The Man Who Was Thursday characters

Appears from the start

A poet with a fierce belief in order who argues that rules and ordinary life contain their own drama. Beneath his aesthetic pose he is employed by a secret police unit devoted to finding intellectual anarchists, a role he must conceal while entering their circles.

Appears from the start

A poet in the London suburb of Saffron Park who praises disorder and destruction as artistic principles. Irritated by Syme's doubt that he is serious, he leads his rival into a hidden anarchist meeting after obtaining a promise of secrecy.

Appears from the start

Gregory's composed, red-haired sister, whose presence helps draw Syme into the poets' debate. Syme associates her calm beauty with the ordered world he wants to defend.

First appears in chapter 4

An unusually philosophical Scotland Yard officer who recruits Syme into an obscure anti-anarchist department. He explains that the police are most concerned with thinkers who provide violence with an intellectual justification.

First appears in chapter 5

The enormous, commanding president of the European anarchist council, named for the first day of the week. His laughter, speed, and apparent ability to anticipate every challenge make him more frightening to Syme than the council's explicit plans.

First appears in chapter 5

A bearded member of the anarchist council presented as a wild Polish revolutionary. His theatrical hostility and conspicuous foreign manner make him stand out even among the council's grotesque figures.

First appears in chapter 5

An ancient-looking German scholar on the anarchist council, bent almost double and seemingly barely able to move. Syme is disturbed by his corpse-like appearance and by the cold attention he gives the new Thursday.

First appears in chapter 5

A council member whose dark spectacles make his expression unreadable and menacing. His neat appearance and abrupt manner seem to Syme to conceal the efficient temperament of a dangerous conspirator.

First appears in chapter 5

An elegant aristocrat on the anarchist council, outwardly languid but entrusted with carrying its assassination plans toward completion. His polished manners make his commitment to political murder appear especially unsettling.

First appears in chapter 5

A quiet, gloomy member of the central council known by the weekday name Monday. He participates in the conspiracy with less theatricality than his colleagues, leaving Syme uncertain what lies behind his reserve.

First appears in chapter 10

A French officer whose country house becomes the setting for Syme's attempt to stop the Marquis from reaching a planned assassination. He observes the confrontation under the formal rules expected between gentlemen.