# Mr. Hannibal Tingcomb — The Splendid Spur character guide

> Mr. Hannibal Tingcomb in The Splendid Spur by Arthur Quiller-Couch.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Hannibal, Master Hannibal Tingcomb, Master Tingcomb, Tingcomb

**First appearance:** 0002-i-the-bowling-green-of-the-crown

## Snapshot

A sallow lawyer in black who eats ham over a coffin he has nailed shut himself, and swears the corpse inside is his own master.

## Who they are

Hannibal Tingcomb is the Killigrews' scheming steward, a man whose straight hair, soft voice, and appetite for ham hide a colder purpose. When Jack and Delia arrive at Gleys, they find him presiding over a closed coffin and a household of hired mourners, insisting the master is dead. His performance is the hinge on which the middle of the book turns: a villain who works through paperwork, poison, and other people's grief.

## In the story

### [XIII: I Buy a Looking Glass at Bodmin Fair: And Meet with Mr. Hannibal Tingcomb](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_splendid_spur_se/chapters/xiii-i-buy-a-looking-glass-at-bodmin-fair-and-meet-with-mr-hannibal-tingcomb)

Seen in a carriage at the fair; identified by Joan as steward of Gleys.

### [XIV: I Do No Good in the House of Gleys](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_splendid_spur_se/chapters/xiv-i-do-no-good-in-the-house-of-gleys)

Confronted at Gleys; exposed as the white-haired man from Oxford; writes a confession under duress.

### [XV: I Leave Joan and Ride to the Wars](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_splendid_spur_se/chapters/xv-i-leave-joan-and-ride-to-the-wars)

Mentioned as the villain who tricked Jack; Jack plans revenge.

### [The Adventure of the Hearse](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_splendid_spur_se/chapters/xix-the-adventure-of-the-hearse)

Mentioned as the intended target of the hearse ambush; the minister refers to him as still living and awaiting them at his house.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_splendid_spur_se/characters/hannibal_tingcomb
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- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_splendid_spur_se/characters