I’m the King of the Castle Character Analysis

Charles Kingshaw

Charles Kingshaw is one of the two main characters in I’m the King of the Castle, along with Edmund Hooper. He has also been described as one of the most psychologically accurate child… read analysis of Charles Kingshaw

Edmund Hooper

Edmund Hooper is, along with Charles Kingshaw, one of the two central characters in I’m the King of the Castle. Though Edmund is only eleven years old for most of the novel, he’s… read analysis of Edmund Hooper

Joseph Hooper

Joseph Hooper is the father of Edmund Hooper: a middle-aged father who, by his own admission, is dull, talentless, and unremarkable in almost every way. Although Hooper is a relatively minor character in the… read analysis of Joseph Hooper

Helena Kingshaw

Helena Kingshaw is the mother of Charles Kingshaw. A middle-aged woman’s who has lost her husband, Helena moves to Warings in part to find work and in part with the hope of finding a… read analysis of Helena Kingshaw

Anthony Fielding

Anthony Fielding first appears late in the novel, but he’s one of the most important people in Charles Kingshaw’s life. The child of a working-class family, Anthony is calm, self-possessed, and matter-of-fact about everything… read analysis of Anthony Fielding

Ellen Hooper

Ellen Hooper is the deceased wife of Joseph Hooper. She dies some six years before the novel begins, and Hill says very little about her. The absence of detail about Helen makes for an… read analysis of Ellen Hooper

Mrs. Alice Boland

Alice Boland is the housekeeper and caretaker of Warings, and the only person who lives at Warings from the very beginning of the novel to the very end (Edmund Hooper and Joseph Hooper… read analysis of Mrs. Alice Boland

Minor Characters

Joseph Hooper Sr.

The elder Joseph Hooper (Joseph Hooper’s father) is described as having been an ambitious merchant who recognized the importance of advancing his social status, and believed that he could do so by building an imposing manor house, even if doing so involved selling all his other assets.

Turville

A child who Charles Kingshaw knew when he was five, and who dared Charles to jump into a pool.

Devereux

A wealthy school friend of Charles Kingshaw.

Fenwick

A boy who Charles Kingshaw knows from school. Charles tries to befriend Fenwick, only to be angrily rebuffed with the words, “Shut up, stupid.”

Crawford

A student who bullies Charles Kingshaw during his time at school.

Enid Tyson

A long-time friend of Helena Kingshaw’s.

Lesage

A prefect at Charles Kingshaw’s boarding school, who makes him sit down on the floor.

Broughton-Smith

A boy who Charles Kingshaw knows from school, and who teases Charles for coming from a working-class family.

Miss Mellitt

A frightening old woman who lives in the hotel where Charles Kingshaw and Helena Kingshaw stay during their time in London.