Cranford characters

Miss Matilda Jenkyns

Also known as Miss Matty, Matty, Matilda

The gentle, timid, aging spinster at the heart of Cranford; younger sister of Deborah and the narrator's dear friend, later financially ruined but sustained by her friends.

As drawn: Elderly early-Victorian village gentlewoman with a small, soft, gentle 'mousey' face and grey hair; wears round spectacles she often takes off and puts on, and a neat prim lavender lace cap (she secretly longed for a fashionable sea-green turban); dressed in modest, old-fashioned high-waisted gowns; slight, nervous, mild in bearing.

Bonds:PoleClose friendsMarthaEmployer-servantJamiesonSocial peersPeterMother and son

Miss Deborah Jenkyns

Also known as Deborah

The formidable elder Jenkyns sister and rector's daughter who dominated Cranford society with her strong opinions (championing Dr Johnson over Dickens); dies partway through the story.

As drawn: Tall, angular, imposing elderly spinster with strong, severe features and a commanding, dignified expression; wears stiff, dark, old-fashioned gowns with a high collar and a rigid bonnet or cap; upright, authoritative posture.

Bonds:MatildaSistersMarthaFormer mistress

Mary Smith

Also known as Mary

The story's observant first-person narrator, a young unmarried woman who visits Cranford regularly from the manufacturing town of Drumble.

As drawn: Young early-Victorian woman of neat, practical, unshowy dress; plain sensible bonnet and modest gown; kindly, watchful expression.

Captain Brown

Also known as the Captain

A blunt, warm-hearted half-pay army captain, poor but proud, whose kindness wins over Cranford before he dies rescuing a child from a train.

As drawn: Elderly retired officer with an upright military bearing, head thrown back; a dark, well-curled 'Brutus' wig and a padded, often threadbare coat that recall his youthful military smartness; loud, deep bass voice; grave, dignified manner.

Bonds:BrownFather-daughterJessieFather-daughter

Miss Jessie Brown

Also known as Jessie

Captain Brown's devoted, sweet-natured younger daughter who nurses her ailing sister and eventually marries her old suitor Major Gordon.

As drawn: Young woman with a round, dimpled, childlike face and fresh, youthful looks; softly curled hair; dresses rather too girlishly for Cranford's taste; cheerful, tender expression.

Bonds:BrownFather-daughterBrownSistersPoleSocial acquaintancesJamiesonSocial acquaintances

Miss Brown

Captain Brown's elder daughter, chronically ill and made irritable by pain, tenderly cared for by her father and sister until her death.

As drawn: Gaunt, careworn woman with an uneasy, pinched expression that reads as crossness; drawn features marked by long illness; plain, economical dress.

Bonds:BrownFather-daughterJessieSisters

Miss Pole

A brisk, inquisitive spinster and inveterate gatherer of Cranford gossip and theories, self-styled brave during the town's robbery panic.

As drawn: Middle-aged to elderly spinster with sharp, alert features and a quick, bustling manner; plain sensible gowns and a cap; often seen with knitting in hand.

Bonds:MatildaClose friendsGlenmireSisters-in-lawMarthaRecent visitorPeterPast acquaintance

Mrs Forrester

A gentle, impoverished elderly widow of refined manners who clings to genteel forms and is timid about ghosts.

As drawn: Elderly gentlewoman in faded but carefully kept genteel mourning dress and a widow's cap; small, mild, timid presence.

Lady Glenmire

Mrs Jamieson's titled but unpretentious widowed sister-in-law who charms Cranford and scandalizes it by marrying the surgeon Mr Hoggins.

As drawn: Small, bright, brisk middle-aged widow with a lively, pleasant face; plain but genteel dark widow's dress; unaffected, energetic manner.

Bonds:PoleSisters-in-lawJamiesonSisters-in-lawHogginsMedical referral

Mrs Jamieson

The heavy, self-important widow who considers herself Cranford's social arbiter and guards distinctions of rank.

As drawn: Large, stout, phlegmatic elderly lady with a slow, languid, imperious manner; richly but dowdily dressed; attended by her manservant Mulliner.

Bonds:MatildaSocial peersGlenmireSisters-in-lawMarthaDinner interactionJessieSocial acquaintances

Peter Jenkyns

Also known as Poor Peter, Mr Peter, Aga Jenkyns, the Aga

The Jenkyns sisters' long-lost brother, a mischievous boy who ran away after a prank and returns decades later, wealthy and full of tales, from India.

As drawn: As a youth, a handsome, high-spirited practical joker; as the returned old man, a sun-browned, weather-beaten, white-haired gentleman with an exotic, faintly Oriental air and dress, animated when telling wonderful travellers' stories.

Bonds:MatildaMother and sonPolePast acquaintance

Mr Holbrook

A plain-spoken, unfashionable yeoman farmer and Miss Matty's rejected suitor of long ago, who dies soon after a rekindled visit.

As drawn: Elderly bachelor farmer, tall and spare, with a weather-beaten, kindly face and long grey hair; wears plain, old-fashioned country clothes; unpolished but dignified.

Bonds:PoleCousins

Mr Hoggins

Cranford's hearty, blunt country surgeon, thought vulgar by the ladies, who marries Lady Glenmire.

As drawn: Robust, ruddy-faced middle-aged man of genial, unrefined manner; plain, practical clothes; sturdy and hale.

Bonds:GlenmireMedical referralMarthaCare team

Signor Brunoni

Also known as Samuel Brown, the conjuror

A travelling conjuror whose Cranford performances spark the town's robbery panic; in truth an Englishman, Samuel Brown, later found injured on the road.

As drawn: Theatrical stage magician in exotic 'Turkish' costume with turban and flowing robes; moustached, dark-browed performer's look; later seen frail and invalid.

Martha

Miss Matty's faithful, blunt country maidservant, whose loyalty and marriage to Jem Hearn help rescue Miss Matty after her financial ruin.

As drawn: Young country servant girl with a rosy, plump, honest face; wears a plain print gown with cap and apron; sturdy, homely, and good-natured.

Bonds:MatildaEmployer-servantPoleRecent visitorJamiesonDinner interactionDeborahFormer mistress