Characters
- Rachel Verinder – young heiress at the centre of the story; on her 18th birthday she inherits the gem of the title.
- Lady Verinder – her mother, a wealthy widow devoted to her only child.
- Colonel Herncastle – Lady Verinder's brother, suspected of foul deeds in India, including the theft of the Moonstone.
- Gabriel Betteredge – the Verinders' head servant, first narrator.
- Penelope Betteredge – his daughter, also a servant in the household.
- Rosanna Spearman – second housemaid, ex-thief, suspicious and tragic character.
- Drusilla Clack – a poor cousin of Rachel Verinder, an unlikeable Christian evangelist and meddler, second narrator.
- Franklin Blake – adventurer, another cousin and suitor.
- Godfrey Ablewhite – philanthropist, another cousin and suitor.
- Mr. Bruff – family solicitor, third narrator.
- Sergeant Cuff – famous detective with a penchant for roses.
- Dr. Candy – the family physician, loses his ability to speak coherently because of a fever.
- Ezra Jennings – Dr. Candy's unpopular and odd looking assistant, suffers from an incurable illness and uses opium to control the pain.
- Mr. Murthwaite – a noted adventurer who has traveled frequently in India; he provides the epilogue to the story.
- The Indian jugglers – disguised Hindu Brahmins who are determined to recover the diamond.
Read more about this topic: The Moonstone
Famous quotes containing the word characters:
“We are like travellers using the cinders of a volcano to roast their eggs. Whilst we see that it always stands ready to clothe what we would say, we cannot avoid the question whether the characters are not significant of themselves.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Children pay little attention to their parent’s teachings, but reproduce their characters faithfully.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“For our vanity is such that we hold our own characters immutable, and we are slow to acknowledge that they have changed, even for the better.”
—E.M. (Edward Morgan)