Sir Lord Keenan Kester Cofield Character Analysis in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

A distant relative of the Lackses, he contacts Deborah Lacks claiming to be both a lawyer and a doctor and urging her to copyright Henrietta’s name in order to get a cut of the money that the cells have earned over the decades. In truth, Cofield is a fraud and a swindler who has done jail time; eventually he files a frivolous lawsuit against the Lackses and Johns Hopkins, utterly betraying Deborah’s trust.

Sir Lord Keenan Kester Cofield Character Timeline in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

The timeline below shows where the character Sir Lord Keenan Kester Cofield appears in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...to talk about Henrietta Lacks, however, she becomes terrified, asking if she’s come from “Mr. Cofield.” Rebecca tries to reassure her, telling her that she doesn’t know anyone named Cofield, and... (full context)

...Lacks day here in Baltimore county.” She is still working on the museum, despite “the Cofield situation,” although Deborah is now afraid to continue. Courtney takes Rebecca into the library, and... (full context)

Rebecca introduces a new character into the narrative: Sir Lord Keenan Kester Cofield: “the cousin of Deborah’s husband’s former stepdaughter, or something like that.” Cofield contacts Deborah, asserting... (full context)

Cofield is a fraud who has spent “years in various prisons.” He has brought many frivolous... (full context)

...records for Elsie. She also meets with Kidwell, who pledges that Hopkins will fight off Cofield. They do, and the case is dismissed, but Hopkins still refuses to honor or acknowledge... (full context)

Deborah remains deeply paranoid, convinced that Cofield is going to steal her mother’s possessions or records, or even her own cells. Soon,... (full context)

At last, Deborah tells Rebecca the story of Cofield, explaining how he betrayed her trust by trying to take “the only things I really... (full context)