# Miss Margaret Warren — The Rasp character guide > Miss Margaret Warren in The Rasp by Philip MacDonald. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** Margaret Warren, Margaret, The efficient Miss Margaret Warren **First appearance:** 0006-ii-anthony-gethryn ## Snapshot A cool, golden-haired secretary who hears the news from her police-sergeant landlady and hires a car before anyone else has thought to move. ## Who they are Miss Warren works for Hastings at The Owl, and she is the one who brings the first word of Hoode's murder — calm, unemotional, already thinking about the next edition. She is so sufficient, so calmly adequate, that Hastings sometimes wishes she weren't, and the one glimpse of her trembling and white-faced pleases him in a way he doesn't examine. Her competence and her single crack of feeling make her the newsroom's quiet anchor in the opening chapters. ## Relationships ### [Anthony Gethryn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rasp_se/characters/anthony_gethryn) _social_ Miss Margaret Warren is a social acquaintance of Anthony Gethryn, interacting within the story's social dynamics. ### [Mr. Hastings](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rasp_se/characters/mr_hastings) _romantic_ Miss Margaret Warren and Mr. Hastings have a romantic relationship, with frequent interactions indicating strong personal involvement. ### [Sir Arthur Digby-Coates](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rasp_se/characters/sir_arthur_digby_coates) _social_ Miss Margaret Warren and Sir Arthur Digby-Coates are social acquaintances, with interactions suggesting a formal social connection. ### [Anthony Gethryn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rasp_se/characters/anthony_gethryn) _social_ Miss Margaret Warren is a social acquaintance of Anthony Gethryn, interacting within the story's social dynamics. ### [Mr. Hastings](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rasp_se/characters/mr_hastings) _romantic_ Miss Margaret Warren and Mr. Hastings have a romantic relationship, with frequent interactions indicating strong personal involvement. ### [Anthony Gethryn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rasp_se/characters/anthony_gethryn) _social_ Miss Margaret Warren is a social acquaintance of Anthony Gethryn, interacting within the story's social dynamics. ### [Mr. Hastings](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rasp_se/characters/mr_hastings) _romantic_ Miss Margaret Warren and Mr. Hastings have a romantic relationship, with frequent interactions indicating strong personal involvement. ### [Sir Arthur Digby-Coates](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rasp_se/characters/sir_arthur_digby_coates) _social_ Miss Margaret Warren and Sir Arthur Digby-Coates are social acquaintances, with interactions suggesting a formal social connection. ### [Sir Arthur Digby-Coates](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rasp_se/characters/sir_arthur_digby_coates) _social_ Miss Margaret Warren and Sir Arthur Digby-Coates are social acquaintances, with interactions suggesting a formal social connection. ## In the story ### [Tolling the Bell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rasp_se/chapters/i-tolling-the-bell) Hastings's efficient secretary; brings the news of the murder and suggests recruiting Anthony Gethryn. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rasp_se/chapters/i) Hastings's efficient secretary, returns unexpectedly from Marling with the news of Hoode's murder; initially trembling and white-faced, she quickly regains composure. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rasp_se/chapters/ii) Efficient secretary who corrects Hastings's phrasing, suggests improvements, and persuades him to recruit Anthony Gethryn. ### [VII: The Prejudiced Detective](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rasp_se/chapters/vii-the-prejudiced-detective) Answers the phone at The Owl office, takes Anthony's message for Hastings about Jimmy Masterson. ### [The Inefficiency of Margaret](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rasp_se/chapters/viii-the-inefficiency-of-margaret) Takes initiative to visit Masterson's flat alone; endures a terrifying confrontation where Masterson confesses to murder while holding her at gunpoint. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rasp_se/chapters/i) The efficient secretary who takes initiative to find Masterson, despite her growing fear. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rasp_se/chapters/ii) Has left the office, leaving notes for Hastings; she has gone alone to the address given by Colonel Gethryn. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rasp_se/chapters/iii) Huddled in fear as the delirious man confesses to murder; rescued by Hastings; admits her love for him. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rasp_se/chapters/iv) Mentioned as Hastings' fiancée; asked to take shorthand notes at the inquest. ### [IX: The Inquest](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rasp_se/chapters/ix-the-inquest) Provides detailed notes on the inquest evidence and expresses intuitive doubts about Deacon and Laura Hoode. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rasp_se/chapters/ii) Seated at the press table; Anthony ignores her. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rasp_se/chapters/iii) Shares her observations, notes Laura Hoode's contradictory behavior, and agrees to type the inquest report. ### [XIV: Hay-Fever](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rasp_se/chapters/xiv-hay-fever) Hastings's secretary; she delivers the typed inquest report to Anthony and comments on his agitated state. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rasp_se/chapters/i) Hastings' secretary; her hair is disordered; she catches Anthony in the hall to give him the inquest report and later tells Hastings Anthony's agitation is due to a woman. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rasp_se/chapters/iii) Engaged to Spencer Hastings; playfully suggests Anthony Gethryn might not be eligible as best man. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rasp_se/characters/miss_margaret_warren - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rasp_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rasp_se/characters