# Henry Sampson — The Roman Hat Mystery character guide

> Henry Sampson in The Roman Hat Mystery by Ellery Queen.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** District Attorney Sampson, Sampson, Mr. Sampson

**First appearance:** 0005-part-one-i-in-which-are-introduced-a-theatre-audience-and-a-corpse

## Snapshot

The District Attorney who trades barbs and coffee with the Queens, fretting that an unsolved murder could cost him an election.

## Who they are

Sampson moves through the case as the law's political face, close enough to the Queens to laugh at the Inspector's parlor tricks yet candid that a botched investigation lands on his ballot. His running joke about a District Attorney's dangerous life barely hides the pressure of an approaching election, and he needles Queen about the bourgeois actors circling the Ives-Pope children. He matters because he keeps the murder tethered to consequence — every dead end is a vote, and every arrest a headline.

## Relationships

### [Ellery Queen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_roman_hat_mystery_se/characters/ellery_queen)

_professional_

Henry Sampson is a district attorney or legal professional working alongside Ellery on the case.

### [Ellery Queen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_roman_hat_mystery_se/characters/ellery_queen)

_professional_

Henry Sampson is a district attorney or legal professional working alongside Ellery on the case.

### [Ellery Queen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_roman_hat_mystery_se/characters/ellery_queen)

_professional_

Henry Sampson is a district attorney or legal professional working alongside Ellery on the case.

## In the story

### [Lexicon of Persons Connected with the Investigation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_roman_hat_mystery_se/chapters/lexicon-of-persons-connected-with-the-investigation)

For once an intelligent District Attorney.

### [In Which the District Attorney Turns Biographer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_roman_hat_mystery_se/chapters/part-one-vi-in-which-the-district-attorney-turns-biographer)

The District Attorney defies doctor's orders to visit the Inspector, bringing crucial background on Monte Field's criminal career and the quarrel with Morgan.

### [The Queens Take Stock](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_roman_hat_mystery_se/chapters/part-one-vii-the-queens-take-stock)

Attends the review, expresses support for Inspector Queen's investigation, and questions the decision to close the theatre.

### [In Which the Past Casts a Shadow](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_roman_hat_mystery_se/chapters/part-two-xi-in-which-the-past-casts-a-shadow)

District Attorney who facilitates the meeting with Ives-Pope and later joins the Queens for lunch.

### [In Which Inspector Queen Conducts More Legal Conversations](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_roman_hat_mystery_se/chapters/part-four-xix-in-which-inspector-queen-conducts-more-legal-conversations)

Present at the theatre, observing Inspector Queen's unusual mood.

### [XXII: —and Explains](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_roman_hat_mystery_se/chapters/part-four-xxii-and-explains)

District Attorney Sampson visits to congratulate Queen and listens to the explanation of the investigation.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_roman_hat_mystery_se/characters/henry_sampson
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_roman_hat_mystery_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_roman_hat_mystery_se/characters