NW

by

Zadie Smith

Leah Hanwell

Leah is the daughter of Pauline and Colin, the wife of Michel, and the best friend of Keisha. She is of Irish heritage and grew up as a rebellious teenager in the… read analysis of Leah Hanwell

Keisha “Natalie” Blake

Keisha, who changes her name while at university to Natalie, is the daughter of Marcia, the wife of Frank, and the best friend of Leah. Keisha is Black and had a big… read analysis of Keisha “Natalie” Blake

Michel

Michel is Leah’s husband. He is a Black man from France who immigrated to Britain. Like Natalie, Michel is also eager to improve his social standing, but he doesn’t understand upper-class society as… read analysis of Michel

Francesco “Frank” De Angelis

Frank is Natalie’s husband, whom she meets when she goes to university. He has a mixed-race background, the son of the wealthy white Elena and a Trinidadian train guard. Frank’s unusual background makes him… read analysis of Francesco “Frank” De Angelis

Felix

Cooper – Felix is the main character of the “Guest” section of the novel, but he is referenced only briefly as the victim of a fatal stabbing at Albert Road in Leah’s and Natalieread analysis of Felix
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Nathan

Nathan is a young Black man who is handsome in his early school days and becomes a crush of Leah (and Jayden). But soon after he gets expelled from school, his life takes a… read analysis of Nathan

Shar

Shar is a woman who went to school with Leah and comes knocking on Leah’s door to beg for money when they’re both in their early 30s. Shar is clearly in a difficult financial situation… read analysis of Shar

Rodney

Rodney is Keisha’s first serious boyfriend. Marcia encourages her to see him because he reads a lot and goes to the same church. Although Keisha really likes Rodney at first and even attends the… read analysis of Rodney

Lloyd

Lloyd is Felix’s father. He used to live in Garvey House, a notoriously poor squat that a white photographer once visited and took pictures of for a book. Lloyd is notorious for having lots… read analysis of Lloyd
Minor Characters
Pauline Hanwell
Pauline is Leah’s mother. She came over from Ireland to England, where she met an English widower named Colin. She doesn’t always understand Leah’s life, including how to pronounce the name of Leah’s husband, Michel.
Marcia
Marcia is Keisha’s mother. She often keeps a close eye on Keisha, in part because Keisha’s sister Cheryl often got in trouble. After Keisha turns into “Natalie” and becomes wealthy, she continues to feel guilty about the fact that Marcia lives in relative poverty.
Elena De Angelis
Elena is Frank’s very wealthy mother, who is Italian. She approves of Natalie and helps her through the pupillage stage of her law career, but Natalie finds that getting financial help often means giving away independence.
Colin Hanwell
Colin is Leah’s father, who dies when she is still relatively young. His presence continues to hang over Leah, and at one point, she even seems to hallucinate having a new conversation with him.
Ned
Ned is Leah’s upstairs neighbor who smokes a lot of weed. His character hints at how people view drug use differently based on race and class.
Olive
Olive is Leah’s dog who dies after being kicked by a young man whom Michel picks a fight with.
Tom
Tom is a white man who sells his old, broken-down “project car” to Felix. Felix and Tom find common ground, despite their very different backgrounds, but it’s also clear that Tom views Felix as a curiosity.
Cheryl
Cheryl is Keisha’s sister who has a habit of getting in trouble, even at a young age. As Keisha gets older and turns into Natalie, her relationship with family member like Cheryl becomes more distant.
Jayden
Jayden is Keisha’s brother. He is a closeted queer man while living at home, but he begins to explore his sexuality more freely once he lives on his own.
Grace
Grace is a woman whom Felix meets at a bus stop and enters a long-term relationship with.
Naomi
Naomi is Natalie’s daughter and first child. Natalie sees echoes of herself in Naomi, and this sometimes scares her.
Spike
Spike is Natalie’s son and second child. His name comes from the spike of hair on his head when he was born.
Annie
Annie is a showgirl whom Felix has been romantically involved with but whom he feels guilty about seeing now because of his new relationship with Grace.
Erik
Erik is the Norwegian man who tells Annie that she and the other tenants in her building will be responsible for paying for a renovation.
Phil “Barnesy” Barns
Barnesy is a neighbor of Lloyd’s who rarely speaks to him but pretends to care about Lloyd whenever Felix stops by to visit.
Adina
Adina is Leah’s coworker at an organization where they help distribute lottery money to charities and nonprofits.
Theodora
Theodora is a Jamaican woman with a distinguished academic record who advises Natalie that people view her differently because she’s a woman.