Character guide

George Finch

major

Also known as Mr. Finch, Georgie, Finch

George Finch arrives at the Waddington doorstep with a transparent excuse about a runaway dog, only to be swept into dinner and into Molly's affections. His painful shyness — ears crimson, sentences collapsing into a litany about Airedales — is the very thing that disarms her, and his supposed poverty as an artist makes him forbidden fruit to her stepmother. His halting courtship sets the romantic machinery of the novel in motion.

Hamilton Beamish

major

Also known as Mr. Beamish, Hamilton, J. Hamilton Beamish

Hamilton Beamish prides himself on developing his views, which is why he can announce with a straight face that he has fallen in love with a girl he met on a bus and whose name he does not know. He can recite her hat, her shoes, and her eyes like the mists of sunrise, but not her address. As Molly's confidant and George's defender, he becomes the novel's amused, slightly pompous engine of romantic advice.

Sigsbee H. Waddington

major

Also known as Sigsbee Waddington, Mrs. Waddington, Sigsbee H.

Sigsbee H. Waddington is the indulgent, slightly addled husband who introduced George Finch into the household and must now answer for it under his wife's withering gaze. He breaks ornaments, confuses Follansbee with Ferguson, and dreams of visiting the Zoo, yet he can summon sudden firmness when Molly's wedding venue is at stake. His cheerful blundering keeps the domestic comedy simmering.

Mr. Waddington

supporting

Also known as Waddington, old Waddington

Mr. Waddington belongs to the household's older generation, a figure whose money, marriages, and pearl necklaces shape the younger characters' fortunes. His legacy — including the necklace held in trust for Molly — becomes a pivot of the plot's schemes and misunderstandings. He matters less for what he does than for what his estate and name set in motion among the living.

Molly Waddington

supporting

Also known as little Molly Waddington, Miss Molly, Molly

Molly Waddington floats brightly into rooms where her stepmother is heaving with rage, cheerfully recounting how George proposed at the Zoo with ears absolutely crimson. She sees past his shyness to the lambkin beneath, and she has a pearl necklace in trust that could fund a runaway marriage if it comes to that. Her determination to have bridesmaids, cake, and her mother's blessing drives the romantic plot.

Officer Garroway

supporting

Also known as Garroway, the vengeful Garroway

Officer Garroway cringes before Hamilton Beamish's superior intelligence and endures a coffeepot to the eye during the fracas at the Purple Chicken, all while a tablecloth muffles his view of his attacker. He haunts doorways and fire-escapes in pursuit of George Finch, convinced he has just spoken to a man who is supposedly miles away on his wedding trip. His dogged, unlucky pursuit supplies the novel's farcical chase.

Fanny Welch

minor

Also known as little Fanny, Fanny

A minor character with a role in the narrative.

Lord Hunstanton

minor

Also known as Hunstanton

An aristocrat who appears in social scenes.

Mr. Mullett

supporting

Also known as Mullett

Mullett works for George Finch, and his mild, put-upon manner makes him a fixture in the comic traffic of the Sheridan's roof and corridors. When Officer Garroway insists he has seen that face before — perhaps in a photograph — Mullett grows testy and evasive, hinting at a past he would rather not have inspected. His discomfort plants a small, nagging mystery that keeps the early chapters humming with suspicion.

Rupert Anthony Ferris

minor

Also known as Ferris, Mrs. Ferris

A character with connections to the main cast.

May Stubbs

supporting

Also known as Stubbs, May, Miss Stubbs

May Stubbs steps off a bus and into Hamilton Beamish's life, taking his eye — and his composure — with her. He can describe her hat, her shoes, and her tender grey eyes in exhaustive detail, yet he does not know her name, only that she is connected to Molly's stepmother. Her brief, vivid presence turns the confirmed bachelor into a lovesick theorist and gives the story one of its earliest, giddiest mysteries.

Madame Eulalie

minor

A mysterious figure with a brief appearance.

Frederick Mullett

minor

Also known as Freddie, Mrs. Frederick Mullett, little Frederick

A relative of the Mullett family.

Fanny Mullett

minor

Also known as a mere Mullett

A member of the Mullett family.

Lancelot Biffen

minor

Also known as Mr. Biffen, Mr. Lancelot Biffen

A named character with limited presence.

Sigsbee Horatio Waddington

minor

Also known as Sigsbee Horatio

An alternate name for a Waddington family member.

Guiseppe

minor

A minor character with a brief role.

C

minor

An initial used as a placeholder.

Freddy Mullett

minor

Also known as Freddy, Mullett

A younger member of the Mullett family.

James

minor

Also known as Jimmy, Jimmy dear

A minor character called by name.

Pinch

minor

Also known as Winch, Nor Winch

A name mentioned in passing.

United Beef

minor

An organization referenced in the story.

Zane Grey

minor

A historical name drop with no scene presence.

Gallagher

minor

Also known as Gallagher Sigsbee H. Waddington

A minor character linked to the Waddingtons.

Rev. Gideon Voules

minor

Also known as The Rev. Gideon, The Reverend Gideon Voules

A clergyman who appears briefly.

Mulcahy

minor

Also known as Garrity

A name mentioned in dialogue.

Honey

minor

A minor character with a pet name.

Mother

minor

A familial reference without a given name.

Delancy Cabot

minor

Also known as Mr. Delancy Cabot, Mr. Cabot, Cabot

A named character with a minor role.

John Porter

minor

A name mentioned in the narrative.

Purbach

minor

A historical reference with no scene presence.

Mr. Winch

minor

Also known as Winch

A minor character mentioned by name.

Brewster Bodthorne

minor

Also known as Mr. Brewster Bodthorne

A named character with a brief appearance.

Shakespeare

minor

A historical name drop.

Tycho Brahe

minor

Also known as Tycho

A historical figure mentioned in passing.

The Purple Chicken

minor

Also known as Purple Chicken

A named entity or establishment.

Stark

minor

A minor character or reference.

Venters

minor

A name mentioned without context.

Love

minor

An abstract or personified reference.