The Purple Cloud · Characters
Character guide
Key figures in The Purple Cloud by M. P. Shiel.
Skim names here — open a free preview to see character cards and Character Web beside the page as you read.
Adam Jeffson
major
Also known as Jeffson, Adam
A doctor who joins the Boreal's race for the Pole, he narrates a world transformed by what waits beneath the ice.
Countess Clodagh
major
Also known as Clodagh, the Countess Clodagh
A countess whose presence haunts Adam's solitude, she becomes the mirror in which his strange new dominion is tested.
David Wilson
supporting
Also known as Wilson, Mr. Wilson
A fellow explorer sharing the Boreal's cramped quarters and mounting dread, he embodies the human cost of the polar obsession.
Clark
minor
A crew member on the expedition ship the Boreal.
Aubrey Maitland
minor
Also known as Maitland
A member of the polar expedition team.
John Mew
minor
Also known as Mew
A sailor on the expedition ship.
Mackay
minor
A crew member on the expedition.
Abel
minor
A biblical figure referenced in the narrative.
Old Johnson
minor
Also known as Johnson
An elderly crew member on the expedition.
Cain
minor
A biblical figure referenced in the narrative.
Eve
minor
A biblical figure referenced in the narrative.
Dr. Peter Peters
supporting
Also known as Peters, Peter, Dr. Peter Peters
A scientist of the polar expedition, he measures the unknown even as the unknown begins to measure the men who seek it.
Sallitt
minor
A member of the expedition crew.
Sloggett
minor
A member of the expedition team.
Miss Mary Wilson
minor
Also known as Miss Wilson, Mary Wilson
David Wilson's sister, mentioned in the narrative.
Dr. Martin Rogers
minor
Also known as Martin, Rogers
A doctor and colleague of Adam Jeffson.
Dr. Arthur Lister Browne
minor
Also known as Browne, Dr. Browne, A. L. Browne
A scientist on the expedition.
Captain Tombarel
minor
Captain of the expedition ship the Boreal.
Morgan
minor
A crew member on the expedition.
Isaac
minor
A biblical figure referenced in the narrative.
Lamburn
minor
A member of the expedition team.
Cartwright
minor
A crew member on the expedition.
Professor Stanistreet
minor
Also known as Stanistreet
A scientist and member of the expedition.
