Character guide

Little Billee

major

Also known as Billee

Little Billee is the magnetic center of the bohemian circle in the Place St. Anatole des Arts, admired by Taffy, the Laird, and Trilby alike. His charm is inseparable from his sincerity, and the narrator insists he is 'full of genius' as well as simple and affectionate. When he and his mother and sister leave Paris, the studio empties of its warmth, and his absence becomes the measure of how much the others have lost.

Trilby

major

Also known as Trilby demeura, Poor Trilby, Dear Trilby

Trilby is one of the two 'central figures' whose charm Taffy and the Laird only fully grasp once she is gone. She is funny without being vulgar, even in French, and her farewell letter — 'Oh, it has been a jolly time, though it didn't last long!' — captures both her warmth and her awareness of impermanence. Her absence leaves a hole in the studio that nothing fills, and the grand piano she once played sits like a mausoleum.

Taffy

supporting

Also known as old Taffy, big Taffy, the good Taffy, Taffy Wynne

Taffy is the reliable center of the Paris circle, the one who boxes and fences and keeps the studio running when others drift. After Trilby and Little Billee leave, he and the Laird drift into sad lunches at the Café de l'Odéon and respectable dinners 'like gentlemen,' going through the motions of ordinary life. His softening forearms and mopey routines show how deeply the loss of those two charming presences has unsettled him.

Svengali

major

Also known as la Svengali, Madame Svengali, Poor Svengali

Svengali hovers at the edge of the bohemian circle, disliked but not quite dismissible, a figure whose strange influence lingers even after he stops coming around. The narrator notes that 'even Svengali was missed, little as he had been liked,' which hints at how thoroughly he had woven himself into the texture of the studio's life. His absence, like the piano nobody plays, becomes one more sign of how much has changed.

Mrs. Bagot

supporting

Also known as poor Mrs. Bagot, Blanche Bagot

Mrs. Bagot arrives in Paris as part of the family trio — mother, son, and still more charming sister — whose departure leaves the studio desolate. She is remembered by Taffy and the Laird chiefly through the charm of her children and the hole her family's leaving makes in their daily lives. Her pull on Little Billee represents the claims of home and class that compete with the free bohemian world of the Place St. Anatole des Arts.

Gecko

supporting

Also known as little Gecko, Poor Gecko, Dear Gecko

Gecko is part of the musical circle around Svengali, and his visits to the studio stop entirely once Trilby and Little Billee leave Paris. His devotion to his master is implied by his nickname and by the way the narrator lists him among those who 'never came at all' after the breakup of the old group. His disappearance marks how completely the studio's social world has dissolved.

Marta

supporting

Also known as Poor Marta, the good Marta, old Marta

Marta belongs to the small, unglamorous circle that keeps Trilby's life running while artists and musicians chase their visions. Her devotion is absolute and unsentimental, the kind that asks nothing back and notices everything. In a story crowded with charmers, geniuses, and predators, she matters because she is the one person who loves Trilby without wanting to possess, transform, or exhibit her.

The Laird

supporting

Also known as Laird, Laird of Cockpen, Cockpen

The Laird shares the Place St. Anatole des Arts studio with Taffy, and together they form the steady, affectionate backdrop to Trilby and Little Billee's brighter orbit. His fractured French and eccentric turns of phrase hide a shrewd eye and a genuinely tender heart. When the studio's two central figures vanish, his quiet grief measures how much the group's charm depended on them, making his later drift into dull respectability feel like a small, real tragedy.

Dodor

minor

Also known as Madame Dodor

A friend and fellow artist in the Parisian circle.

Monsieur J⸺

minor

Also known as poor Monsieur J⸺

A minor acquaintance in the Parisian art world.

Sir Oliver Calthorpe

minor

Also known as Sir Oliver

A minor aristocratic figure in the story.

Zouzou

minor

Also known as the good Zouzou

A friend and fellow artist in the Parisian circle.

Madame Vinard

minor

A landlady or local figure in the artists' neighborhood.

Monsieur Passefil

minor

Also known as Passefil

A minor character in the artists' social circle.

Madame Cantharidi

minor

Also known as the lively Madame Cantharidi, old Cantharidi

A lively older woman in the Parisian setting.

Jeannot

minor

Also known as little Jeannot

A young boy or minor figure in the narrative.

Willie

minor

Also known as Willy

A minor character, possibly a friend or relative.

Sir Louis Cornelys

minor

A titled gentleman who appears in the story.

Lord Witlow

minor

Also known as young Lord Witlow

A young nobleman mentioned in the narrative.

Durien

minor

Also known as Monsieur Durien

A minor character in the artists' milieu.

Sandy McAlister

minor

Also known as Sandy, McAlister, dear Sandy McAlister

A Scottish friend of the artists.

Blanche Bagot

minor

Also known as Blanche, dear Blanche Bagot

Little Billee's sister.

Monsieur Vinard

minor

Also known as Vinard

A minor character, possibly Madame Vinard's husband.

Lavinia Hunks

minor

Also known as Miss Lavinia Hunks, Miss Hunks

A minor female character.

Lorrimer

minor

A minor character, possibly an artist.

Carrel

minor

Also known as Monsieur Carrel

A minor character in the Parisian setting.

Mademoiselle Ernestine

minor

A minor female character.

William Bagot

minor

Also known as Bagot, William, Mr. William Bagot

Little Billee's father.

Lady Cornelys

minor

Also known as Cornelys

A minor aristocratic figure.

Angèle Boisse

minor

Also known as Angèle

A minor female character.

Sir Oscar Wynne

minor

Also known as Sir Oscar

A minor aristocratic figure.

Colin Maigret

minor

Also known as a poor casseur de pierres

A poor stone-breaker living in the Impasse des Taupes.

Mathieu

minor

A minor character.

Litrebili

minor

A minor character, possibly a nickname.