Character guide

Sheen

major

Also known as B. Sheen, III Sheen, Mr. Sheen, Dear Sheen, R. D. Sheen, XX Sheen, X Sheen, IX Sheen

Sheen is a senior boy whose rank in the sixth form sits uneasily beside his failure to stand with Drummond when the town boys rush the school. He argues himself into a statesmanlike defense, then watches it collapse brick by brick in the silence of his study, until the shame of having disgraced Seymour's becomes unbearable. His decision to seek out Joe Bevan and train for the House Boxing cup gives the novel its engine: a boy trying to buy back his own good opinion with his fists.

Drummond

supporting

Also known as Mr. Drummond, XVI Drummond

Drummond is the kind of Wrykyn senior whose instinct is to run toward trouble, and he does it without a word of reproach when Sheen fails to follow. His swollen, cut knuckle in the study scene says more than any accusation could, and his quiet presence becomes the standard against which Sheen measures himself. He matters because he never lectures: he simply is what Sheen is not, and that is enough to drive the story forward.

Linton

supporting

Also known as Mr. Linton

Linton treats the senior day-room's tribunal over Sheen's disgrace as a comic set-piece, puncturing Clayton's pomposity and refusing to let Stanning run the proceedings unchallenged. He is the friend who fetches Sheen down to face the music, then stands beside him needling the accusers rather than defending him outright. His irreverence gives the early chapters their Wodehouse texture and keeps the house's moralizing from becoming merely grim.

Joe Bevan

supporting

Also known as Mr. Joe Bevan, Mr. Bevan, Bevan, old Joe

Joe Bevan gave up fighting when he found he was getting on, and now trains young chaps at an inn up the river, sizing up Sheen's courage the moment he sees him stand up to Albert. His pitch to Sheen is practical and unsentimental: learn to box, and the hooligan who would have thrashed you will run at the sight of your shape. He becomes the instrument of Sheen's repair, and his faith in the straight left is the novel's quiet creed of technique over bluster.

Stanning

supporting

Also known as Attell

Stanning sits on the table in the senior day-room, directs Clayton through the court-martial, and cuts off Linton's ragging with a curt 'we haven't much time.' He is the house's enforcer of its own code, less cruel than administrative, and his presence makes Sheen's disgrace feel official rather than merely personal. He matters because he represents the verdict Sheen must overturn, and his name is the one Sheen hears when the sentence is handed down.

Jack Bruce

supporting

Also known as Bruce

Jack Bruce is the practical friend who drives Sheen to Joe Bevan's gymnasium while canvassing cottagers for his father's campaign, roping in old voters who would never stir for an ordinary cart. He is curious, good-humored, and slightly rum in his own way, and his running commentary on the Old Man and on Sheen's Aldershot showing keeps the story's social world turning. He matters because he makes Sheen's secret training possible and because his electioneering gives the novel its wider Wrykyn texture.

Spence

minor

Also known as Mr. Spence

A master at Wrykyn who interacts with the students.

Dunstable

minor

Also known as Mr. Dunstable, XII Dunstable

A Wrykyn student who goes up the river with Linton.

Albert

supporting

Also known as Herbert, dear old Albert, Bertie, Albert Redivivus

Albert belongs to the town crowd that clashes with the school, and his charge through the fight sends Barry staggering while Sheen slips away. Cheerful, battered, and utterly unbothered, he embodies the rough courage Sheen lacks, and his grinning, bloodied face haunts Sheen's walk home. He matters because that single glimpse triggers the shame that drives the novel's central crisis.

The Tonbridgian

minor

Also known as a Tonbridgian

A student from Tonbridge School who briefly interacts with Sheen.

Allardyce

minor

A Wrykyn student and member of the school community.

Ripton

supporting

Also known as Peteiro, the Ripton, The great Peteiro, Peteiro of Ripton

Known as Peteiro, he is the punishing Ripton fighter who once left Drummond limping and battered after the Featherweights. His feared name resurfaces in the Field's match report, quietly wrecking Stanning's plans and reshaping the school's boxing fortunes. He never needs to appear in person: the dread he inspires exposes who is brave and who is merely cunning.

The Headmaster

minor

The headmaster of Wrykyn School, a figure of authority.

Jackson

minor

A student or staff member at Wrykyn with limited appearances.

Frank Hunt

minor

Also known as Francis, Hunt, Francis Hunt

A character involved in the school's social circles.

Clayton

minor

A student at Wrykyn with minor narrative presence.

Dexter

minor

Also known as Mr. Dexter

A master or adult figure at Wrykyn.

Barry

minor

A minor character in the school setting.

Tomlin

minor

A minor character in the school setting.

Painter

minor

A minor character with a few mentions.

Seymour

minor

Also known as Mr. Seymour, a Seymour

A master at Wrykyn who has one success with his students.

Clowes

minor

A Wrykyn student who appears in the background.

Trevor

minor

A student at Wrykyn with minor mentions.

O'Hara

minor

A character with a minor role in the story.

Rigby

minor

A student with a few mentions in the narrative.

Young Menzies

minor

Also known as Menzies, the Menzies

A student from a rival school or local area.

Sergeant Cook

minor

Also known as Cook

A military figure or school staff member.

Crowle

minor

A minor character in the Wrykyn community.

Saul Pedder

minor

Also known as Mr. Saul Pedder, Mr. Pedder, Good old Pedder, Pedder

A character associated with the boxing or school scenes.

Mitchell

minor

A minor character with limited appearances.

Dunn

minor

A student or staff member at Wrykyn.

Keith

minor

A student with a few mentions in the story.

Appleby

minor

Also known as Mason of Appleby

A character from another school briefly mentioned.

Smith

minor

Also known as Mr. Smith

A minor character with a generic name.

Renford

minor

A minor character in the narrative.

Mrs. Cook

minor

A female character, possibly a housekeeper or mother.

Jenkins

minor

Also known as old George Jenkins

An older character, possibly a servant or local.

Templar

minor

Also known as Mr. Templar

A minor character with a formal title.

Donaldson

minor

Also known as the good Donaldson, Mr. Donaldson

A character briefly mentioned in the story.