# The Riddle of the Sands — Character guide

> Key figures in The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers.

- [Arthur H. Davies](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_riddle_of_the_sands_se/characters/arthur_h_davies.md): A shy, obsessive yachtsman whose restless instinct for the Frisian shallows turns a casual cruise into a hunt for something far more dangerous than weather.
- [Carruthers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_riddle_of_the_sands_se/characters/carruthers.md): A bored Foreign Office man who trades his desk for a small yacht's cockpit, and finds his diplomatic instincts suddenly, urgently useful.
- [Dollmann](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_riddle_of_the_sands_se/characters/dollmann.md): An outwardly hospitable German yacht owner whose evasions and careful courtesies hide a past he will do almost anything to keep submerged.
- [Fräulein Dollmann](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_riddle_of_the_sands_se/characters/frauline_dollmann.md): Dollmann's watchful daughter, caught between loyalty to her father and the uneasy knowledge that strangers are beginning to see through him.
- [Commander von Brüning](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_riddle_of_the_sands_se/characters/commander_von_bruning.md): A polished German naval officer whose cordial hospitality toward two wandering English yachtsmen is a shade too attentive to be entirely friendly.
- [Herr Böhme](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_riddle_of_the_sands_se/characters/herr_bohme.md): A rasping, ghoulishly cheerful German official whose monthly visits to Memmert and easy talk about the coast make him a man worth listening to closely.
- [Grimm](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_riddle_of_the_sands_se/characters/grimm.md): A German acquaintance of Davies who provides local knowledge.
- [Bartels](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_riddle_of_the_sands_se/characters/bartels.md): A German sailor who assists the protagonists.
- [Karl Schicker](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_riddle_of_the_sands_se/characters/karl_schicker.md): A German pilot or guide encountered during the voyage.
- [Herr Schenkel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_riddle_of_the_sands_se/characters/herr_schenkel.md): A German official met briefly in the islands.
- [Lieutenant X⸺](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_riddle_of_the_sands_se/characters/lieutenant_x.md): A German naval lieutenant involved in the conspiracy.
- [Davis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_riddle_of_the_sands_se/characters/davis.md): A minor character or alias referenced in the narrative.
- [Hans](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_riddle_of_the_sands_se/characters/hans.md): A German sailor or local encountered briefly.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_riddle_of_the_sands_se/characters