# Mr. Datchery — The Mystery of Edwin Drood character guide

> Mr. Datchery in The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Said Mr. Datchery

**First appearance:** 0017-xviii-a-settler-in-cloisterham

## Snapshot

A white-haired stranger with a shock of curiosity, who takes lodgings in Cloisterham after Edwin's disappearance and begins quietly asking the questions no one else will.

## Who they are

Datchery arrives in Cloisterham as an idle man of means, renting rooms at the gatehouse and cultivating the acquaintance of the verger's wife and a sharp-eyed boy named Deputy. He pleads confusion about the town's recent scandal, but his careful attention to comings and goings suggests a purpose beneath his easy manner. He matters because his investigation reopens the mystery at the very point when the town has begun to settle into uneasy silence.

## In the story

### [A Settler in Cloisterham](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_edwin_drood_se/chapters/xviii-a-settler-in-cloisterham)

A white-haired stranger who arrives in Cloisterham, seeking lodging and showing keen interest in the town and its affairs.

### [XXIII: The Dawn Again](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_edwin_drood_se/chapters/xxiii-the-dawn-again)

Lodges with Mrs. Tope; observes the opium woman's interest in Jasper and adds a chalk mark to his tally; also interacts with Deputy, who calls him 'Dick'.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_edwin_drood_se/characters/mr_datchery
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_edwin_drood_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_edwin_drood_se/characters