The Venetians · Character

Harold Marchant

Eve's brother, a swindler and forger whose darkness threatens to overshadow his blameless sister's name at every turn.

supporting

Also known as Harold, Mr. Harold Marchant, Marchant, Mr. Marchant

First appearance: i in the city by the sea

As a supporting figure in The Venetians, Harold Marchant is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

See Harold Marchant in i in the city by the sea Book page

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Harold Marchant is the darker character than even his disreputable father — a forger and swindler whose crimes make him the specific dread of the Vansittart family's legal counsel. His sister Eve is blameless, but society does not easily forgive sisters for such relationships, and the pseudo-scientific craze of heredity makes the bad strain seem inevitable. His offstage presence is the shadow that falls across the betrothal in the early-middle arc: the reason Mrs. Vansittart cannot let her heart go out to the girl who is so soon to be as a daughter.

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The fuller portrait of Harold Marchant sits in Reading Lens — open the free preview to keep reading with notes on the page.

See Harold Marchant in i in the city by the sea

Character Web

29 connections

A slice of how Harold Marchant sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Family
Other

Character groups

Central social families
Venetian local characters
Minor and background figures
Protagonist

+24 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

Eve’s confrontation with Fiordelisa is the dramatic climax because it forces the two women—rivals in love—into…

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Relationships

Eve Marchant
family · ambivalent
Harold is Eve's brother, and their relationship is marked by sibling rivalry and… How this plays out →
Mr. Sefton
rivalry · negative
Eve Marchant
family · ambivalent
Harold is Eve's brother, and their relationship is marked by sibling rivalry and… How this plays out →
Eve Marchant
family · ambivalent
Harold is Eve's brother, and their relationship is marked by sibling rivalry and… How this plays out →
Mr. Sefton
rivalry · negative
Mr. Sefton
rivalry · negative

Eve Marchant
Harold is Eve's brother, and their relationship is marked by sibling rivalry and protective tension.
Mr. Sefton
Harold sees Mr. Sefton as a rival for Eve's attention and despises his influence over the family.
Eve Marchant
Harold is Eve's brother, and their relationship is marked by sibling rivalry and protective tension.
Eve Marchant
Harold is Eve's brother, and their relationship is marked by sibling rivalry and protective tension.
Mr. Sefton
Harold sees Mr. Sefton as a rival for Eve's attention and despises his influence over the family.
Mr. Sefton
Harold sees Mr. Sefton as a rival for Eve's attention and despises his influence over the family.

Relationship notes

How these ties play out is in the reading companion — open the free preview.

See Harold Marchant in i in the city by the sea