# Old Squire Harry — The Wyvern Mystery character guide > Old Squire Harry in The Wyvern Mystery by J. Sheridan Le Fanu. **Role:** major **Also known as:** old Squire Harry, Squire Harry, The old Squire, The proud old Squire, Harry, Harry o ’ Wyvern, Squire of Wyvern, Wyvern, old Wyvern, Old Squire Harry **First appearance:** 0000-i-alice-maybell ## Snapshot The proud, dying patriarch of Wyvern, whose stubborn will and old grudges shape every Fairfield ambition long before his breath runs out. ## Who they are Old Squire Harry rules Wyvern with a mulberry face and a temper that has kept his sons and dependents circling his favor for years. As sickness closes in, he clings to his authority, dictating the terms of his will and refusing to soften old quarrels even at the end. He matters because the estate, the inheritance, and the futures of Alice, Charles, and Harry all hang on his decisions, and his death sets the whole machinery of the plot in motion. ## Relationships ### [Alice Maybell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wyvern_mystery_se/characters/alice_maybell) _family_ Alice and Old Squire Harry are likely grandfather and granddaughter, with a warm but complicated familial bond. ### [Tom Tarnley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wyvern_mystery_se/characters/tom_tarnley) _rivalry_ Old Squire Harry and Tom are locked in a bitter feud, likely over land, inheritance, or past wrongs. ### [Sergeant-Major Archdale](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wyvern_mystery_se/characters/sergeant_major_archdale) _rivalry_ Old Squire Harry and Archdale are adversaries, with Archdale threatening the squire's family and legacy. ### [Charles Fairfield](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wyvern_mystery_se/characters/charles_fairfield) _family_ Charles and Old Squire Harry are father and son, with a relationship marked by respect but also conflict over Alice. ### [Alice Maybell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wyvern_mystery_se/characters/alice_maybell) _family_ Alice and Old Squire Harry are likely grandfather and granddaughter, with a warm but complicated familial bond. ### [Tom Tarnley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wyvern_mystery_se/characters/tom_tarnley) _rivalry_ Old Squire Harry and Tom are locked in a bitter feud, likely over land, inheritance, or past wrongs. ### [Sergeant-Major Archdale](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wyvern_mystery_se/characters/sergeant_major_archdale) _rivalry_ Old Squire Harry and Archdale are adversaries, with Archdale threatening the squire's family and legacy. ### [Alice Maybell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wyvern_mystery_se/characters/alice_maybell) _family_ Alice and Old Squire Harry are likely grandfather and granddaughter, with a warm but complicated familial bond. ### [Tom Tarnley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wyvern_mystery_se/characters/tom_tarnley) _rivalry_ Old Squire Harry and Tom are locked in a bitter feud, likely over land, inheritance, or past wrongs. ### [Charles Fairfield](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wyvern_mystery_se/characters/charles_fairfield) _family_ Charles and Old Squire Harry are father and son, with a relationship marked by respect but also conflict over Alice. ### [Sergeant-Major Archdale](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wyvern_mystery_se/characters/sergeant_major_archdale) _rivalry_ Old Squire Harry and Archdale are adversaries, with Archdale threatening the squire's family and legacy. ### [Charles Fairfield](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wyvern_mystery_se/characters/charles_fairfield) _family_ Charles and Old Squire Harry are father and son, with a relationship marked by respect but also conflict over Alice. ## In the story ### [IV: The Old Squire and Alice Maybell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wyvern_mystery_se/chapters/iv-the-old-squire-and-alice-maybell) The aging, grim, and austere master of Wyvern, who resents his mortality and rules with a harsh hand. ### [V: The Terrace Garden](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wyvern_mystery_se/chapters/v-the-terrace-garden) The old Squire confronts his servant Tom about gossip, then seeks out Alice in the terrace garden. He speaks gruffly but kindly, hinting at a future where she stays at Wyvern and dismissing talk of his death. ### [The Squire's Eldest Son Comes Home](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wyvern_mystery_se/chapters/vii-the-squire-s-eldest-son-comes-home) Transformed into a grotesque lover, he proposes to Alice Maybell and treats his son Charles with hostility, seeing him as an obstacle. ### [IX: In Which the Squire Loses His Gold-Headed Cane](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wyvern_mystery_se/chapters/ix-in-which-the-squire-loses-his-gold-headed-cane) Enraged by Alice's departure and Charles's revelation, he attacks Charles with his cane, loses the struggle, falls, and injures himself, then curses his son. ### [X: The Drive Over Cressley Common by Moonlight](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wyvern_mystery_se/chapters/x-the-drive-over-cressley-common-by-moonlight) Grieves and rages after Alice's departure, cursing her and Charles, and orders her room cleared. ### [Home to Wyvern](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wyvern_mystery_se/chapters/xlvii-home-to-wyvern) Refuses to attend Charles's funeral, expresses bitter regret, and later shows unexpected kindness to Dobbs. ### [LI: Sergeant-Major Archdale](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wyvern_mystery_se/chapters/li-sergeant-major-archdale) Irascible and aging, he confronts Harry about a horse that broke a boy's arm, foreshadowing his own decline. ### [The Old Squire Leaves Wyvern](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wyvern_mystery_se/chapters/lvi-the-old-squire-leaves-wyvern) The dying Squire of Wyvern, stubborn and unyielding, he reviews his will, refuses the parson's claim, and bids a poignant farewell to Tom Ward before his death. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wyvern_mystery_se/characters/old_squire_harry - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wyvern_mystery_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wyvern_mystery_se/characters