Fingersmith characters

Also known as Sue

Appears from the start

A seventeen-year-old orphan raised among thieves in Lant Street, London. She is loyal to the household that has protected her and understands pickpocketing and fraud as ordinary trades. When Gentleman proposes that she pose as a lady's maid in a confidence scheme, she accepts in the hope of earning a share of the fortune.

Appears from the start

The woman who raised Sue in her Lant Street home after the death of Sue's mother. She cares for unwanted infants for payment and presides over a close household of thieves. To Sue she is a loving foster mother whose approval carries great weight.

Also known as Gentleman, Richard Rivers

Appears from the start

A polished confidence man who visits Lant Street with an elaborate plan. He intends to court the wealthy Maud Lilly under an assumed identity, marry her, gain control of her money, and have her confined as insane. He recruits Sue to become Maud's maid and guide the deception from inside the country house.

Appears from the start

Mrs Sucksby's partner in the Lant Street household. He runs a locksmith's shop as a front and works with stolen goods, providing a calm, practical counterweight to the busier life around him.

Appears from the start

A young thief and member of the Lant Street household. She grew up alongside Sue and helps prepare her for the unfamiliar work and clothing of a lady's maid.

Appears from the start

A volatile boy in the Lant Street household who participates in its criminal work. He often quarrels with Sue and Dainty and treats the proposed fraud as another opportunity for profit.

First appears in chapter 2

A wealthy young woman living in isolation at Briar with her uncle. Orphaned as a child and trained to serve as his secretary, she appears sheltered, nervous, and inexperienced. Sue is placed beside her as a maid so that Gentleman can gain her confidence and persuade her to marry him.

Also known as Christopher Lilly

First appears in chapter 2

Maud's reclusive uncle and guardian at Briar. A scholar and collector, he has trained Maud as his secretary and keeps the household ordered around his library work. His strict routines leave her with little contact with the wider world.

First appears in chapter 2

A servant boy at Briar who becomes devoted to Gentleman. His access to the grounds and his willingness to help make him useful when plans at the house begin to unravel.

First appears in chapter 2

A senior woman in the Briar household who remembers Maud's arrival and oversees the female servants. Her severe manner and loyalty to Mr Lilly reinforce the controlled atmosphere in which Maud lives.

First appears in chapter 6

A physician who receives the woman Gentleman identifies as his unstable wife. He interprets resistance as proof of illness and uses the authority of the asylum to strip her of her name, freedom, and credibility.

First appears in chapter 16

The Lilly woman whose hidden arrangements connect Sue, Maud, Mrs Sucksby, and the disputed inheritance. Her written account reveals that Sue is her daughter and explains the exchange of the two babies after their births.