Bibliography
Course Hero. "Bleak House Study Guide." Course Hero. 7 Mar. 2017. Web. 27 May 2023. <https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Bleak-House/>.
In text
(Course Hero)
Bibliography
Course Hero. (2017, March 7). Bleak House Study Guide. In Course Hero. Retrieved May 27, 2023, from https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Bleak-House/
In text
(Course Hero, 2017)
Bibliography
Course Hero. "Bleak House Study Guide." March 7, 2017. Accessed May 27, 2023. https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Bleak-House/.
Footnote
Course Hero, "Bleak House Study Guide," March 7, 2017, accessed May 27, 2023, https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Bleak-House/.
| Character | Description |
|---|---|
| Esther Summerson | Esther Summerson grows up believing herself an orphan. After her godmother dies, a mysterious person becomes her guardian. He is later revealed to be John Jarndyce. Read More |
| John Jarndyce | One of the heirs to the Jarndyce will, which is tied up in Chancery, John Jarndyce is the single, 60-year-old owner of Bleak House. Read More |
| Lady Honoria Dedlock | Lady Dedlock is the haughty, bored, and fashionable wife of Sir Leicester Dedlock. Read More |
| Sir Leicester Dedlock | Sir Leicester Dedlock is a baronet and the owner of Chesney Wold. He is proud of his family's history, which he considers closely linked with the success of the nation. Read More |
| Ada Clare | Ada Clare is an orphan and one of the wards of the court in the Jarndyce case. Read More |
| Richard Carstone | Richard Carstone is an orphan who is one of the wards of the court in the Jarndyce case. Read More |
| Bayham Badger | The London-based surgeon Bayham Badger is Conversation Kenge's cousin and agrees to supervise Richard Carstone's medical education. |
| Mrs. Badger | Mrs. Badger is on her third husband; she may be older than the current Mr. Badger, but she dresses like a younger woman. |
| Matthew Bagnet | Matthew Bagnet is a former soldier, bassoonist, and Mr. George's old army friend. |
| Mrs. Bagnet | Matthew's wife, Mrs. Bagnet, is an industrious woman who has the bearing of a soldier herself. |
| Malta Bagnet | Malta is the Bagnets' older daughter. |
| Quebec Bagnet | Quebec is the Bagnets' younger daughter. |
| Woolwich Bagnet | Woolwich is the Bagnets' son and Mr. George's godson; like his father, Woolwich is a musician. |
| Miss Barbary | Until her death when Esther was nearly 14, Esther's aunt, the stern and highly religious Miss Barbary, raised the girl in lonely circumstances. |
| Blaze and Sparkle | Blaze and Sparkle run a jewelry shop together and are always of one mind. |
| Mrs. Blinder | Mrs. Blinder, a kind woman with a house in Bell Yard, rents rooms to the Necketts and Mr. Gridley. |
| Mr. Bogsby | Mr. Bogsby owns the Sol's Arms pub on Cursitor Street. |
| Lord Boodle | Lord Boodle is an acquaintance of the Dedlocks who misses the old days. |
| Lawrence Boythorn | John Jarndyce's old school friend Lawrence Boythorn is a large, boisterous ex-soldier prone to exaggeration but with a heart of gold; he is also Sir Leicester's neighbor. |
| Mr. Bucket | Mr. Bucket is a professional detective who investigates a series of mysterious events. |
| Mrs. Bucket | Mrs. Bucket is the inspector's clever wife. |
| William Buffy | William Buffy is a member of Parliament and an acquaintance of Sir Leicester's. |
| Mr. Chadband | The Reverend Mr. Chadband is a self-satisfied, smarmy preacher of no particular denomination who tries to make himself look good by preaching at Jo. |
| Mrs. Chadband | Mrs. Chadband is the name of Miss Barbary's former servant, Mrs. Rachael, after she marries the preacher Mr. Chadband. She marries him after inheriting her mistress's house and property. |
| Chancellor | The Chancellor is the highest judge in the Court of Chancery. |
| Darby | Darby is the police constable who goes to Tom-all-Alone's to look for Jo with Mr. Bucket and Mr. Snagsby. |
| Dedlock cousins | An unspecified number of poor cousins gather at Chesney Wold; Sir Leicester Dedlock supports them financially, and they in turn support Sir Leicester's political efforts. |
| Volumnia Dedlock | Sir Leicester's 60-year-old cousin, Volumnia, has no money of her own despite being related to the Dedlocks. |
| Professor Dingo | Professor Dingo, a highly respected academic, was Mrs. Badger's second husband. |
| Miss Donny | There are actually two Miss Donnys—identical twins—who run a small boarding school where Esther Summerson is trained as a governess. |
| Esther | Esther, who is Caddy Jellyby's daughter and Esther Summerson's goddaughter, is a sickly baby. |
| Miss Flite | In the perpetual hope that her case will be heard, Miss Flite—a crazy, birdlike old woman—attends Chancery court daily. |
| Mr. George | After leaving the army, Mr. George opens a shooting gallery in London; he is later revealed to be Mrs. Rouncewell's younger son. |
| Mr. Gridley | Mr. Gridley, who has lost everything in a Chancery case, moves to London from Shropshire to attend court. |
| Mr. Grubble | The pleasant Mr. Grubble is the landlord of the Dedlock Arms, the pub in the village near Chesney Wold. |
| William Guppy | Mr. Guppy is a clever law clerk at Kenge and Carboy's; he falls for Esther Summerson at first sight. |
| Mr. Gusher | Mr. Gusher is an exuberant speaker for philanthropic causes. |
| Guster | Called Guster, the Snagsbys' unhappy servant is a workhouse girl originally named Augusta. |
| Hortense | Lady Dedlock's personal maid, Hortense, is French; she is ready to defend her position in the household. |
| Tom Jarndyce | Though he died before the events of Bleak House, Tom Jarndyce exerts an influence over his great-nephew, John Jarndyce. |
| Caddy Jellyby | Caroline Jellyby, the Jellybys' oldest daughter, acts as her mother's secretary. |
| Mr. Jellyby | He is Mrs. Jellyby's henpecked husband. |
| Mrs. Jellyby | She is a philanthropist who is very involved in projects in Africa but who pays little attention to matters at home. |
| Peepy Jellyby | He is the Jellybys' neglected son. |
| Jenny | Jenny is the wife of an abusive brickmaker; while Esther and Ada are visiting Jenny, her baby dies in her arms. |
| Jo | He is a boy in Tom-all-Alone's who sweeps street crossings, knows Nemo, guides Lady Dedlock, and generally connects all the storylines. |
| Tony Jobling | He is a legal copywriter and friend of Mr. Guppy's, who takes on the alias Mr. Weevle for part of the novel. |
| Conversation Kenge | Conversation Kenge—so called because he talks a lot—is a senior partner in the law firm of Kenge and Carboy, solicitors, and represents John Jarndyce in the Jarndyce case. |
| Krook | An eccentric old man who sells old rope and other junk, Krook hoards old papers even though he cannot read or write. |
| Liz | Liz, Jenny's close friend, puts friendship ahead of her own well-being when she goes against her husband's wishes to help Jenny. |
| Mooney | Mooney is the name of the parish beadle in Cook's Court. |
| Mercury | Mercury is the name used by the narrator to refer to any one of Sir Leicester's footmen. |
| Melchisedech | A solicitor in Clifford's Inn who deals with loans, Melchisedech refuses to accept Mr. George's business. |
| Miss M. Melvilleson | Miss Melvilleson is the misleading stage name of a singer who is secretly married and the target of gossip in Cursitor Street. |
| Charley Neckett | Charlotte Neckett is the debt collector's daughter and old beyond her years. |
| Emma Neckett | Emma is Charley's baby sister. |
| Mr. Neckett | The debt collector, Mr. Neckett, is nicknamed "Coavinses" by Harold Skimpole, whom he arrests for debt. |
| Tom Neckett | Tom is Charley's little brother. |
| Nemo | This name is used by Captain Hawdon, former officer and lover of Lady Dedlock, now a legal copyist. |
| Alfred Pardiggle | Alfred is Mrs. Pardiggle's youngest son and is forced to participate in all her causes. |
| Egbert Pardiggle | Egbert, Mrs. Pardiggle's oldest son, is forced to participate in all her causes. |
| Felix Pardiggle | Felix is Mrs. Pardiggle's fourth son and is forced to participate in all her causes. |
| Francis Pardiggle | Francis is Mrs. Pardiggle's third son and is forced to participate in all her causes. |
| Mrs. Pardiggle | Mrs. Pardiggle works on a number of general committees and is always asking Mr. Jarndyce for donations. |
| Oswald Pardiggle | Oswald is Mrs. Pardiggle's second son and is forced to participate in all her causes. |
| Mrs. Perkins | Mrs. Perkins is a neighbor of Krook's in Cook's Court and a friend of Mrs. Piper's. |
| Anastasia Piper | Mrs. Piper is a neighbor of Krook's in Cook's Court and the only witness at Nemo's inquest. |
| Priscilla | Priscilla is the Jellybys' heavy-drinking, inefficient maid. |
| Mr. Quale | Mr. Quale is an admirer of philanthropic endeavors. |
| Mrs. Rachael | Mrs. Rachael is Miss Barbary's only servant; after inheriting her mistress's house and property, she marries a preacher, Mr. Chadband. |
| Richard | Ada Clare and Richard Carstone's son is named after his father. |
| Rosa | The Dedlocks' beautiful, dark-haired maid is a local girl from the village. |
| Mr. Rouncewell | An engineer by profession, Mrs. Rouncewell's older son owns a blast furnace for smelting iron. |
| Mrs. Rouncewell | Sir Leicester's aging housekeeper has been with the family for 50 years. |
| Watt Rouncewell | Mrs. Rouncewell's grandson has finished his engineering apprenticeship and plans to follow in his father's footsteps. |
| Sheen and Gloss | The mercers, Sheen and Gloss, sell fine fabrics to the fashionable set. |
| Arethusa Skimpole | Arethusa is Harold Skimpole's "Beauty daughter." |
| Harold Skimpole | Although he can be witty and entertaining, Harold Skimpole is a self-centered sponger who frequently stays at Bleak House. |
| Kitty Skimpole | Kitty is Harold Skimpole's "Comedy daughter." |
| Laura Skimpole | Laura is Harold Skimpole's "Sentiment daughter." |
| Mrs. Skimpole | Harold Skimpole's wife, Mrs. Skimpole, was once beautiful but is now an invalid. |
| Mr. Sladdery | Mr. Sladdery, a bookseller, knows everyone who's anyone. |
| Bart Smallweed | William Guppy's friend Young (Bart) Smallweed is only a teenager, but he has already seen it all. |
| Grandfather Smallweed | An ill-tempered old man, Bart Smallweed's grandfather makes his living by lending out money at exorbitant interest. |
| Grandmother Smallweed | Grandmother Smallweed, a senile old woman, is the only child-like member of her family and the frequent target of her husband's bad temper. |
| Judy Smallweed | The Smallweeds' granddaughter, Judy, looks and acts a lot older than she is—just like her twin brother, Bart. |
| Mr. Snagsby | Mr. Snagsby is the henpecked owner of a legal stationery shop. |
| Mrs. Snagsby | Mrs. Snagsby, a small, ill-tempered woman, keeps her husband on a tight rein. |
| Phil Squod | Phil Squod works for Mr. George in the shooting gallery. |
| Bob Stables | An unemployed young relative of the Dedlocks, Bob Stables is obsessed with horses and thinks entirely in equine terms. |
| Little Swills | Little Swills is an impressionist who imitates well-known individuals for the amusement of his audiences. |
| Captain Swosser | Captain Swosser, a naval officer, was Mrs. Badger's first husband and great love. |
| Mr. Tangle | A barrister working on the Jarndyce case, Mr. Tangle uses words to suggest his ideas rather than state them. |
| Thomas | Thomas is a groom at Chesney Wold. |
| Mr. Tulkinghorn | He is a ruthless Chancery solicitor who collects secrets to give him power over others and blackmails Lady Dedlock. |
| Mr. Turveydrop | Mr. Turveydrop is an older gentleman who owns a dance academy and is bone idle but highly regarded for his deportment. |
| Prince Turveydrop | Prince Turveydrop, Mr. Turveydrop's son, teaches dancing; he meets and marries one of his students, Caddy Jellyby. |
| Mr. Vholes | Richard Carstone's sallow-complected solicitor, Mr. Vholes, is more interested in Richard's money than his case. |
| Miss Wisk | Miss Wisk is a friend of Mr. Quale's (later his fiancée) who is committed to her mission—whatever that may be at the moment. |
| Allan Woodcourt | The young doctor Allan Woodcourt puts the wellbeing of his patients first; perhaps that's why he needs to take a job as a ship's surgeon on a clipper bound for Asia. |
| Mrs. Woodcourt | Allan Woodcourt's mother is very concerned about her royal Welsh bloodline. |
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