National Velvet characters

Appears from the start

A fourteen-year-old girl in the horse-loving Brown household at Sewels. Velvet is dreamy in conversation but intensely observant around animals, and she believes that a difficult piebald horse has the makings of a great racer. Her ambition grows from caring for him to imagining him in the Grand National.

First appears in chapter 2

A wandering young man who comes to the Brown home carrying a connection to Mrs. Brown's past. He knows horses and racing, takes work with the family, and recognizes that Velvet's unlikely dream deserves practical help even when he doubts it can succeed.

Also known as The Piebald, Pie

First appears in chapter 3

A powerful, unruly piebald gelding whose speed and jumping ability capture Velvet's imagination. After he comes into her possession, he becomes the center of her work and of her extraordinary racing plan.

Also known as Araminty Brown

Appears from the start

Velvet's formidable mother, a large, composed woman who runs the crowded family without fuss. Long before the story she was a celebrated swimmer, an achievement she seldom discusses. She understands the discipline behind Velvet's improbable ambition and gives support without sentimentality.

Appears from the start

Velvet's father, a butcher whose practical habits contrast with the passions of his children. He is protective of his household and skeptical of schemes that threaten its order, but he is also capable of letting Velvet pursue work she takes seriously.

Appears from the start

The eldest Brown daughter, absorbed in her appearance, courtship, and the social world beyond the family. Her concerns provide a domestic counterpoint to Velvet's consuming interest in horses.

Also known as Mally

Appears from the start

One of Velvet's older sisters, lively and sharply aware of the shifting alliances among the Brown children. She shares in the noisy family life surrounding Velvet's horses and racing plans.

Appears from the start

One of the Brown sisters, part of the close, argumentative household in which Velvet's private convictions must become a family undertaking before they can become real.

Appears from the start

Velvet's much younger brother, energetic, literal-minded, and fascinated by whatever is happening around him. His interruptions and questions are a constant part of life in the Brown home.

First appears in chapter 2

One of Velvet's horses before the Piebald becomes her overwhelming concern. Sir Pericles is part of the stable through which Velvet has learned patience, responsibility, and close attention to horses as individuals.