{ "schemaVersion": 1, "slug": "the-last-man", "title": "The Last Man", "author": "Mary Shelley", "language": "en", "spoilers": true, "characters": [ { "name": "Narrator", "aliases": [ "the Sibyl’s decipherer", "the native of England" ], "description": "The first-person editor of the Sibylline leaves, who recounts finding them with a companion in the Cumæan Sibyl’s Cave and shaping them into a continuous narrative. The story within the leaves is narrated by Lionel Verney." }, { "name": "Narrator’s companion", "aliases": [ "my companion", "my friend", "selected and matchless companion of my toils" ], "description": "The narrator’s close companion in discovering and collecting the Sibylline leaves; the narrator later says this companion is lost." }, { "name": "Cumæan Sibyl", "aliases": [ "the Sibyl", "Cumæan damsel" ], "description": "Ancient prophetess said to have received divine inspiration; the narrator attributes the Sibylline leaves to her." }, { "name": "Lionel Verney", "aliases": [ "Lionel", "Verney" ], "description": "The story’s first-person narrator, an orphaned shepherd from Cumberland and son of a once-celebrated courtier. He marries Idris and protects his family and surviving communities through the plague; after Adrian, Clara, and Evelyn die in a shipwreck, he becomes the last human survivor and records his story before setting out to wander the emptied world by boat." }, { "name": "Lionel’s father", "aliases": [ "my father", "the king’s friend", "the favourite" ], "description": "A witty, gifted former favorite of the English court and friend of the king, whose gambling and debts drove him into retreat in Cumberland. He married a poor cottager’s daughter and died leaving two children; the king’s letter of support for his family was long lost." }, { "name": "The king", "aliases": [ "the youthful sovereign", "the late king", "the last king of England", "Earl of Windsor" ], "description": "The last king of England, a friend of Lionel’s father who gave him financial help and later regretted their separation. He abdicated, became Earl of Windsor, and was Adrian and Idris’s father." }, { "name": "The queen", "aliases": [ "the haughty princess of Austria", "the ex-queen", "the Countess of Windsor" ], "description": "The king’s Austrian-born wife, who opposed his friendship with Lionel’s father and became an ambitious influence on her children. She tried to send Idris to Austria and arrange a marriage, but Idris escaped; aged and still hostile to Lionel, she lived with Adrian and died during the emigrants’ journey." }, { "name": "Lionel’s mother", "aliases": [ "my mother", "the cottager’s daughter", "the poor cottager’s daughter" ], "description": "The gentle daughter of a poor cottager who nursed Lionel’s father through illness and married him. Left destitute with two children after his death, she died when Lionel was five." }, { "name": "Lionel’s sister", "aliases": [ "Perdita" ], "description": "Lionel’s younger sister, named Perdita by their dying mother. She marries Lord Raymond and has a daughter, Clara; after estranging herself from Raymond, she regrets the separation and travels to Greece to reunite with him." }, { "name": "Adrian", "aliases": [ "Adrian, second Earl of Windsor", "the young Earl of Windsor", "the Earl of Windsor" ], "description": "The former king’s son and heir, raised by his ambitious mother but committed to republican principles. He befriends Lionel, serves in the Greek army under Raymond, and leads England’s response to plague and invasion; after helping the survivors emigrate, he dies in a shipwreck with Clara and Evelyn." }, { "name": "Adrian’s sister", "aliases": [ "the fairy sister", "Idris", "Lady Idris" ], "description": "Adrian’s younger sister, lovely, frank, and strong-willed despite her mild nature. She marries Lionel after escaping her mother’s plot to take her to Austria, and is a loving, deeply protective mother to their children." }, { "name": "Prince Zaimi", "aliases": [], "description": "Ambassador to England from the free States of Greece and a favored visitor in the ex-queen’s household; he is Evadne’s father. He later dissipates his fortune and reputation." }, { "name": "Evadne", "aliases": [ "Princess Evadne", "the young Princess Evadne", "the beauteous Greek", "the Ionian", "Evadne Zaimi" ], "description": "The Greek ambassador’s intelligent, energetic daughter, who loves Lord Raymond but is not loved in return. Widowed and impoverished, she secretly supports herself through art, then disguises herself as a soldier and dies from a battlefield wound while delirious with love for Raymond." }, { "name": "Lord Raymond", "aliases": [ "Raymond" ], "description": "An impoverished nobleman who became a celebrated commander in the Greek wars and returned to England wealthy. He marries Perdita, becomes Lord Protector, then resigns and returns to Greece; after being captured and tortured by the Turks, he is rescued and resumes command. He dies when Constantinople is destroyed while he enters it alone during the siege." }, { "name": "Lord Raymond’s family", "aliases": [ "his noble family" ], "description": "A noble but impoverished family of which Lord Raymond is described as the sole surviving member." }, { "name": "The nobleman entrusted with Lionel’s father’s letter", "aliases": [], "description": "An unnamed nobleman to whom Lionel’s father entrusted his final letter for the king; he did not deliver it, and it was later found among old papers." }, { "name": "The nobleman’s heir", "aliases": [], "description": "The unnamed heir of the nobleman who had kept Lionel’s father’s letter; he eventually gave the still-sealed letter to Adrian." }, { "name": "The gamekeeper who led Lionel’s capture", "aliases": [ "the wounded keeper" ], "description": "An unnamed keeper on Adrian’s estate who leads Lionel’s capture and beats him; Lionel wounds his hand during the struggle." }, { "name": "The gamekeeper", "aliases": [ "the keeper’s comrade" ], "description": "An unnamed keeper who helps capture Lionel poaching on Adrian’s estate." }, { "name": "Lionel’s dog", "aliases": [ "my trusty dog", "my faithful dog" ], "description": "Lionel’s loyal sheepdog, which watches his flock while he joins his companions and later grows sleek on their food scraps." }, { "name": "The shepherd-boy", "aliases": [], "description": "An unnamed boy whose shout is heard from above while the narrator and his companion explore the cave." }, { "name": "The nobleman", "aliases": [ "the impoverished nobleman" ], "description": "An unnamed impoverished nobleman with vast inherited wealth who leads the popular party in Parliament. He opposes Lord Raymond’s efforts to restore the monarchy and moves to make such an attempt treason." }, { "name": "The balloon pilot", "aliases": [ "the pilot" ], "description": "The unnamed pilot who steers Lionel’s sailing balloon on his journey toward Scotland to visit Adrian." }, { "name": "The Duke of Athol", "aliases": [ "the Duke" ], "description": "The Duke of Athol provides Adrian a secluded place at his seat near Dunkeld during Adrian’s illness and period of madness." }, { "name": "Clara", "aliases": [ "Raymond and Perdita’s daughter", "their little girl" ], "description": "The daughter of Lord Raymond and Perdita, described as lovely and strongly resembling her father. She remains close to Adrian and Lionel, worries about her father’s absence, and accompanies Perdita to Greece, where she is reunited with Raymond. After Raymond’s death, Lionel takes her in; she tends the sick and helps care for Evelyn, and later serves her family devotedly. At fourteen she is serious, dutiful, affectionate, and deeply religious; she dies in a shipwreck with Adrian and Evelyn." }, { "name": "The Greek draughtsman", "aliases": [ "the artist" ], "description": "An unnamed Greek woman who secretly designs a proposed national gallery for Lord Raymond. Discovered by Raymond living in poverty in London, she earns her living through drawings and paintings." }, { "name": "The Greek intermediary", "aliases": [ "the mysterious Greek" ], "description": "An unnamed middle-aged Greek man who brings the national gallery design to Lord Raymond and conveys his instructions to its hidden designer, Evadne." }, { "name": "Evadne’s husband", "aliases": [ "the wealthy Greek merchant" ], "description": "An unnamed wealthy Greek merchant settled at Constantinople who married Evadne. After bankruptcy and flight from Turkey, he became despondent and died by suicide in England." }, { "name": "Idris’s maid", "aliases": [ "her own maid" ], "description": "An unnamed maid in Idris’s service whom the Countess’s plan excludes from the forced journey to Austria." }, { "name": "The Countess’s servant", "aliases": [ "her mother’s servant", "the attendant" ], "description": "An unnamed servant of the Countess who brings Idris the drugged drink and helps prepare to take her to Austria." }, { "name": "The post-boy", "aliases": [], "description": "An unnamed post-boy who draws the chaise to the place where Lionel and Idris are waiting." }, { "name": "Mr. Ryland", "aliases": [ "Ryland" ], "description": "A popular candidate for Lord Protector and Lord Raymond’s former political antagonist. He withdraws from the election, allowing Raymond to be chosen. Later elected Protector, he is overwhelmed by the plague and tries to flee; he is eventually found dead in isolation, surrounded by unused stores." }, { "name": "The Duke of——", "aliases": [ "the Duke" ], "description": "An unnamed duke and aristocratic candidate for Lord Protector, supported by the republic’s aristocrats. He is eliminated during the election." }, { "name": "The former Protector", "aliases": [], "description": "The unnamed outgoing Lord Protector, who administers the oaths and presents the insignia of office to Raymond." }, { "name": "The member who nominated Ryland", "aliases": [], "description": "An unnamed member of Parliament who announces that Mr. Ryland has resigned his candidacy." }, { "name": "Raymond’s dining companion", "aliases": [ "the man who sat near Raymond" ], "description": "An unnamed guest at Raymond’s late-night gathering who tells a story that makes the others laugh." }, { "name": "Argyropylo", "aliases": [], "description": "The Greek commander-in-chief, whose battlefield wound leads Raymond to assume command of the whole army." }, { "name": "The two Turkish soldiers", "aliases": [ "the soldiers who fought over the girl" ], "description": "Two unnamed soldiers in Adrian’s account of a captured city who fight over a young woman and attack the old man trying to protect her." }, { "name": "The young woman in the captured city", "aliases": [ "the girl" ], "description": "An unnamed woman whom Adrian tries to protect from two Turkish soldiers during the massacre of a captured city." }, { "name": "The old man who defended the young woman", "aliases": [ "the old man with a silver beard" ], "description": "An unnamed elderly man who tries to shield the young woman from the soldiers and is killed by a battle axe." }, { "name": "The Turkish soldier who wounded Adrian", "aliases": [ "the fellow who struck Adrian" ], "description": "An unnamed Turkish soldier who stabs Adrian with a bayonet when Adrian intervenes to protect the young woman." }, { "name": "The boatman on Raymond’s river trip", "aliases": [ "the boatman" ], "description": "An unnamed boatman who attends to the sail while Raymond steers the shallop carrying Lionel and Clara." }, { "name": "Lionel’s servant", "aliases": [ "my servant" ], "description": "An unnamed servant who attends Lionel while he buries Evadne near the battlefield." }, { "name": "Palli", "aliases": [ "Georgio Palli" ], "description": "A Greek chieftain described as intriguing and a leader gathered at Raymond’s palace during the siege of Constantinople. Later identified as Georgio Palli, vice-admiral of the Greek fleet and a friend and supporter of Raymond; he helps arrange Perdita’s burial beside Raymond." }, { "name": "Karazza", "aliases": [], "description": "A Greek chieftain described as warlike and a leader gathered at Raymond’s palace during the siege of Constantinople. He is also an admiral of the Greek fleet, whose dispatches tell Raymond that Turkish soldiers have fled the city." }, { "name": "Ypsilanti", "aliases": [], "description": "A Greek chieftain described as accomplished; he is among the leaders gathered at Raymond’s palace during the siege of Constantinople." }, { "name": "Florio", "aliases": [ "Raymond’s dog", "his faithful dog", "the dog" ], "description": "Raymond’s dog, who accompanies him into Constantinople and is trapped in the city’s destruction. Clara recognizes his howls among the ruins; he dies beside Raymond’s body." }, { "name": "The captain of the steam packet", "aliases": [], "description": "An unnamed captain who tells Lionel that his ship must depart early, prompting Lionel to take Perdita and Clara aboard for England." }, { "name": "Perdita’s attendant", "aliases": [ "the woman watching her" ], "description": "An unnamed woman assigned by Lionel to watch Perdita aboard the ship to England. She briefly leaves Perdita to check on Clara at Perdita’s request." }, { "name": "The sole crewman who reached Portsmouth", "aliases": [ "the plague-stricken sailor" ], "description": "An unnamed, gravely ill man found dead on the beach after leaving a derelict American-built ship at Portsmouth. He is believed to have died of the plague; the ship may have been the Fortunatas, which had sailed from Philadelphia." }, { "name": "Merrival", "aliases": [ "the old astronomer" ], "description": "An astronomer who studies the long-term changes in Earth’s climate and the prospect of a future earthly paradise. During the plague he remains absorbed in his studies, unaware of his family’s hardship; after his wife and children die, grief overwhelms him, and he dies beside their graves." }, { "name": "Lionel and Idris’s second child", "aliases": [ "their second child" ], "description": "An unnamed child of Lionel and Idris who dies while Lionel is in Greece, leaving Idris fearful for their surviving children." }, { "name": "Alfred", "aliases": [ "Lionel and Idris’s son" ], "description": "Lionel and Idris’s nine-year-old son, described as upright, generous, persevering, and firm. He begins school at Eton and dies of the plague while the family is in London." }, { "name": "Evelyn", "aliases": [ "Lionel and Idris’s youngest child", "their youngest" ], "description": "Lionel and Idris’s youngest child. His innocent laughter comforts the family during the plague scare; he later recovers from a severe fever and travels with the survivors. He dies of typhus at Lake Como, aged about five." }, { "name": "The Italian lad", "aliases": [ "the Italian boy" ], "description": "An unnamed Italian boy among the guests at Windsor who tells a crowd, including Alfred and Evelyn, a vivid account of horrors he has witnessed in plague-stricken places." }, { "name": "Ryland’s servant", "aliases": [ "one of his servants" ], "description": "An unnamed servant attending Ryland who suddenly falls dead from the plague, convincing Ryland that the disease has reached him." }, { "name": "The plague-stricken man at Bolter’s Lock", "aliases": [ "the deserted wretch", "the unhappy stranger" ], "description": "An unnamed man from a group fleeing London who is left behind in a hut near Bolter’s Lock after falling ill with the plague. Lionel finds him dead there." }, { "name": "The mechanic who prophesied the end of time", "aliases": [ "the man under the arcade" ], "description": "An unnamed mechanic driven into hunger and grief after losing his wife and infant to the plague. Believing himself sent by heaven, he escapes confinement and preaches that the end of time is near." }, { "name": "The mechanic’s wife", "aliases": [ "the young wife" ], "description": "The unnamed wife of the mechanic who prophesies the end of time; she dies of the plague." }, { "name": "The mechanic’s infant", "aliases": [ "the lovely infant" ], "description": "The unnamed infant child of the mechanic who prophesies the end of time; the child dies of the plague." }, { "name": "Idris’s old nurse", "aliases": [ "the old servant", "our poor nurse" ], "description": "An unnamed longtime servant who nursed Idris in infancy and was regarded by her as a beloved maternal figure. She contracts the plague on a visit to her married daughter and dies at Windsor Castle." }, { "name": "The nurse’s daughter", "aliases": [ "the married daughter" ], "description": "The unnamed married daughter of Idris’s old nurse, who lives in the neighbourhood of London. Her mother visits her and contracts the plague on the return journey." }, { "name": "The peasant who collapsed in the market", "aliases": [ "the poor wretch" ], "description": "An unnamed peasant who collapses in convulsions and dies after the plague prophet declares that he is infected." }, { "name": "The magistrates’ deputies", "aliases": [ "the people deputed by the magistrates" ], "description": "Unnamed people sent by the magistrates to remove the dead peasant’s body from the market." }, { "name": "Martha", "aliases": [ "old Martha" ], "description": "An elderly former soldier’s wife who is a trusted adviser in Little Marlow. Having once recovered from the plague, she courageously tends the sick, supplies the poor, and inspires the village with hope." }, { "name": "Merrival’s wife", "aliases": [ "his pale wife", "his companion" ], "description": "Merrival’s unnamed, devoted wife, who works to support their children and cares for her husband despite poverty and hardship. She dies of the plague, leaving Merrival bereft." }, { "name": "Merrival’s children", "aliases": [ "his numerous offspring", "the children" ], "description": "Merrival and his wife’s unnamed children, who endure poverty while their father is absorbed in astronomical work; they all die in the plague." }, { "name": "Juliet", "aliases": [ "the high-born girl", "the fair Juliet" ], "description": "The youngest daughter and sole surviving member of the ducal house of L——. After losing her family and husband to the plague, she has a daughter, joins the emigrants in Paris, and becomes a fervent follower of the impostor-prophet. She once rescued Idris; later she frees Lionel from prison, but is held back by her child, then killed by the prophet while exposing his crimes." }, { "name": "Juliet’s father, the Duke of L——", "aliases": [ "the Duke of L——", "the duke" ], "description": "Juliet’s father, an unnamed duke who separates her from her childhood sweetheart and dies of the plague after dismissing the danger." }, { "name": "Juliet’s mother", "aliases": [ "her mother" ], "description": "Juliet’s unnamed mother, who dies of the plague along with the rest of her immediate family." }, { "name": "Juliet’s brothers", "aliases": [ "her brothers" ], "description": "Juliet’s unnamed brothers, who die of the plague." }, { "name": "Juliet’s sisters", "aliases": [ "her sisters" ], "description": "Juliet’s unnamed sisters, who die of the plague." }, { "name": "Juliet’s lover", "aliases": [ "the young lover", "her childhood sweetheart" ], "description": "An unnamed man of lower social standing who was Juliet’s schoolmate and close childhood friend. After promising to return when worthy of her, he finds her amid her dead family, and they marry; he later dies of the plague." }, { "name": "The aged grandmother of a Castle servant", "aliases": [ "the old woman" ], "description": "An unnamed centenarian who has lived in isolation to avoid the plague. After a dying stranger grips her wrist, she believes herself infected, seeks out her granddaughter at Windsor Castle, and dies there." }, { "name": "The aged woman’s son", "aliases": [ "her son" ], "description": "The unnamed son of the aged woman who isolates herself from the plague; he had left food for her before dying of the disease." }, { "name": "The aged woman’s granddaughter", "aliases": [ "her grand-daughter" ], "description": "An unnamed granddaughter of the aged woman who lives at Windsor Castle as a servant; her grandmother comes there after believing she has contracted the plague." }, { "name": "The dying stranger in the cornfield", "aliases": [ "her unknown companion", "the half-naked figure" ], "description": "An unnamed plague-stricken person found beside the aged woman in a cornfield, dying and desperately asking for water." }, { "name": "The plague-stricken wife in Holborn", "aliases": [ "the poor creature", "the unfortunate inquirer" ], "description": "An unnamed woman who seeks her husband, George, at a public house and learns he has been sent to the plague hospital. Lionel escorts her to St. Bartholomew’s, where she finds him alive." }, { "name": "George", "aliases": [ "the plague-stricken husband" ], "description": "The unnamed husband of the woman who seeks him in Holborn; he falls ill with the plague after a night of drinking and is taken by his companions to St. Bartholomew’s Hospital." }, { "name": "The landlady in Holborn", "aliases": [ "the landlady" ], "description": "An unnamed public-house landlady who tells George’s wife that he has been taken to the plague hospital." }, { "name": "The barmaid in Holborn", "aliases": [ "the more compassionate bar-maid" ], "description": "An unnamed barmaid who explains to George’s wife how he came to be sent to St. Bartholomew’s Hospital." }, { "name": "The first actor of the age", "aliases": [ "the actor who played Macbeth" ], "description": "An unnamed celebrated actor performing Macbeth at Drury Lane Theatre during the plague. His performance helps Lionel and the audience briefly escape their fear." }, { "name": "The actor who played Rosse", "aliases": [ "the player of Rosse" ], "description": "An unnamed, initially described as an inferior actor, who becomes convincing as he speaks of Macbeth’s murdered family, visibly sharing the audience’s fear." }, { "name": "The actor who played Macduff", "aliases": [ "the player of Macduff" ], "description": "An unnamed actor performing Macduff in the Drury Lane production of Macbeth; he delivers the anguished lines about his murdered family." }, { "name": "The chorister", "aliases": [ "one of the choristers" ], "description": "An unnamed chorister who dies suddenly during a service at Westminster Abbey and is buried in the vaults." }, { "name": "Juliet’s brother’s friend", "aliases": [ "the schoolfellow and friend" ], "description": "An unnamed schoolmate and friend of Juliet’s brother, who spent holidays at the duke’s mansion and became Juliet’s childhood sweetheart; he is later reunited with her and marries her." }, { "name": "The elderly peasant woman’s sick companion", "aliases": [ "the dying stranger" ], "description": "An unnamed plague victim who dies in a cornfield after asking the aged woman for water. The encounter leads her to believe she is infected." }, { "name": "The Irish invaders", "aliases": [ "the Irish" ], "description": "An unnamed individual from the invading Irish forces who takes part in the advance into England. Adrian’s intervention stops the battle and leads the invaders and English troops to lay down their arms and join together." }, { "name": "The man Adrian tried to save at the battle", "aliases": [ "the poor wretch", "the dying man" ], "description": "An unnamed wounded man from the fighting between the English and Irish forces. Adrian binds his wound, but he dies in Adrian’s arms, prompting both armies to lay down their weapons." }, { "name": "The poor woman who nursed Merrival", "aliases": [ "the woman who acted as nurse" ], "description": "An unnamed woman working as a nurse during the plague. She tells Lionel that Merrival’s family has died and that Merrival is overcome by grief." }, { "name": "The charity girl", "aliases": [ "the little girl" ], "description": "An unnamed orphan of about ten whom Lionel and Adrian find alone in an abandoned London house. Her former protectors had mistreated her and died; she joins Adrian, accompanied by her dog, Lion. She later dies at Auxerre during the emigrants’ journey." }, { "name": "Lion", "aliases": [ "the large Newfoundland dog" ], "description": "A Newfoundland dog who accompanies the orphaned charity girl and plays with her in the abandoned London house. She says he is with her when Adrian asks whether she is alone." }, { "name": "The woman who helped Idris", "aliases": [ "her friend", "the gentle female voice" ], "description": "An unnamed compassionate woman who finds Idris injured and collapsed in a rain-soaked London street. She shelters and supports Idris as she tries to return home." }, { "name": "The sick man in the London house", "aliases": [ "the negro" ], "description": "An unnamed Black man suffering from a severe, foul-smelling illness, found in a dark room in the house where Lionel’s family is staying. In his delirium he clutches Lionel, exposing him to the disease." }, { "name": "Lucy Martin", "aliases": [ "Lucy" ], "description": "The devoted daughter of an infirm widowed mother, first introduced as Lucy Clayton and later as Lucy Martin through her marriage. She marries the head-waiter of the Salt Hill inn to secure care for her mother, then survives the plague and appeals to Idris for help when left isolated in Datchet. She nurses the sick during the emigrants’ journey and dies of the plague at Dijon." }, { "name": "Lucy’s father", "aliases": [ "the father" ], "description": "The unnamed father of the Clayton family, who dies bankrupt after the family suffers a series of reverses." }, { "name": "Lucy’s mother", "aliases": [ "the mother", "Lucy’s parent" ], "description": "Lucy’s unnamed, invalid mother, whom Lucy devotedly supports through poverty and isolation. She dies in Datchet shortly before Lionel reaches her." }, { "name": "Lucy’s younger siblings", "aliases": [ "her five children", "her younger brothers and sisters", "her brothers and sisters" ], "description": "Lucy’s four younger siblings, part of the family of five children. They are driven from the inn by Lucy’s husband’s avarice and ill temper and earn their living elsewhere; their later fate is not given." }, { "name": "The country-curate’s son", "aliases": [ "Lucy’s first lover", "her lover", "the youth" ], "description": "An unnamed generous, educated young man and Lucy’s first love. After his father dies, he goes to India, is taken prisoner in the war there, and eventually returns, but Lucy has married another; he later dies of the plague." }, { "name": "Lucy’s husband", "aliases": [ "the head-waiter at the inn at Salt Hill", "the innkeeper" ], "description": "An unnamed former head-waiter who becomes Lucy’s husband and sets up an inn at Datchet. His brutal temper and drinking worsen his affairs; during the plague he leaves for London, where he dies." }, { "name": "The gentleman who took Lucy’s lover to India", "aliases": [ "the gentleman" ], "description": "An unnamed gentleman who offers Lucy’s first lover the opportunity to travel with him to India." }, { "name": "The man who carried Lucy’s letter", "aliases": [ "the man just come from Slough", "the countryman" ], "description": "An unnamed traveler who finds Lucy and her mother alone in Datchet and delivers Lucy’s letter to Idris." }, { "name": "Samuel Woods", "aliases": [], "description": "An unnamed man named by Lucy in her letter as someone who stayed behind with his large family because of a newborn child. When Lucy seeks their help, she finds their house deserted." }, { "name": "Samuel Woods’s wife and children", "aliases": [ "his wife and children", "a large family of them" ], "description": "The unnamed family of Samuel Woods, whose newborn child led them to remain among the last people in the area. Their house is found deserted when Lucy goes to ask for help." }, { "name": "The Countess’s attendant", "aliases": [ "the Countess of Windsor’s attendant" ], "description": "An unnamed attendant of the Countess of Windsor, who is given charge of Lucy at the inn after Lucy’s mother is buried." }, { "name": "The emigrants’ chief", "aliases": [ "the chief" ], "description": "An unnamed leader of Adrian’s emigrants who examines the two steamboats at Dover’s harbour in preparation for the voyage." }, { "name": "The nine English deputies", "aliases": [ "the nine men", "the deputies" ], "description": "Nine unnamed Englishmen from the two divisions of emigrants in Paris who arrive by boat at Dover. Sent by rival factions to have Adrian arbitrate their disputes, they argue bitterly among themselves." }, { "name": "The impostor-prophet", "aliases": [ "the impostor", "the preacher", "the leader of the elect", "the methodist", "the chief" ], "description": "An unnamed religious impostor who gathers followers in Paris by claiming divine authority and promising salvation from the plague to those who obey him. He imprisons Lionel, secretly murders followers who fall ill, kills Juliet, and then kills himself when his crimes are exposed." }, { "name": "Juliet’s infant daughter", "aliases": [ "her child", "her infant", "her babe" ], "description": "Juliet’s unnamed daughter, born after her husband’s death and less than a year old when Lionel finds her with the prophet’s followers. The impostor holds her as a hostage and later strangles her; Juliet carries her body when she exposes his crimes." }, { "name": "The man who tried to assassinate Adrian", "aliases": [ "the emissary of the leader of the elect", "the wretch" ], "description": "An unnamed follower of the impostor-prophet who attempts to stab Adrian at Versailles. Adrian intervenes to protect him from the angry crowd." }, { "name": "The mother who witnessed the murders", "aliases": [ "the female" ], "description": "An unnamed woman among the prophet’s followers who discovers the secret killing of sick believers and her own child. She is stabbed by the prophet before she can alert the others." }, { "name": "Lionel’s favourite horse", "aliases": [ "my favourite horse", "the gallant animal" ], "description": "Lionel’s unnamed horse, which carries him through the night from Villeneuve-la-Guiard to Versailles to reach Adrian. The exhausted horse collapses and dies at the castle gate." }, { "name": "The opera-dancer", "aliases": [ "the goblin", "the dying wretch" ], "description": "An unnamed dancer from the troop that deserted Lionel at Villeneuve-la-Guiard. Sick and delirious, he performs imagined leaps and bows on the road before dying; his companions had abandoned him." }, { "name": "The Black Spectre", "aliases": [ "the French noble", "the spectral rider" ], "description": "A French nobleman of distinction who, after the plague left him alone in his district, followed the emigrants for months in a spectral guise, longing for human company but afraid to approach them because of contagion. He dies of the plague after revealing why he shadowed their troop." }, { "name": "The blind old man", "aliases": [ "the old musician", "the father of the young woman in Ferney" ], "description": "A blind German from Saxony who plays the bellows for his daughter’s organ music at a rural church in Ferney. Unaware that the plague has emptied the surrounding country, he dies shortly after his daughter." }, { "name": "The young woman in Ferney", "aliases": [ "the German musician’s daughter", "the organist" ], "description": "A young German woman from Saxony who has guided her blind father since childhood and plays the organ for him. Her German student lover dies of the plague; she later falls ill herself and dies, followed by her father." }, { "name": "The young German student", "aliases": [ "the German student", "the young noble" ], "description": "A young German nobleman who joins the musician and his daughter after fleeing his friends’ persecution. He loves the daughter and dies early in the plague." }, { "name": "Robinson Crusoe", "aliases": [], "description": "A literary castaway whom Lionel compares with himself while reflecting on his solitude. Unlike Lionel, Crusoe could hope for rescue and return to other people." }, { "name": "The unnamed master of the Campagna sheepdog", "aliases": [ "his master" ], "description": "The unnamed shepherd who owned the shaggy dog Lionel finds tending sheep in the Campagna. He is dead, though the dog continues to watch the flock in expectation of his return." }, { "name": "The shaggy Campagna dog", "aliases": [ "my only companion", "my dog" ], "description": "A shaggy dog, part water dog and part sheepdog, that continues tending its dead master’s flock until Lionel finds it. It becomes Lionel’s companion in Rome and accompanies him on his final voyage." } ], "analysis": { "sourceSha256": "1d0e7e49c40ea0b58d7a36443a46ba0d696683bb7c1b22e6e1454f578b4abaab", "generatedAt": "2026-10-24T11:33:05.273225+00:00", "partsProcessed": 13, "extractionWarnings": [], "promptSha256": "ef6b30afebc4d1ea57690ea5b456465684c74b7af125ea8d48e25e6ba2004d41", "model": "gpt-6-luna", "pipelineVersion": 1 } }