The Lair of the White Worm characters

Appears from the start

A young Englishman raised in Australia who returns to his family's ancestral district after his great-uncle invites him to become acquainted with his inheritance. Practical, energetic, and accustomed to dangerous animals, he is soon drawn into the strange rivalries surrounding Lesser Hill and Diana's Grove.

Appears from the start

Adam's elderly great-uncle and the owner of Lesser Hill. Having no direct heir, he asks Adam to come from Australia and hopes the younger man will make a life in the old Mercian country.

First appears in chapter 2

An old friend of Richard Salton and a learned local gentleman. He knows the district's legends, antiquities, and families, and becomes Adam's chief guide to the unsettling events around Castra Regis and Diana's Grove.

First appears in chapter 2

The new master of Castra Regis, recently returned from Africa to claim his inheritance. Proud, solitary, and fascinated by mental influence, he quickly fixes his attention on Lilla Watford.

First appears in chapter 4

The striking, commanding mistress of Diana's Grove. Though her estate is burdened by debt, she moves through local society with confidence and takes a marked interest in Adam and the new heir of Castra Regis.

First appears in chapter 6

One of the two young women at Mercy Farm. Fair, gentle, and sheltered, she becomes the object of Edgar Caswall's increasingly oppressive attention.

First appears in chapter 6

Lilla's dark-haired cousin and companion at Mercy Farm. More forceful than Lilla and fiercely protective of her, she attracts Adam's affection and refuses to be intimidated by Caswall.

First appears in chapter 7

Caswall's servant, brought with him from Africa. Suspicious of Lady Arabella and alert to signs of danger around Diana's Grove, he secretly watches her while pursuing his own advantage.

First appears in chapter 6

The widowed farmer at Mercy Farm and guardian of Lilla and Mimi. His household becomes exposed to Caswall's unwelcome visits and the wider conflict among the neighboring estates.