The Ickabog characters

Also known as Fred the Fearless

Appears from the start

The vain and pampered king of Cornucopia. He prefers fine clothes, flattering portraits, and public admiration to the work of governing. His title celebrates a largely imaginary courage, and his dependence on agreeable courtiers makes him easily manipulated.

First appears in chapter 2

One of King Fred's closest lords and advisers. Smooth, calculating, and contemptuous of ordinary people, he protects his influence by flattering the king and treating any threat to courtly comfort as an enemy.

First appears in chapter 2

Spittleworth's companion at court and another of King Fred's favored advisers. He shares Spittleworth's appetite for privilege and mockery, though he is less intelligent and more readily frightened.

First appears in chapter 3

The young daughter of the royal carpenter. Daisy is observant, outspoken, and unwilling to accept a comforting claim merely because an adult in authority makes it. Her friendship with Bert Beamish is strained by their disagreement over the legendary Ickabog.

First appears in chapter 3

The royal carpenter and Daisy's widowed father. A skilled, honest craftsman, he tries to protect his daughter while continuing to serve a court whose demands have already brought sorrow to his family.

First appears in chapter 5

Daisy's best friend and the son of Major and Mrs. Beamish. Bert is loyal and proud of his parents, especially his father's military service. Childhood certainty about the Ickabog tale causes a painful quarrel between him and Daisy.

First appears in chapter 5

The king's head pastry chef and Bert's mother. Her skill helps make Chouxville famous for its cakes. She is practical, loving, and far more willing than the king's courtiers to question a story that does not fit the facts.

First appears in chapter 10

An officer of the Royal Guard, husband to the palace pastry chef and father of Bert. Major Beamish is an honorable soldier selected to join the king's expedition into the northern marshes.

First appears in chapter 14

A decent officer in the Royal Guard who is caught inside Spittleworth's expanding deception. His knowledge of what happened in the marshes makes obedience dangerous, but resistance would also put him and others at risk.

First appears in chapter 18

A court lady who recognizes Spittleworth's dishonesty and is not impressed by his power. Her intelligence and moral courage make her a quiet opponent of the new order he is building around the king.

First appears in chapter 33

The harsh proprietor of an orphanage that profits by keeping its children hungry, frightened, and obedient. She cooperates with powerful officials when doing so preserves her control and income.

First appears in chapter 36

A boy living in Ma Grunter's orphanage. Roderick is the son of a soldier entangled in the official Ickabog story, and his knowledge and loyalties become important to the other children confined there.

First appears in chapter 36

A resilient girl in Ma Grunter's orphanage who becomes one of Daisy's trusted companions. Years of deprivation have made her cautious, resourceful, and alert to the dangers posed by adults who claim authority over the children.

First appears in chapter 52

A large creature living in the remote marshlands north of Cornucopia. Long dismissed by most southerners as a legend, it is intelligent, capable of speech, and governed by a strange life cycle that connects a parent's final emotions to the nature of its offspring.