Mandie - Characters

Characters

• Amanda Elizabeth Shaw - Referred to as Mandie by her peers, Mandie enjoys solving mysteries, no matter how mysterious or dangerous the situation may be. She has long blond hair (usually braided), blue eyes, and is said to be quite short by her lifetime friend Joe, though that simply may be just his opinion, for he shoots up quite a bit throughout the series, but it is mentioned in 'Mandie and Fiery Rescue' that she is short for her age. Her favorite color is assumed to be blue. Mandie is a Christian, who stands up for her beliefs and values, though seems to vary from 'honor thy father and thy mother', as she is constantly running off and disobeying her parents. She is quite emotional and gets frustrated when she can't solve a mystery. Mandie longs to grow up throughout the series. Being raised in a log cabin with little more to her name than two hand-me-down dresses and a kitten, she sees everything simply and takes no interest in high society. When sent to a young ladies school to learn social graces, she finds it ridiculous and remains her own lively self. The death of her biological father affects her deeply, leading her to her Uncle John's resulting in the truth as to her biological mother with whom she is reunited. She becomes very attached to her mother who married her Uncle John. Her favorite verse is "What time I am afraid I will put my trust in Thee." Mandie, in most instances has a teachable spirit and will break into tears and ask for forgiveness if convicted, however occasionally she becomes stubbornly jealous of Joe or of her mother's attention and is immovable in her opinions. Sometimes, Mandie tells others that she will not get married, as she will be too busy when she grows older, and she doesn't want to become trapped at home, unlike many of the girls of her time. This assumption clearly irritates Joe, as he obviously likes Mandie, and reminds her every now and then he plans on marrying her. At times, Mandie seems interested in boys, but tends to avoid the topic, even with her best friend Celia. Mandie doesn't give in easily, and sometimes wants to do the jobs that a boy would do, like learning how to use a gun. In the first two movies, Mandie has brown eyes, but in the third, she has blue.
• Joseph Woodard - Known as Joe by almost everyone, he is Mandie's 13 year old best friend. He has unruly brown hair, brown eyes, and long legs according to Mandie. Being Mandie's only friend who knew her father Jim Shaw (excluding relatives), Joe and Mandie are very close. Because Joe remains living in Swain County after Mandie moves away to Franklin, he promises to care for her father's grave and put flowers there. Joe is a country boy who does not care for much fancy things or money, but is a true friend. He intends on marrying her when he gets her father's property back from her step mother, Etta. He intends on doing this by becoming an attorney at law. He is very jealous when Mandie goes off to visit other male friends, such as Tommy Patton. He also helps Mandie on solving mysteries, but says that she does most of the work. He also loves chocolate cake and is constantly joking around. Joe's father, Dr. Woodard is the local doctor in Mandie's area. Towards the end he tells Mandie he loves her.
• Faith Winters - She is Mandie's best friend in The Young Mandie series. She has long brown hair and lives with her grandmother. Her parents died in a fire.
• Celia Hamilton - Celia becomes Mandie's best friend throughout the Mandie series. She has red hair and green eyes. Her favorite color is green. She goes to the same school as Mandie and helps her solve mysteries. They met when Mandie heard her crying in her room one night. Celia had lost her father shortly before coming to The Misses Heathwood's School. They immediately bonded and asked to share a room together since Celia was alone in a private, normally unoccupied room and Mandie was stuck in a full room.
• Snowball - Mandie's White cat who she's fond of. He follows Mandie everywhere, although she is advised not to take him around all the time. He is constantly running away.
• Dimar Walkingstick - Mandie's Native American friend who is shown to have a crush on Maddie.
• Sallie Sweetwater - Another one of Mandie's Indian friends. Sallie is Uncle Ned's granddaughter.
• Etta McHan Shaw Hughes - Mandie's over bearing step mother. Shortly after Jim dies Etta gets married to Zach Hughes.
• Irene McHan - Mandie's bratty 13 year old Scottish American step sister.
• Zachary Hughes - Etta's new husband and Irene's new step father. Zach and Etta both agree to send Mandie away to work for the Brysons.
• Elizabeth Taft Shaw - Mandie's biological mother. She is over protective of Mandie because she doesn't want to lose her again, and has blonde hair and blue eyes.
• James Alexander Shaw - Mandie's father. Jim dies before the beginning of the first book. He is said to have had red hair and blue eyes, and to be very fun loving and always looked out for Mandie.
• John Shaw - Jim's older brother and Mandie's uncle and stepfather. He married Elizabeth after Jim died, and is said to resemble her father greatly. He is very wealthy. He has a weakness for blue eyes, like the ones Mandie and her mother have.
• Ned Sweetwater - Jim's best friend. Ned is a Cherokee Native American. He promised to keep Mandie safe and helps get her out of trouble. Ned is Mandie's honorary uncle.
• Windy - Mandie's Orange tabby in the "Young Mandie" series. Mandie is allowed to keep Windy after she does the right thing and returns Windy's mom to her rightful owners.
• Samuel Hezekiah Shaw - Mandie's little brother, named after Samuel Hezekiah Plumbley, a close friend of John and Jim's older sister Ruby, who died when she was 10 years old. At first, Mandie is jealous of Samuel taking up their mother's time, but she learns to love him. When Mandie and her Grandmother get back from a tour of Europe, Mandie learns Samuel has died of pneumonia.
• Mary Elizabeth Taft - Mandie's rich grandmother, who separated her parents, and seems to have changed drastically from a fussy old lady to a kind, thoughtful grandmother from the first book to the rest of the series, and is revealed in 'Mandie and Mysterious Fisherman' to have felt guilty over it for years, and had always regretted tearing her daughter and granddaughter apart.
• Senator Morton - Mandie's grandmother's close friend. He is a senator from Florida who is first introduced in Mandie and the Washington Nightmare, and later travels with Mandie, Celia and Mrs. Taft in Europe. He is portrayed as kind, smart, thoughtful and in love with Mandie's widowed grandmother. Senator Morton's wife died a couple years before he met Mrs. Taft.
• Tommy Patton - Mandie's friend who attends Mr. Chadwick's School for boys in Asheville. He makes no secret of his affections for Mandie, and always asks her to accompany him to social events between their schools.
• Jonathan Lindall Guyer III - Mandie and Celia's friend, whom they meet when he runs away from home and stows away on the boat taking them to Europe. He ends up touring Europe with them, and loves adventures almost as much as Mandie does. He shows some signs of affection towards Mandie, and is appears jealous of her friend Joe Woodard. He also loves to tease her.
• Polly Cornwallis - Mandie's next door neighbor, and the first friend she makes after arriving at her Uncle John's house. She helps Mandie solve the mystery of the secret tunnel, but her avid interest in Joe Woodard leaves a constant strain on their friendship. Appears to get on Joe's nerves.