Characters in Coram Boy - Edexcel

• There are four main characters in Coram Boy: Meshak and Otis Gardiner, Aaron and Alexander.

• The secondary characters include: Thomas, Melissa, Toby, Mrs Lynch, Sir William, Lady Ashbrook and Mrs Milcote.

• There are many minor characters such as Mr Burney, a musician to whom Aaron is apprenticed.

• Some of the characters mentioned in the book are based on historical figures, such as Captain Thomas Coram and the composer, Handel.

Remember

Some characters have different names in Part Two of the book:

• Otis Gardiner becomes Phillip Gaddarn
• Meshak Gardiner is called Mish
• Melissa’s baby is named Aaron
• The Black baby bought by Otis is called Toby

• Loyal
• Childlike
• Protective

Meshak is Otis Gardiner’s son. In Part One, he is 14 years old.

Otis treats him badly, forcing him to bury babies and help sell children. As a result, Meshak suffers from nightmares and has days when he lies "dead" for hours and cannot be moved or woken.

He has visions of angels: he thinks that Melissa looks like an angel, calls Aaron "angel baby" and refers to himself as Aaron’s "guardian angel".

Gavin describes Meshak as having "the ways of a child, the thoughts of a child" but Otis calls him an "idiot" because he thinks and acts differently. Otis’s opinion reflects the lack of understanding in the 17th century around neurodivergence and different educational needs.

When Meshak leaves his father and takes Aaron to Coram Hospital, he doesn’t have another "dead day" for seven years, until Aaron leaves Coram to begin his apprenticeship. This suggests that Meshak’s "dead days" are a way for him to cope with the horrors of his life with his father.

In Part Two, Meshak is called Mish and works for the Coram Hospital so he can stay close to Aaron.

When the Coram choir travel to Ashbrook he is recognised by Mrs Milcote. He runs away and takes Aaron back to his father’s house but does not understand the danger that this puts them in.

When Aaron and Toby jump off the ship headed for America, Mish is afraid and stays onboard.

Despite being in America, Mish remains loyal to Aaron and Melissa. Years later, he makes his way back home. Even as an old man, Mish protectively watches over his "angels", Melissa and Aaron.

• Cruel

• Selfish

• Corrupt

In Part One, Otis Gardiner is known as the Coram Man.

Alongside his business buying and selling pots and pans, he also charges money to take babies and children away from desperate mothers. Otis promises to take them to the Coram Hospital in London, but the babies usually die and the older children are sold. Otis blackmails the wealthier mothers by threatening to reveal their secrets.

Otis forces his son, Meshak, to work with him and treats him badly. Otis cruelly says "I should've drowned him at birth".

By Part Two, Otis Gardiner’s corrupt business has been discovered. He was sentenced to death but bribed the magistrate to hang another man in his place.

Otis escaped, changed his name to Phillip Gaddarn and became rich and powerful in London. He still makes money selling children into slavery, until Alexander recognises him.

It’s not clear what happens to Otis at the end of the book, but what is clear is that lots of people in positions of power knew what he was doing and either ignored it or saw his activities as an opportunity to make money themselves. Through the character of Otis, Gavin shows the widespread corruption in 18th century society.

• Passionate

• Thoughtful

• Musically talented

Alexander Ashbrook is Sir William and Lady Ashbrook’s son. At the start of part one, he is 14 years old and attends Gloucester Cathedral school where he sings in the choir and composes his own music.

Alexander can sometimes be quiet and sad. He is a thoughtful boy with few close friends. His best friend, Thomas, encourages him to be more outgoing.

He is also a talented composer and the choir regularly perform music he has written. Alexander doesn’t want to follow the expected path for a boy of his class. Instead, he is passionate about being a musician. He says:

I don't know what I am without music. I don't know why to move. Why to breathe.

Sir William wants Alexander to become heir to Ashbrook and to learn what is involved in running a large estate. This causes arguments between Alexander and his father, and eventually leads to Alexander leaving home. This shows that Alexander is passionate about following his love for music.

• Funny

• Faithful

• Brave

Thomas is Alexander’s best friend while they are at school.

Thomas is one of 14 children from a lower-class family near Gloucester. His father is a ship’s carpenter and Thomas would have followed in his father’s footsteps if his musical talent hadn’t won him a scholarship to attend Gloucester Cathedral school.

Thomas is popular and sociable, and wins friends by telling funny stories and doing impressions of people. Lady Ashbrook thinks that Thomas is a good influence on Alexander. She says he makes Alexander more cheerful and has turned him "into a human being".

Thomas is a brave and faithful friend. At the end of the novel, Toby comes to Thomas for help and he goes to the dock to try to rescue Aaron and Meshak. When Phillip Gaddarn tries to kill Alexander, Thomas throws himself in front of his friend and protects him, losing his own life as a result.

• Caring

• Loyal

• Naïve

Melissa is Mrs Milcote's daughter (the Ashbrook children’s governess).

Although she is brought up alongside the Ashbrook children, she would still have been seen as a member of the servant class. Because of this, a relationship between Melissa and Alexander would not have been encouraged.

Despite this, Melissa and Alexander fall in love and spend the night together before Alexander leaves home.

When Melissa’s baby is born, her mother and Mrs Lynch tell her it has died. However, Melissa never forgets her baby and spends her life caring for other children.

She goes on to work in Lady Ashbrook’s orphanage, teaching the children to read and write. She remains loyal to Alexander until he returns and they marry.

• Musically talented

• Trusting

• Brave

Aaron is Alexander and Melissa’s son. Mrs Lynch sells him to Otis as soon as he is born. Meshak saves him, calling him "angel baby", and takes him to the Coram Hospital.

Aaron’s surname, Dangerfield, comes from his benefactor. Aaron is musically talented, like his father. His voice is described with the simile as "pure as a silver bell". Aaron is apprenticed to a musician and is tutored by his father, Alexander – although they do not know they are related.

Meshak watches over Aaron. Aaron trusts Meshak and so when he tells him they must run away after the choir performs at Ashbrook, Aaron goes with him.

Aaron finds out that he is Alexander Ashbrook’s son when he is put onto a slave ship heading for America. He and Toby show their bravery when they escape by jumping overboard. They make their way back to Ashbrook where Aaron is reunited with his family.

• Vulnerable

• Mistreated

• Brave

Toby is a Black boy who was born on a slave ship travelling from Africa. He was bought by Otis Gardiner as a baby from the arms of his mother on the docks. Otis thought that he could make money in the future by selling Toby.

Toby is raised in the Coram Hospital and becomes friends with Aaron. When they are both eight years old, Aaron is apprenticed to a musician whilst Toby is sent to work as a servant for Otis, now known as Phillip Gaddarn.

During his parties, Gaddarn dresses Toby in turbans, embroidered silk trousers and slippers stitched with gold thread to make Toby look "like a miniature prince". However, the rest of the time, Toby is poorly cared for.

In the 18th century, Black servants were seen as status symbols and racist attitudes were widespread. Toby says that, in the eyes of Gaddarn and his rich friends, "I'm nothing but an animal". This reflects the reality for many Black people living in Britain at that time.

Question

What do each of these quotations suggest about racist attitudes in 18th century Britain?

You can learn more about attitudes in the 18th century in the Coram Boy Context guide.

• Cruel

• Corrupt

• Untrustworthy

Mrs Lynch is one of the housekeepers at Ashbrook. She knows everybody’s business and uses it to gain power. She provides Otis with information that could be profitable to him and she takes a share of his profits in return.

Mrs Lynch takes advantage of her position and is not afraid to bribe and blackmail others to benefit herself.

Gavin writes: "Mrs Lynch's voice coiled as slithery smooth as a serpent".

The comparison to a serpent suggests a connection with evil, because of the biblical connotations of snakes (in the story of Adam and Eve, the devil disguises himself as a snake to tempt Adam and Eve into disobeying God's instructions).

Along with Otis Gardiner, Mrs Lynch represents the corruption at the heart of 18th century society, as they were both able to operate with the knowledge of churchmen and parish officers.

Test how well you know the characters in Coram Boy by taking this multiple-choice quiz.