Character guide

Francis

major

Also known as So Francis

Francis has spent years longing for the sea and never quite reaching it, so when the family finally rents seaside lodgings he arrives with an aquarium and a head full of poetry. His passion runs ahead of his patience: he buys the tank before anyone will let him fill it, and he bristles when Aunt Enid calls his plans messing about. That hunger for the impossible is exactly what makes him the one who answers when something under the waves calls back.

Mavis

major

Also known as truthful Mavis

Mavis is the practical heart of the four siblings, the one who turns Francis's crushed aquarium scheme into a fresh-water compromise and keeps the younger children from tears. She is truthful to a fault, quietly stubborn, and more interested in whether magic can be proved than in whether it is exciting. Her steadying presence is what lets the others take the leap when the Mermaid's summons arrives.

Bernard

major

Bernard is the family's calmest voice, the boy who compares mermaids to radium and asks why a talking sea creature shouldn't speak English. He is also stubborn in his own quiet way, refusing to join the adventure unless Kathleen is allowed along. His willingness to go anyway, boots and all, is what pushes the group past Francis's reluctance and into the water.

Ulfin

supporting

Also known as But Ulfin, dear Ulfin, the fortunate Ulfin

Ulfin belongs to the underwater kingdom the children stumble into, and he becomes their interpreter and ally in a place where human rules do not apply. His loyalty to the sea people puts him at odds with whatever the children's presence stirs up, and his affection for them complicates his duties. He is the bridge between the dry world the siblings know and the strange politics waiting below.

Kathleen

supporting

Kathleen is the baby of the family, still playing with a headless Lord Edward while the older children hatch plans she is not told about. She is hopeful and easily wounded, and she bargains hard for even the smallest inclusion, promising anything if only she can come along. Her insistence that the adventure not be dropped is part of what keeps the others from letting the magic fade into a story.

Reuben

supporting

Reuben has cut his lucky from the tents and is hiding in bushes with no plan beyond running from rather than toward anything. Practical and a little hardened, he knows caves and hiding places the sheltered siblings never would, and he is the one who suggests where the magic words should be spoken. Disguised in borrowed skirts, he becomes the adventure's most unlikely and most resourceful recruit.

Cathay

supporting

Also known as thumping Cathay, Fido, Dear little Fido, Fido - which - was - Cathay

Cathay is the little sister whose longing to believe in magic pushes the others past their caution, and whose nickname 'Fido' marks her as the family's cherished tag-along. When the mermaid's cup of forgetfulness is passed around, it is Cathay it truly takes, and her cold, stranger's gaze at Mavis cuts deeper than any sea-monster could. Her transformation raises the stakes of the children's bargain with the Mer-people and gives the middle of the book its sharpest ache.

Aunt Enid

minor

Also known as Enid

The children's aunt who sends them on their seaside holiday.

Mother Romaine

minor

Also known as Old Mother Romaine, Mother

An elderly woman who knows about the magical underwater realm.

Maia

supporting

Also known as Princess Maia, the Princess Maia

Maia is the royal Mer-woman the children haul out of a barrow and back to the sea, and she repays them by treating their world as a curiosity worth studying. Brought before the King and Queen, she refuses to betray the fighting strength of Merland, answering questions with a princess's disdain even as the cup of forgetfulness is poured. Her composure under threat models the courage the children will need, and her presence binds them to a war beneath the waves they never asked to join.

Mrs. Pearce

minor

A housekeeper or caretaker at the seaside location.

Princess Freia

supporting

Also known as Freia, The Princess Freia, Princess

Freia is the royal Mer-woman whose demands pull Mavis, Francis, Kathleen and Bernard out of their seaside holiday and into the deep, where her cause is not theirs but becomes so. She is proud, exacting, and quick to test the children's nerve, yet she keeps her head when Mavis cries out and the boys hiss warnings during the forgetfulness cup. Her insistence that the bargain be honored gives the early-middle arc its forward pull, and her trust, once given, is the thing the children are most afraid to lose.

The Under Folk

minor

A mysterious underwater race encountered by the children.

Queen Boadicea

minor

Also known as Boadicea

A historical figure briefly mentioned or appearing as a book character.

Torfrida

minor

A mermaid or underwater character who aids the protagonists.

Sabrina

minor

Also known as Sabrina fair

A water spirit or river goddess who appears in the story.

Master Wilfred Wilson

minor

Also known as Master Wilfred, Mr. Wilson

A boy who interacts with the main characters at the seaside.

Father

minor

The father of Francis, Mavis, and Bernard, mentioned in the story.

The United Narwhals

minor

Also known as the Narwhals, The Narwhals, Narwhals

A group of narwhals participating in the underwater war.

The Porpoises

minor

Also known as Porpoises, The Porpoises, the waiting Porpoises, the devoted Porpoises, The faithful Porpoises

A group of porpoises involved in the water war.

The 23rd Lobsters

minor

Also known as the Lobsters

A regiment of lobsters in the underwater conflict.

The Sea Horses

minor

Also known as The Sea Horses

A group of sea horses serving in the underwater war.

Mer Princess

minor

Also known as the Mer Princess

A title for one of the mermaid princesses in the story.

Joan of Arc

minor

Also known as Joan

A historical figure briefly mentioned or appearing as a book character.

George Lee

minor

Also known as George

A minor character associated with the seaside setting.

The Thick-Heads

minor

Also known as The Thick - Heads

A group of underwater creatures in the war.

The 100th Halibuts

minor

Also known as the Royal Halibuts, The Halibuts

A regiment of halibuts in the underwater conflict.

The Mackerel

minor

A group of mackerel mentioned in the water war.

Old Mother Lee

minor

Also known as Mother

An elderly woman living near the seaside.

Mr. Murdstone

minor

A character from another book who appears in the book world.

Lord Edward

minor

A minor noble character mentioned in the story.

Eric

minor

A minor character encountered during the adventure.

Mrs. Markham

minor

A minor adult character in the story.

The Swordfish

minor

Also known as The Swordfish

A group of swordfish participating in the water war.

Mrs. Fairchild

minor

A character from another book who appears in the book world.

Hereward

minor

A historical figure briefly mentioned in the story.

Eliza

minor

Also known as Elsie

A minor character mentioned in passing.

The 7th Sharks

minor

Also known as The Sharks, the Sharks

A group of sharks in the underwater war.