# Madame Breda — The Three Hostages character guide

> Madame Breda in The Three Hostages by John Buchan.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Madame

**First appearance:** 0010-ix-i-am-introduced-to-strong-magic

## Snapshot

A handsome, dark, foreign hostess who lifts a lamp to a visitor's face and studies her like a specimen before deciding anything.

## Who they are

Madame Breda presides over a strange, fire-lit room hidden behind an ordinary house, dressed as if she has been dining out, speaking to an old lady in a foreign tongue. She interrogates the shabby district-visitor Agnes Clarke with unsettling directness — age, name, family — and waves her to a low couch rather than a chair. She matters because she is one of the quiet gatekeepers of Medina's world, and Hannay's inability to get past her rigmarole is one of his sharpest frustrations.

## Relationships

### [Mary Hannay](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_three_hostages_se/characters/mary_hannay)

_professional_

Madame Breda is a servant or companion to Mary, assisting with household matters and providing support.

### [Mary Hannay](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_three_hostages_se/characters/mary_hannay)

_professional_

Madame Breda is a servant or companion to Mary, assisting with household matters and providing support.

## In the story

### [The House in Gospel Oak](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_three_hostages_se/chapters/vi-the-house-in-gospel-oak)

Performs the hypnotic induction on Hannay, speaking in a crooning voice and attempting to extract a promise of servitude.

### [The Blind Spinner](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_three_hostages_se/chapters/viii-the-blind-spinner)

Referenced in Dr. Newhover's report; Hannay realizes Medina's mother was the third person in the Palmyra Square scene.

### [XVII: The District-Visitor in Palmyra Square](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_three_hostages_se/chapters/xvii-the-district-visitor-in-palmyra-square)

The foreign owner of the house, who is suspicious of the district-visitor and speaks with little accent in English.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_three_hostages_se/characters/madame_breda
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_three_hostages_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_three_hostages_se/characters