Uneasy Money · Character

Claire Fenwick

Bill's beautiful, calculating fiancée, torn between a poor lord she likes and a rich bore she can't quite bring herself to marry.

supporting

Also known as Claire, dear old Claire, Miss Fenwick, Darling Claire

First appearance: Uneasy Money

As a supporting figure in Uneasy Money, Claire Fenwick is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

A romantic interest who urges Bill to use his money to secure their future.

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Claire is engaged to Bill but has quietly omitted that fact during the voyage, letting Dudley Pickering fall in love with her while she weighs thirty millions against her self-respect. She wants to keep her good opinion of herself, which means she needs an ostensible cause—however trivial—to break the engagement. Her cool manipulation of both men, and her talent for pathos-laden scenes, drives the romantic complications of the early and middle chapters.

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Character Web

23 connections

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

Relationship types

Romantic
Other

Character groups

Central romantic entanglements
Nutcombe fortune and estate
Protagonist

+18 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

Bill’s shame and self-loathing upon waking—his conviction that he is a “shallow, coarse-fibered” person for sl…

Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.

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Relationships

Lord Dawlish
romantic · ambivalent
Claire and Lord Dawlish are former lovers with unresolved tension, as Claire broke off… How this plays out →
Dudley Pickering
romantic · ambivalent
Algie Wetherby
social · ambivalent
Lord Dawlish
romantic · ambivalent
Claire and Lord Dawlish are former lovers with unresolved tension, as Claire broke off… How this plays out →
Lord Dawlish
romantic · ambivalent
Claire and Lord Dawlish are former lovers with unresolved tension, as Claire broke off… How this plays out →
Dudley Pickering
romantic · ambivalent
Dudley Pickering
romantic · ambivalent
Algie Wetherby
social · ambivalent

Lord Dawlish
Claire and Lord Dawlish are former lovers with unresolved tension, as Claire broke off their engagement.
Dudley Pickering
Claire is engaged to Dudley Pickering, though she is more interested in his wealth than genuine affection.
Algie Wetherby
Algie Wetherby is mildly flirtatious with Claire, but remains under his wife's thumb.
Lord Dawlish
Claire and Lord Dawlish are former lovers with unresolved tension, as Claire broke off their engagement.
Lord Dawlish
Claire and Lord Dawlish are former lovers with unresolved tension, as Claire broke off their engagement.
Dudley Pickering
Claire is engaged to Dudley Pickering, though she is more interested in his wealth than genuine affection.
Dudley Pickering
Claire is engaged to Dudley Pickering, though she is more interested in his wealth than genuine affection.
Algie Wetherby
Algie Wetherby is mildly flirtatious with Claire, but remains under his wife's thumb.

Relationship notes

How these ties play out is in the reading companion — open the free preview.

See Claire Fenwick in Uneasy Money

In the story

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

Uneasy Money
A romantic interest who urges Bill to use his money to secure their future.
I
Claire is frustrated with Bill's lack of financial ambition and leaves lunch early to pack for Southampton.
III
Rages silently on an omnibus after being rebuffed by Lord Dawlish; returns to her cramped West Kensington flat, loathing her surroundings and her brother Percy; receives a letter from Pauline Wetherby and impulsively decides to sail to America.
IV
Bill writes to Claire from Liverpool to inform her of his inheritance and his sudden departure for America, though he avoids telling her the full extent of his plans.
VII
Claire is at Riegelheimer's Restaurant with Lady Wetherby and Dudley Pickering. She is shocked to see Bill in America and is torn between her engagement to Bill and Pickering's impending proposal.
The Moonlight Proposal
Strategically maneuvers Dudley Pickering into proposing by feigning loneliness and homesickness, mentioning her little brother Percy.
XI
Appears suddenly during Bill's moonlit walk; her photograph is used by Bill to try to rekindle his romantic feelings.
XII
Dominates the interview with Bill, breaking off their engagement after seeing him with another woman; later sings in the drawing room.
XIII
Engaged to Pickering but finding his undiluted society tedious; comments on Eustace's madness.
XV
Returns home to find Dudley suspicious of Bill. She denies knowing Bill to protect her secret, but later confesses to Lady Wetherby that she was once engaged to him.
Chapter XVI
Referenced as the source of Bill's heartache; her engagement to Pickering and her dishonesty are the catalyst for Bill's emotional journey.
XVIII
Confronts Dudley with cold scorn after discovering Eustace's body, showing distance from her fiancé.
Chapter XIX
Claire tries to reconcile with Bill after breaking her engagement to Pickering, but her manipulative nature is revealed.
XX
Approaches Pickering with a repentant demeanor, successfully retrieves her engagement ring, but later breaks the engagement.
Chapter XXI
Claire has just left Bill after delivering a parting speech that plants seeds of doubt about Elizabeth's motives.

Chapter companion notes

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