# The Master of Ballantrae — Character guide

> Key figures in The Master of Ballantrae by Robert Louis Stevenson.

- [The Master](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_master_of_ballantrae_se/characters/the_master.md): James Durie, heir to Durrisdeer, is the dazzling brother everyone loves and no one trusts — the one who rides off to fight for Prince Charlie while his steadier sibling stays home. He treats loyalty as a game and family 
- [Mr. Henry](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_master_of_ballantrae_se/characters/mr_henry.md): Henry Durie is the cadet who does the work while his brother takes the glory, managing Durrisdeer's affairs from boyhood and enduring his father's preference for the absent James. He has 'an excellent gift of silence,' b
- [Mr. Mackellar](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_master_of_ballantrae_se/characters/mackellar.md): Ephraim Mackellar arrives at Durrisdeer as a sober, God-fearing man of business and becomes the keeper of its secrets, carrying hush-money to a disreputable woman on Henry's behalf and watching the family's slow unraveli
- [Mrs. Henry](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_master_of_ballantrae_se/characters/mrs_henry.md): Alison Graeme flings a coin through the family window when the Master rides away, and that fury never quite leaves her. Married to Henry, she finds herself trapped between a husband who recoils from her timid advances an
- [Secundra Dass](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_master_of_ballantrae_se/characters/secundra_dass.md): Secundra Dass appears at Durrisdeer wrapped like a mummy by the fire, an alien figure with a singular forehead and a secret eye, speaking a tongue no one understands. He serves the Master with a devotion that unnerves th
- [Colonel Burke](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_master_of_ballantrae_se/characters/colonel_burke.md): Francis Burke is a soldier of fortune who never turned his back on a friend, and his manuscript — vain, gallant, and full of complaint — provides a second window onto the Master's wanderings after Culloden. He meets the 
- [John Mountain](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_master_of_ballantrae_se/characters/john_mountain.md): Mountain belongs to the rough frontier economy of traders and guides who move between settlements and the deep forest, selling their knowledge of trails, rivers, and native peoples to those who need them. His value lies 
- [Captain Harris](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_master_of_ballantrae_se/characters/captain_harris.md): A ruthless pirate captain who captures the Master and Burke at sea.
- [Teach](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_master_of_ballantrae_se/characters/teach.md): The infamous pirate Blackbeard, encountered by the Master during his wanderings.
- [Sir William Johnson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_master_of_ballantrae_se/characters/sir_william_johnson.md): A British colonial official in New York who interacts with the Master.
- [Hastie](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_master_of_ballantrae_se/characters/hastie.md): A servant or retainer at Durrisdeer, involved in the household events.
- [Dutton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_master_of_ballantrae_se/characters/dutton.md): A sailor or crew member on one of the ships in the narrative.
- [Lord Durrisdeer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_master_of_ballantrae_se/characters/lord_durrisdeer.md): The elderly father of the Master and Mr. Henry, head of the Durie family.
- [John Paul](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_master_of_ballantrae_se/characters/john_paul.md): A servant at Durrisdeer, often involved in household affairs.
- [Jessie Broun](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_master_of_ballantrae_se/characters/jessie_broun.md): A local woman with a connection to the Master, causing scandal.
- [Mr. Bally](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_master_of_ballantrae_se/characters/mr_bally.md): A lawyer or agent involved in the Durie family's legal matters.
- [Alexander](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_master_of_ballantrae_se/characters/alexander.md): A young relative or acquaintance of the Durie family.
- [Miss Katharine Durie](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_master_of_ballantrae_se/characters/miss_katharine_durie.md): A neglected female relative of the Durie family, living at Durrisdeer.
- [Tam Macmorland](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_master_of_ballantrae_se/characters/tam_macmorland.md): A local man from the Scottish countryside near Durrisdeer.
- [Alan Black Stewart](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_master_of_ballantrae_se/characters/alan_black_stewart.md): A Jacobite supporter and acquaintance of the Master.

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