts; the latest murder is fresh in her mind.

### [XXVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lodger_se/chapters/xxvi)

Identified by Sir John Burney as an escaped lunatic who committed murders in Leipzig and Liverpool eight years ago; implied to be Mr. Sleuth.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lodger_se/characters/the_avenger
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lodger_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_lodger_se/characters