Tono-Bungay · Character

Ewart

A bohemian artist and talker who treats society as a series of samples, and who gives George his sharpest language for seeing through it.

supporting

Also known as Rickmann Ewart, old Ewart, Sidney Ewart, Odd old Ewart, IV Ewart, Suddenly Ewart

First appearance: i how i became a london student and went astray

As a supporting figure in Tono-Bungay, Ewart is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

George's lifelong friend, a long-limbed lout with a knack for making the world seem wonderful; introduced George to love and imaginative thinking.

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Ewart is George's friend from the art-school years, a painter of odd, unfinished pictures and a theorist of the crosswise life, forever explaining that most people live in character while a few are jerked out of their stratum. He is cynical, generous, and unreliable, and his talk gives George a vocabulary for the social climbing and sliding that the novel is about. He matters because he is the book's resident intelligence, the friend whose ideas about class and accident quietly shape how George tells his own story.

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See Ewart in i how i became a london student and went astray

Character Web

3 connections

A slice of how Ewart sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Other

Character groups

Extended Social Web
Bladesover Aristocracy

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Narrative arc

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

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

This is the dramatic climax because it marks the emotional and psychological peak of the protagonist's romanti…

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In the story

Ewart appears across 15 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

VI
VII
I
II
III
IV
VI
IV
+7 more

VI
George's lifelong friend, a long-limbed lout with a knack for making the world seem wonderful; introduced George to love and imaginative thinking.
VII
George's school friend, with whom he discusses love and creates a story based on the doll's house.
I
Mentioned as the one who first evolved George's doubts about religion.
II
Mentioned at the end of the chapter as someone George finds on a remote hill in London.
III
A sculptor and bohemian; introduces George to socialism but remains a passive resister; lives a detached, morally ambiguous life with a model named Milly.
IV
Embodiment of talk and a leading factor in George's failure to study.
VI
Mentioned as a friend whose company was a diversion from study.
IV
Arrives with a black-eye, delivers a rambling speech about 'Chromatic Conflict' and Form, and steals a mustard pot for a tomb design.
II
An artist friend who provides ironic commentary on the nature of commerce and creates a satirical poster.
III
Sculptor and friend; engages in a lengthy discourse on the repressive figure of Mr. Grundy and the nature of morality, and advises George on his romantic troubles.
The Crisis of Conscience
Mentioned as someone George sought help from but found no solace.
Book III: The Great Days of Tono-Bungay
An artist friend who contributes to the visual branding and advertising of Tono-Bungay.
Our Progress from Camden Town to Crest Hill
Ewart creates a medallion of Uncle Edward that is displayed at the New Gallery.
VII
Sculptor; creates a medallion of Edward Ponderevo displayed at the New Gallery.
VIII
Mentioned as the artist commissioned for a chalice, who drew an advance but failed to deliver.

Chapter companion notes

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See Ewart in i how i became a london student and went astray

See Ewart in VI