# Miss Runcible — Vile Bodies character guide

> Miss Runcible in Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Agatha Runcible, Agatha, The Hon. Agatha Runcible

**First appearance:** 0004-ii

## Snapshot

Agatha Runcible is the Bright Young People's most reckless ornament, a titled partygoer whose appetite for scandal and speed outruns every limit set for her.

## Who they are

Agatha careens through the novel's parties and pranks with a heedlessness that makes her both beloved and alarming to her set. Her outrageous treatment at the hands of Customs officers, her bruises aboard the captive dirigible, and her motor-racing ambitions all point to a character who treats life as one long dare. She embodies the era's glittering excess and its hidden cost, and her trajectory gives the comedy its sharpest edge.

## In the story

### [Vile Bodies](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/vile_bodies_se/chapters/vile-bodies)

A prominent Bright Young Person, involved in the chaotic party scenes.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/vile_bodies_se/chapters/i)

One of the Bright Young People, seasick and commenting on the experience.

### [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/vile_bodies_se/chapters/ii)

Travels with Adam; her customs ordeal is discussed; mentions Archie Schwert's party.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/vile_bodies_se/chapters/iv)

Loses her latchkey, stays at Miss Brown's, comes down to breakfast in Hawaiian costume, and inadvertently reveals Vanburgh's scandalous column.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/vile_bodies_se/chapters/vii)

Fills albums with press cuttings of her appearances in court related to the libel suits.

### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/vile_bodies_se/chapters/viii)

Attends the airship party, gets bruised, and suggests going to a night club afterward.

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/vile_bodies_se/chapters/ix)

At lunch with Archie Schwert, invites Adam and Nina to motor races.

### [The Motor Race Trip](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/vile_bodies_se/chapters/x)

Wears trousers, is made to wait outside hotels, and later changes into a skirt; she suggests leaving money for gin at the Royal George.

### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/vile_bodies_se/chapters/xii)

Delirious in the nursing home, reliving the motor race; hosts a party with cocktails and gramophone despite her condition.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/vile_bodies_se/characters/miss_runcible
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/vile_bodies_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/vile_bodies_se/characters