Shirley (novel) - Characters

Characters

The four central characters are studies in contrast: the two friends Caroline Helstone and Shirley Keeldar, and their loves, the brothers Robert and Louis Gérard Moore.

• Robert Gérard Moore - An industrialist whose textile mill is idle because of the war. Perceived as an outsider because he comes from Antwerp, even though he is a cousin of Caroline. During the novel, Robert Moore installs new labor-saving machinery in his mill and becomes the target of Luddite attacks.
• Louis Gérard Moore - Robert's brother, working as a tutor for Shirley's uncle.
• Caroline Helstone - A timid and uncertain, but also wise and capable young woman, the niece of Reverend Helstone and best friend of Shirley.
• Shirley Keeldar - An orphaned heiress to a fortune. A headstrong, independent and determined young woman.

Other characters in the novel include:

• Rev Matthewston Helstone - Caroline's uncle. A fierce man, who is not cruel, but still shows little affection for his niece. Marriage has made him distrustful of women in general.
• Hortense Gérard Moore - Robert and Louis's sister.
• Hiram Yorke - A local landowner.
• Joe Scott - Robert Moore's foreman at the mill.
• Mrs. Pryor - Shirley's timid but wise governess, who moves to Fieldhead together with Shirley. She eventually turns out to be Caroline's long-lost mother.
• The three Curates of the three parishes - The brutish Irishman Peter Malone, the Cockney Joseph Donne, and the amiable Davy Sweeting.