# Sternhold Baskette — World’s End character guide

> Sternhold Baskette in World’s End by Richard Jefferies.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Sternhold, Baskette, old Sternhold, Poor old Sternhold, Mrs. Sternhold Baskette, Mrs. Sternhold

**First appearance:** 0000-book-i-facts

## Who they are

A self-made patriarch whose colossal vanity and late marriage set in motion forces that will strip him of everything he built.

## In the story

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

Ancestor of the Baskette family, the original basket-maker who became chieftain of the early settlers on the marsh islands.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/world_s_end_se/chapters/iii)

Inherits his father's genius, brings the railway to Stirmingham, buys up land and the Swamp, and undertakes a massive building project that stalls during a financial crisis.

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

The central figure of the chapter, a miserly capitalist who owns vast property in Stirmingham but lives frugally and struggles to complete his developments.

### [The Hero of Stirmingham](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/world_s_end_se/chapters/v)

The 'Hero of Stirmingham'; his vanity and madness grow as he buys land secretly and is exploited by railway speculators; he is later besieged by American claimants.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/world_s_end_se/chapters/vi)

Sternhold, now 72, grapples with his loneliness and the question of his heir. He is courted by the Corporation and others, and ultimately decides to marry a woman from a theatre to found a dynasty.

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

The elderly, wealthy husband who becomes mad with jealousy and pride, eventually turning against Lucia and their son.

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

Target of Aurelian's scheme; his jealousy and behavior are used as evidence of insanity.

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

Suffers a paralytic stroke upon learning of Lucia's performances, travels to Paris and Vienna in a maddened state, attempts to shoot Lucia, later dies after writing a will and documents.

### [Chapter X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/world_s_end_se/chapters/x)

Referenced as the father whose life illustrated 'poor humanity'; his ambition and monomania are echoed in his son John.

### [The Tangled Web of Inheritance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/world_s_end_se/chapters/xi)

Son of Romy Baskette, who inherited wealth from mineral discoveries and attempted to purchase the Wick Farm, later becoming deeply indebted to building societies.

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

Mentioned as having been driven frantic by early claimants a generation ago.

### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/world_s_end_se/chapters/xiii)

Marese's father, mentioned as having been mad; his mental weakness may be inherited.

### [Book II: Persons](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/world_s_end_se/chapters/book-ii-persons)

Introduced as a key figure in the property disputes, his rise in fortune is central to the plot.

### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/world_s_end_se/chapters/xi)

His incomplete houses are leased by the building society, leading to the legal dispute.

### [Chapter XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/world_s_end_se/chapters/xv)

Referenced in a parody as John Brown; his soul is said to march on.

### [Book III: Results](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/world_s_end_se/chapters/book-iii-results)

Sternhold's attempted murder and descent into madness are key results of earlier actions.

### [The Approaching Nuptials](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/world_s_end_se/chapters/ix)

Recalled as the old miser who never built a palace, in contrast to his son's grandiose plans.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/world_s_end_se/characters/sternhold_baskette
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/world_s_end_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/world_s_end_se/characters