Who is Marian Halcombe?

Marian Halcombe is Laura’s elder half-sister: plain-faced, brilliant, and fearless. She manages Limmeridge household affairs, discovers Percival and Fosco’s plot by hiding on a roof, and keeps a diary that becomes the novel’s moral and intellectual spine. When Laura is imprisoned as “Anne,” Marian fights to expose the swap even at the cost of her health.

Collins gives Marian agency rare for 1860s heroines, yet she cannot marry Walter or inherit Laura’s legal ease. She is protector, not bride — which keeps the book’s gender critique sharp. Assign Marian’s diary sections first for students who need a hero with a plan, not only a victim to rescue.