The Way We Live Now · Character

Lady Pomona Longestaffe

The proud mistress of Caversham, who measures her family's standing in invitations and considers the Melmottes her particular friends at precisely the wrong moment.

supporting

Also known as Lady Pomona, Pomona, poor Lady Pomona

First appearance: XIII: The Longestaffes

As a supporting figure in The Way We Live Now, Lady Pomona Longestaffe is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Discusses the Melmotte visit with her daughters, hoping Dolly might marry Marie Melmotte for money.

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Lady Pomona Longestaffe is one of the proudest women in England, a country gentlewoman whose sense of rank is so finely tuned that she can persuade herself the arriviste Melmottes are quite her particular friends when it suits her daughter's prospects. She presides over Caversham and over the marriage ambitions of Georgiana and the fecklessness of Dolly with equal anxiety, forever scheming to keep the family's position intact. Her snobbery and her financial innocence make her a perfect mark for Melmotte's dealings, and her household becomes one of the stages on which the novel's social comedy of climbing and falling is played out.

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See Lady Pomona Longestaffe in XIII: The Longestaffes

Narrative arc

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

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

This excerpt marks the dramatic climax because it reveals the central emotional and psychological crisis: Hett…

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In the story

Lady Pomona Longestaffe appears across 7 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

XIII: The Longestaffes
Discusses the Melmotte visit with her daughters, hoping Dolly might marry Marie Melmotte for money.
Marie Melmotte Hears a Love Tale
Hosts the gathering at Caversham, performing her part in the social treaty with the Melmottes.
Everybody Goes to Them
Lady Pomona mediates between her husband and daughters, conveying the invitation from the Melmottes and worrying about the family's social standing.
Miss Longestaffe's Lover
Georgiana's mother, old-fashioned and prejudiced against Jews; Georgiana fears telling her.
Miss Longestaffe Again at Caversham
Deeply distressed by Georgiana's engagement to a Jew; withdraws from her daughter and supports Sophia's wedding preparations.
The Brehgert Correspondence
Georgiana's mother, unsympathetic to her daughter's plight and dismissive of the idea of going abroad.
The Longestaffe Marriages
Struggles to manage Georgiana's ill-humour and the tension in the household; learns of Georgiana's walks with Mr. Batherbolt but postpones telling her husband.

Chapter companion notes

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See Lady Pomona Longestaffe in XIII: The Longestaffes