Character guide

Gilbert Standerton

major

Also known as Gilbert, Standerton, Mr. Standerton, Mr. Gilbert Standerton

Gilbert Standerton moves through London society as a generous, well-liked man — patron to old musicians, attentive to his fiancée, quick with a reassuring smile. But his composure cracks in private: he speaks of worse things than storms, and his face goes blank at the mention of a certain doctor's name. His dread and his secrecy pull the story forward, making every kindness he performs feel like it might be a cover for something darker.

Edith Standerton

major

Also known as Edith, Edith Cathcart, Edith Standerton

Edith Cathcart lives in her mother's shadow, waiting at the wings of every scene for a cue that will let her exist on her own terms. When a doctor's story about a patient who chose music to signal his own death sentence reaches her ears, she alone understands what it means — and her face goes white. Her quiet vigilance makes her the emotional centre of the novel's middle stretch, the one person close enough to Gilbert to sense what he is hiding.

George Wallis

major

Also known as George, Wallis, Mr. Wallis, Mr. George Wallis

Wallis conducts himself with the smooth courtesy of a man who has something to protect, and his name surfaces whenever the plot's darker machinery begins to turn. He keeps his distance, arranges his business quietly, and never quite says what he wants. His presence gives the early chapters a persistent unease — a reminder that Gilbert's troubles may not be entirely of his own making.

Mrs. Cathcart

supporting

Also known as the masterful Mrs. Cathcart

Mrs. Cathcart presides over dinners, guest lists, and her daughter's wedding plans with the same proprietary confidence, and she does not take no for an answer. Her arrival in any scene seems to switch Edith off like a lamp; her bitter tongue has left marks Gilbert only suspects. She matters because she embodies the social pressure closing in on the young couple — and because her own affairs, including a certain necklace, keep pulling the plot toward the burglaries.

Leslie Frankfort

supporting

Also known as Leslie, Frankfort

Leslie Frankfort is the kind of youth who owes his position to his late father's shares more than to his own sense, and his indiscretion at a dinner table is exactly the sort of thing that gets noticed. He is loyal to Gilbert, baffled by him, and entirely unaware of how much his idle talk has revealed. His cheerful blindness makes him a useful mirror for the reader — someone in the dark, asking the questions we want asked.

Jack Frankfort

supporting

Also known as Jack

Jack Frankfort moves easily between the General's drawing room and the firm's business, noticing details others let slide — like steel bolts that are suspiciously new on a safe sold cheap. He is the practical, sceptical counterweight to the older men around him, and his curiosity about the doctor from Yorkshire nudges the plot toward its revelations. His presence keeps the mystery grounded in ordinary observation rather than coincidence.

Mr. Warrell

supporting

Also known as Warrell

A weathered street musician whose violin has become a lifeline, Warrell moves through the story's margins with a quiet dignity that masks his precarious hold on respectability.

Sir John Standerton

supporting

Also known as General Sir John Standerton, Sir John

A general whose stern bearing and careful management of family affairs conceal deeper anxieties, Sir John Standerton presides over a household where duty and fortune collide.

Dr. Barclay-Seymour

supporting

Also known as Seymour, Barclay-Seymour, Dr. Seymour, Barclay

A physician whose clinical detachment cannot shield him from the consequences of a single devastating error, Dr. Barclay-Seymour carries the weight of a mistake that reshapes lives.

Chief Inspector Goldberg

supporting

Also known as Inspector Goldberg, Goldberg

A methodical police inspector whose patient pursuit of truth cuts through the evasions and half-truths that surround the case, Goldberg is the quiet force of accountability.

Persh

minor

A character with a minor but named role.

Callidino

minor

A named character appearing in the narrative.

George Smith

minor

Also known as Smith, George

A minor character with a common name.

Mr. Gilderheim

minor

Also known as Gilderheim

A minor character mentioned in the story.

May Wing

minor

Also known as May, Wing

A minor female character.

Mr. Timmings

minor

Also known as a Mr. Timmings

An honest man mentioned in the narrative.

Mrs. Skard

minor

A minor character mentioned briefly.

Mr. Springs

minor

Also known as Springs

A minor character with a small role.

Cole

minor

Also known as The impassive Cole

A minor character described as impassive.

Mr. Brown

minor

A minor character with a generic name.