# Miss Bethia Penkridge — The Middle of Things character guide

> Miss Bethia Penkridge in The Middle of Things by J. S. Fletcher.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Miss Penkridge, Bethia

**First appearance:** 0000-i-faced-with-reality

## Snapshot

Viner's sharp-tongued maiden aunt, a devoted reader of sensational fiction whose appetite for mystery and detection proves unexpectedly useful.

## Who they are

Miss Penkridge is a model housekeeper and a woman of decided opinions, whose one indulgence is a nightly novel read aloud by her nephew — the more sensational the better, provided the criminal is someone she never suspected. She scorns the psychological and adores a plot that keeps its secret to the last page, and she is not shy about saying so. Her shrewd, unromantic eye for human nature makes her a quietly valuable sounding board as Viner is drawn into a real mystery that outdoes any of her books.

## In the story

### [I: Faced with Reality](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_of_things_se/chapters/i-faced-with-reality)

Viner's maiden aunt, a model housekeeper with a passion for sensational fiction, who argues that real life contains mysteries far stranger than any novel.

### [III: Who Was Mr. Ashton?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_of_things_se/chapters/iii-who-was-mr-ashton)

Miss Penkridge listens to Viner's account of the murder and offers comfort, suggesting the fleeing man might be innocent.

### [VI: Speculations](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_of_things_se/chapters/vi-speculations)

Viner's aunt; offers shrewd observations about the murder, suggesting the motive is money and that the secret lies in Ashton's past.

### [The Present Holder](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_of_things_se/chapters/xv-the-present-holder)

Present at Viner's house when Hyde's sisters arrive, looking unusually grave.

### [XXIV: The Broken Letter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_of_things_se/chapters/xxiv-the-broken-letter)

Joins the council and identifies key clues in the typewritten letter and stationery, linking them to a local stationer.

### [XXV: Through the Telephone](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_of_things_se/chapters/xxv-through-the-telephone)

Suspicious of Cave, she leaves to investigate a clue at Bigglesforth the stationer's.

### [XXVIII: The Truth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_of_things_se/chapters/xxviii-the-truth)

Praised by Drillford for her sharp observation that led to the breakthrough in the case.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_of_things_se/characters/miss_bethia_penkridge
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_of_things_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_middle_of_things_se/characters