Character guide

Merton Densher

major

Also known as Densher, Mr. Densher, Mr. Merton Densher, poor Densher

A clever, threadbare London journalist whose secret engagement to Kate Croy forces him to weigh love against the price of worldly advancement.

Kate Croy

major

Also known as Kate, Croy, Kitty, poor worried Kate, Kate Croy

Beautiful, clear-eyed, and dangerously practical, she waits in her father's shabby rooms for an interview she already knows will be the worst.

Milly Theale

major

Also known as Milly, Mildred, Mildred Theale, Miss Theale, Little Miss Theale, Theale

A rich, generous young American heiress arrives in Europe hungry for life, unaware how much her fortune and her fragility excite the designs of others.

Susan Stringham

supporting

Also known as Mrs. Stringham, poor Mrs. Stringham, the admirable Mrs. Stringham, Mildred, Shepherd, Susan Shepherd, Susan Stringham, Susie, dear old Susie, poor Susie, Dear Susan, Poor Susie

A widowed American writer and Milly's devoted companion, she watches her young friend's European adventure with maternal tenderness and mounting unease.

Lord Mark

supporting

Also known as Mark, old Lord Mark, Book V I Lord Mark

A polished, impecunious English aristocrat who courts Milly Theale with the easy assurance of a man who has always been welcomed everywhere.

Maud Lowder

supporting

Also known as Mrs. Lowder, Aunt Maud, Maud, Dear old Aunt Maud, the squared, dear Aunt Maud, Maud Manningham

Kate's formidable, richly upholstered aunt, whose vast drawing-room at Lancaster Gate is a stage on which marriages are arranged and fortunes weighed.

Sir Luke Strett

supporting

Also known as Sir Luke, Luke, Sir

Sir Luke Strett moves through the novel as the doctor everyone wishes to consult and no one quite knows how to read, summoned by well-meaning friends to pronounce on Milly's condition. His professional calm is both a mercy and a burden: he tells the truth without drama, leaving his patient to decide how to live with what he says. His presence turns the question of Milly's illness from a private dread into a social fact, and his later visits keep her fate quietly in play as her circle closes around her.

Marian Condrip

minor

Also known as Poor Marian, Marian, poor Marian, Mrs. Condrip

Kate's widowed sister, struggling with poverty and her children.

Eugenio

minor

Also known as the great Eugenio, The great Eugenio

Milly's Italian courier and servant in Venice.

Lionel Croy

minor

Also known as Mr. Croy, So Mr. Croy

Kate's disreputable, estranged father who seeks money from her.

Mrs. Densher

minor

Also known as Densher

Merton Densher's mother, a minor figure in his background.

Mr. Condrip

minor

Marian's deceased husband, mentioned as a clergyman.

Lady Aldershaw

minor

A society acquaintance encountered at a party.

Brown Pasquale

minor

Also known as Pasquale

A servant in the Venetian household.

Lady Wells

minor

A minor society figure mentioned in conversation.

Dr. Finch

minor

A doctor briefly mentioned in relation to Milly's care.