# Mr. Arthur W. Rance — The Mystery of the Yellow Room character guide

> Mr. Arthur W. Rance in The Mystery of the Yellow Room by Gaston Leroux.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Arthur Rance, Mr. Rance, Arthur William Rance

**First appearance:** 0001-the-mystery-of-the-yellow-room

## Snapshot

An American lodged at the château's edge whose window commands the gallery, and whose past ties him to Mathilde Stangerson.

## Who they are

Arthur Rance occupies the room at the far end of the left gallery, a position that gives him an uninterrupted view of the corridor from end to end—a fact Rouletabille exploits when he stations Sainclair in a dark closet beside Rance's door. A former suitor of Mademoiselle Stangerson, he lingers at the Glandier with a watchfulness that feels both protective and proprietary. His strategic vantage and his history with the victim make him a figure the investigators cannot afford to ignore.

## In the story

### [XIX: Rouletabille Invites Me to Breakfast at the Donjon Inn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_the_yellow_room_se/chapters/xix-rouletabille-invites-me-to-breakfast-at-the-donjon-inn)

Spotted at a window of the château, surprising Rouletabille, who wonders why he is still in France and at Glandier.

### [An Act of Mademoiselle Stangerson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_the_yellow_room_se/chapters/xx-an-act-of-mademoiselle-stangerson)

An old American friend of the Stangersons, a phrenologist and inebriate, who suspects Robert Darzac of the crime and speaks with irony about Rouletabille's investigation.

### [On the Watch](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_the_yellow_room_se/chapters/xxi-on-the-watch)

Is heard moving in his room before the watch begins; his past in America and relations with the Stangersons are discussed at dinner.

### [XXII: The Incredible Body](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_the_yellow_room_se/chapters/xxii-the-incredible-body)

Joins the chase barefooted, firing his revolver at the fleeing man.

### [XXVII: In Which Joseph Rouletabille Appears in All His Glory](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_the_yellow_room_se/chapters/xxvii-in-which-joseph-rouletabille-appears-in-all-his-glory)

Present in the witnesses' room; Rouletabille shows marked coldness toward him.

### [XXIX: The Mystery of Mademoiselle Stangerson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_the_yellow_room_se/chapters/xxix-the-mystery-of-mademoiselle-stangerson)

His unrequited love and rumored marriage to Mademoiselle Stangerson in Philadelphia are mentioned; Rouletabille's coolness toward him is explained.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_the_yellow_room_se/characters/arthur_rance
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_the_yellow_room_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_the_yellow_room_se/characters