Character guide

Ursula Brangwen

major

Also known as Ursula, Miss Ursula Brangwen

Protagonist, a passionate and intellectual young woman seeking fulfillment beyond conventional life.

Tom Brangwen

major

Also known as Tom, Thomas, the young Tom

A farmer at the Marsh, husband to Lydia, and father figure to Anna and later Ursula.

Anna Brangwen

major

Also known as Anna, Anna Lensky, Anna Theresa Lensky, Anna Victrix

Daughter of Tom and Lydia, later wife of Will Brangwen, mother of Ursula.

Will Brangwen

major

Also known as Will, Bill, Fred Brangwen

Husband of Anna, a craftsman and church decorator, struggles with faith and domestic life.

Anton Skrebensky

major

Also known as Skrebensky, Tony, Dear Anton

Ursula's lover, a young soldier with a conventional worldview, later her fiancé.

Lydia Brangwen

supporting

Also known as Lydia, Lydia Lensky, Mrs. Brangwen

Polish widow who marries Tom Brangwen, mother of Anna, a quiet and foreign presence.

Alfred Brangwen

supporting

Also known as Alfred, Mrs. Alfred Brangwen, the saturnine Alfred

Tom's brother, a stern and bitter man, father of several children.

Tilly

supporting

Also known as Millicent Maud Pearse, the indignant Tilly

Servant at the Marsh, often exasperated but loyal to the Brangwen family.

Winifred Inger

supporting

Also known as Winifred, Miss Inger

Ursula's teacher and later lover, a modern, intellectual woman.

Maggie Schofield

supporting

Also known as Maggie, Miss Schofield

Ursula's friend and fellow teacher, kind and supportive.

Mr. Harby

supporting

Also known as Harby

Headmaster of the school where Ursula teaches, strict and authoritarian.

Gudrun

minor

Ursula's younger sister, artistic and independent, appears briefly.

Fred Brangwen

minor

Also known as Fred, Uncle Fred

Tom's younger brother, a cheerful and simple farmer.

Frank Brangwen

minor

Also known as Frank, the butcher Frank

A Brangwen relative, a butcher with a grievance against the world.

Tom Cooper

minor

Also known as Tom

A young man who courts Ursula briefly, a farmer's son.

Millicent Skrebensky

minor

Also known as the young Skrebensky

Anton's sister, a conventional young woman.

Baron Skrebensky

minor

Also known as Mr. Skrebensky

Anton's father, a Polish aristocrat living in England.

Dorothy Russell

minor

Also known as Dorothy

Ursula's friend from college, intellectual and free-spirited.

Billy Pillins

minor

Also known as Billy

A young man who works at the Marsh, fond of Ursula.

Effie

minor

A servant girl at the Marsh, later leaves the household.

Ethel

minor

Also known as the deliberate Ethel

A fellow teacher at Ursula's school, deliberate and prim.

Violet Harby

minor

Also known as Miss Harby, Miss Violet Harby

Mr. Harby's daughter, a student at the school.

Mr. Brunt

minor

A teacher at the school, colleague of Ursula.

Mrs. Hardy

minor

A neighbor of the Brangwens, a widow.

Paul Lensky

minor

Also known as Paul

Lydia's son from her first marriage, dies young.

Mrs. Forbes

minor

A woman who employs Ursula as a tutor briefly.

Clem Phillips

minor

Also known as Clem

A young man who visits the Brangwens, a friend of the family.

Jim Richards

minor

A soldier friend of Anton Skrebensky.

William Brangwen

minor

Also known as William, Billy, Earl William Brangwen

An ancestor of the Brangwens, mentioned in family history.

Mrs. Skrebensky

minor

Anton's mother, a Polish woman living in England.