# Mr. Craigie — The Spy in Black character guide

> Mr. Craigie in The Spy in Black by J. Storer Clouston.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** old Craigie, Craigie, Richard Craigie, Richard

**First appearance:** 0007-i-the-pleasant-stranger

## Snapshot

A local man whose household the reluctant governess abandoned for adventure, and to whom she now hopes to return with apologies and explanations.

## Who they are

Craigie belongs to the ordinary domestic world that the story's spy-catcher heroine has temporarily fled, and he becomes the measure of what she gave up and what she must now reclaim. His forgiveness matters less for what he knows than for what he represents: a safe, dull life she is willing to resume because she has nowhere else to go and nothing else to do. When the heroine tells her handler she treated the Craigies rather badly, the moment quietly exposes the human cost of the work she has chosen.

## Relationships

### [Eileen Holland](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_spy_in_black_se/characters/eileen_holland)

_professional_

Eileen Holland and Mr. Craigie are likely colleagues or handler-agent in intelligence work, given their high interaction count.

### [Adolph Tiel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_spy_in_black_se/characters/adolph_tiel)

_professional_

Adolph Tiel and Mr. Craigie are likely professional contacts, possibly handler and agent.

### [Eileen Holland](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_spy_in_black_se/characters/eileen_holland)

_professional_

Eileen Holland and Mr. Craigie are likely colleagues or handler-agent in intelligence work, given their high interaction count.

### [Eileen Holland](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_spy_in_black_se/characters/eileen_holland)

_professional_

Eileen Holland and Mr. Craigie are likely colleagues or handler-agent in intelligence work, given their high interaction count.

### [Adolph Tiel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_spy_in_black_se/characters/adolph_tiel)

_professional_

Adolph Tiel and Mr. Craigie are likely professional contacts, possibly handler and agent.

### [Adolph Tiel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_spy_in_black_se/characters/adolph_tiel)

_professional_

Adolph Tiel and Mr. Craigie are likely professional contacts, possibly handler and agent.

## In the story

### [VI: The Vanishing Governess](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_spy_in_black_se/chapters/vi-the-vanishing-governess)

The laird of Breck, a jovial humorist who is taken in by Eileen's charm and later duped into helping her escape.

### [Part IV: Lieutenant von Belke’s Narrative Concluded](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_spy_in_black_se/chapters/part-iv-lieutenant-von-belke-s-narrative-concluded)

Visits the manse and is involved in the unfolding events.

### [II: Thursday](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_spy_in_black_se/chapters/ii-thursday)

Easygoing farmer and former employer of Eileen; arrives to investigate her reappearance.

### [III: Thursday Night](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_spy_in_black_se/chapters/iii-thursday-night)

Craigie is referenced in the narrator's thoughts as an eccentric character whose behavior gave Tiel's plan a chance to succeed.

### [III: The Empty Envelope](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_spy_in_black_se/chapters/iii-the-empty-envelope)

Mentioned as having been told the truth about Eileen's desertion.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_spy_in_black_se/characters/mr_craigie
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_spy_in_black_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_spy_in_black_se/characters