Five Little Peppers - The Main Characters

The Main Characters

Mrs. Pepper (Later Mrs. Fisher): Called "Mamsie" by her children, Mrs. Pepper is a widow struggling to keep her five children healthy and educated. She is the moral backbone of the family and her children are completely devoted to her. She eventually weds Dr. Adoniram Fisher with full approval of her brood.

Ben (Ebenezer): The eldest Pepper boy. Ben is an avid scholar but willingly puts aside schooling in favor of providing for the family. With his sister, he manages the younger children and will sacrifice anything for them.

Polly (Mary) The eldest girl in the Pepper family. Polly is a busy, bright and cheerful girl who makes the Pepper family’s life as happy as possible. She loves music, flowers and her baby sister with equal passion.

Joel: The middle boy of the family and the most active. Joel is an enthusiastic sportsman who loves treats, parties and entertainment. He is the most trying of the children, often getting himself into mischief or causing the others grief with the things he says. In college, he settles down somewhat and becomes active in a student church group.

Davie (David): The youngest boy in the family and the quietest. Davie allows the world to go on around him as he calmly absorbs the doings of the family. He is an obedient student and equally willing to give up anything to make Joel or Ben happy. Somewhat of a dandy in late adolescence, he is teasingly nicknamed "Davina" by other students.

Phronsie (Sophronia): The baby and pet of the family. The series opens with her at the age of three. Phronsie is a blond, wide-eyed child who sees the good in nearly everyone and is anxious to aid anyone in need. She calls her dolls, Baby and Seraphina, her children and treats them as such. She is especially devoted to Polly and Mr. King.

Mr. J. Horatio King, Senior: The Pepper family’s benefactor. He is an older widower and in uncertain health at the beginning of the series. Bringing the Peppers into his household revitalizes him. Though quick to tempers and firm in his opinions, "Grandpapa" is a family man who seeks to ease every pain and concern in the lives of his children and the Peppers.

Jasper (Jasper, Junior, called "Jappy"): Mr. King’s son. Jasper is an eager boy who is just as willing to go sledding with Ben as to bake pies with Polly. Jasper and his dog Prince befriend the Peppers when he rescues Phronsie from an organ grinder, and his affection for them ultimately leads him to request their company permanently in the household by marrying Polly.

The Whitneys: Marian King Whitney, Mr. King’s adult daughter, and her boys Percy, Van, and Dick Whitney make up the rest of the King household. Mr. Whitney ultimately turns out to be Mrs. Pepper’s cousin, making the Peppers distant relatives of the family. Mrs. Whitney is a second mother to the Pepper children. The three boys, while infatuated with Polly, are frequently at odds both with each other and with Joel.