Character guide

Adam Wayne

major

Also known as Mr. Wayne, Wayne, Provost Wayne, Provost Adam Wayne

Wayne is the young Provost of Notting Hill, the one man in England who treats Auberon Quin's joke charter as a sacred trust rather than a farce. Where the King sees comedy, Wayne sees a gift of liberty worth dying for, and his earnestness unsettles everyone around him. His refusal to wink back at the joke turns a municipal prank into a real war, making him the story's unlikely engine.

Auberon Quin

major

Also known as Quin, the King, King Auberon, little Mr. Auberon Quin

Chosen at random from a group of ordinary men, Quin accepts the throne as an opportunity for elaborate public comedy, reviving medieval pageantry and city charters purely for the humour of it. His delight in irony blinds him to the fact that his jest has planted real loyalty in at least one heart. He is the story's mischievous author of chaos, and its most surprised witness.

James Barker

major

Also known as Barker, Mr. Barker, the Honourable James Barker

Barker moves through the story as the respectable face of serious government, embarrassed by the King's antics and determined to restore order. His impatience with whimsy hardens into open hostility once Notting Hill refuses to play along. He is the counterweight to Wayne's romance: a man who believes in nothing but getting things done.

Mr. Buck

supporting

Also known as Buck, Provost Buck, General Buck

Buck stands among the robed Provosts in the King's hall, visibly disgusted by the company and by Quin's levity. He channels that contempt into organising the neighbouring boroughs into a real army against Wayne. Where others argue, Buck drills and marches, giving the conflict its grim, soldierly momentum.

Mr. Lambert

supporting

Also known as Lambert, Wilfrid Lambert, Mr. Wilfrid Lambert

Lambert is the friend who taunts Quin into standing on his head in Kensington Gardens, never imagining the consequences of goading a man with nothing to lose. He is cheerfully irresponsible, more amused than alarmed by the chaos he helps unleash. His presence keeps the early chapters light, before the joke curdles into bloodshed.

Mr. Turnbull

supporting

Also known as Turnbull, General Turnbull, the Remarkable Mr. Turnbull

Turnbull enters the story as a voice of hard-headed doubt, unwilling to be swept up in Wayne's romantic fervour. Yet when the final battle comes, he stands with Notting Hill and charges into the spears of Shepherd's Bush, remarking that he has had his youth. His late conversion gives the war its tragic dignity, showing what Wayne's sincerity can win from a cynic.

General Wilson

supporting

Also known as Wilson, Provost Wilson, Wilson of Bayswater

Wilson of Bayswater enters the Notting Hill wars as one of the rival city's military leaders, throwing himself at Adam Wayne with a fury that borders on glee. Where other commanders keep their distance, Wilson fights hand to hand, tearing the Provost's red-and-yellow favour from his shoulder and howling for the West Kensington men to close in. His relish for the fight exposes how quickly Chesterton's comic civic pageant can curdle into real slaughter, and he becomes the face of the coalition pressing Notting Hill toward its end.

Mr. Mead

minor

Also known as Mead

A minor official and supporter of the Notting Hill cause.

Mr. Bowles

minor

Also known as Bowles

A minor character involved in the city's political affairs.

Captain Bowler

minor

Also known as Bowler

A military captain serving under General Buck.

General Swindon

minor

Also known as Swindon

A general commanding forces against Notting Hill.

Mr. Mick

minor

A minor character mentioned in the narrative.

Mr. Hoskins

minor

Also known as Hoskins

A minor character mentioned in the narrative.

James Pickie

minor

Also known as James

A minor character mentioned in the narrative.

Daisy Daydream

minor

A minor character with a whimsical name.

Pally

minor

A minor character or nickname in the story.

Dr. Polycarp

minor

Also known as Polycarp

A scholarly figure who appears in the narrative.

Peter Jessop

minor

Also known as Peter

A minor character in the story.

Mr. Pinker

minor

Also known as Pinker

A minor character in the story.

Alfred Jarvis

minor

Also known as Alfred, Wilfred Jarvis, Jarvis

A minor character in the story.

Old Prout

minor

A minor character mentioned in the narrative.

Chiffy

minor

A minor character mentioned in the narrative.

Parson

minor

Also known as the Parson

A minor clerical character in the story.

Perkins

minor

A minor character mentioned in the narrative.