Jackaby

Abigail Rook is a young, upper-middle-class English woman who thirsts for adventure. She comes from a family who wanted her to follow a traditional role and discouraged her dreams of paleontology and exploration. Even after Abigail breaks free from her parents’ expectations, she still fears their unconscious hold over her and her choices. For this reason, she writes to them often so they know she’s safe but never gives them a return address.

When Abigail arrives in New Fiddleham, she retains a positive outlook even as her living and financial circumstances become increasingly dire. When she meets Jackaby for the first time, she immediately processes the experience through her adventure books: “Yes, you’re like whatshisname, aren’t you? The one who consults for Scotland Yard in those stories” (7-8). Rarely throughout the novel does Abigail exhibit true fear; even as she understands the danger she is in, she never loses her sense of curiosity and adventure. In this way, she and Jackaby are alike, as he also prioritizes a thirst for truth over his fear of death.

Although the novel focuses on Abigail’s partnership with Jackaby and her place in his home, her strongest relationships are with Jenny and Charlie. Jenny becomes a sister figure to Abigail, juxtaposing her discordant relationship with her blood family.