The Go-Between characters

Appears from the start

A man in his sixties who opens an old diary and confronts the summer of 1900, when he was a thirteen-year-old schoolboy. Young Leo is imaginative, socially inexperienced, proud of his supposed skill with signs and curses, and eager to please the people who admit him to a world wealthier than his own.

Appears from the start

Leo's school friend and his host at Brandham Hall. Marcus belongs comfortably to the upper-class household whose customs Leo must learn, and his temporary illness leaves Leo to make connections within the family on his own.

First appears in chapter 2

Marcus's older sister, a beautiful young woman whose warmth and attention captivate Leo. She is expected to make a socially advantageous marriage and enlists Leo to carry private notes, initially allowing him to imagine that he is performing an adult and romantic service.

First appears in chapter 2

Marcus's mother and the commanding hostess of Brandham Hall. She is attentive to rank, propriety, and her daughter's future, and she treats Leo kindly while also expecting him to observe the household's social boundaries.

First appears in chapter 2

The head of the Maudsley household. He is part of the gracious adult world surrounding Leo at Brandham, though much of the family's emotional and social management is directed by his wife.

First appears in chapter 3

Marcus and Marian's older brother. His place in the family helps Leo understand the age, rank, and masculine codes of the household he is visiting.

Also known as Viscount Trimingham

First appears in chapter 4

The aristocratic neighbor whom Marian is expected to marry. Hugh is a veteran marked by a facial scar, but his manner toward Leo is considerate and direct. To the boy he represents courage, adulthood, and the established order of Brandham.

First appears in chapter 6

A vigorous tenant farmer at Black Farm who is socially far below the Maudsleys but physically impressive to Leo. He treats the boy with an easy familiarity absent from Brandham and asks him to carry messages to Marian.