The Paying Guests

Lilian Barber is Frances Wray’s love interest in The Paying Guests. Lilian married Leonard at a young age. It was a marriage of necessity: Lilian was pregnant, though she miscarried the baby. Lilian comes from a working-class background. Her mother, Mrs. Viney, runs a clothing shop with her stepfather. Because of this, and because of her Irish background, her husband’s family looks down on her. After enduring living with them for too long, and after Leonard gets a solid position as an assessor’s clerk, they move to Champion Hill, where Frances and Mrs. Wray are renting rooms in their large house.

Lilian is beautiful, intensely feminine, with a curvy body and dark hair. She is a woman of eclectic taste: she decorates her and Leonard’s apartment with a gaudy array of knickknacks, decorations, and exotic trinkets. Frances often compares her to a “Gypsy,” due to her flamboyant taste in clothing. Her personal style causes Mrs. Wray to view her as childish and wanton; however, it belies a woman who is deeply unhappy with her situation in life. She tries to take control through decoration.

When she and Frances begin having an affair, it is a sexual awakening for Lilian, who has never been with another woman. Although she loves Frances, her motives for the affair are marred by the fact of her unhappy marriage and the fact that she found out about Leonard’s affair around the time that she discovered she was pregnant. Because the novel focuses on Frances’s viewpoint, it is uncertain how committed Lilian actually is to Frances, or if she is using her as a form of revenge against Leonard.

When she kills Leonard in the scuffle that follows Frances’s revelation of their affair, she claims it was an accident; however, she had previously wished him dead. She knew about the life insurance policy Leonard took out shortly before his death. This causes Frances to doubt her, and these doubts are never fully resolved.

During Spencer Ward’s trial, Lilian vacillates between wanting to turn herself in and wanting to let Spencer to take the fall for the crime. In the end, she agrees with Frances to let the trial play out and to turn themselves in if he is convicted. Her relationship with Frances is incredibly strained by Frances’s suspicions.

When Spencer is acquitted, it is an immense relief. However, Lilian has aged visibly by the end of the novel: she has lost the youthful appearance and attitude that she exhibited upon moving to Champion Hill. Lilian reaffirms her commitment to Frances, though their future is uncertain.

Leonard Barber is an assessor’s clerk who becomes a tenant of Wray’s along with his wife, Lilian. Leonard has ginger hair, a pointed chin, cramped teeth, and is in his mid-twenties. His gregarious personality at times gets on Frances’s nerves, though at others, it endears him to her. Leonard is generally well-liked, even by Mrs. Wray, who initially has misgivings about his class. Leonard and Lilian argue frequently. Though he does not say so directly in the novel, Leonard feels just as trapped in his marriage as his wife does.

Leonard has a secret affair with Billie Grey. Lilian finds out about this shortly after finding out that she is pregnant with Leonard’s baby. Leonard extends his life insurance policy shortly before Lilian accidentally kills him. While this makes Lilian seem suspicious, he did so out of fear for his life. Spencer Ward, Billie’s boyfriend, previously assaulted him. When Leonard is murdered, he leaves behind his mother, father, younger brother Hugh, and older brother Douglas. The investigation of his murder and the trial of that follows forms the final arc of the plot of The Paying Guests.

Frances’s elderly mother, Mrs. Wray has lost her husband and two sons prior to the events of the novel. Consequently, her life revolves around reminiscence for times past, from dwelling on the memory of her dead loved ones to adhering to passé, Victorian ideals that have begun to unravel in post-war England. This causes conflict between Mrs. Wray’s traditional, conservative values and Frances’s progressivism. Mrs. Wray discovered Frances’s relationship with Christina before Mr. Wray died; this leads to an undercurrent of suspicion in their relationship throughout the novel. Mrs. Wray is always inclined to view her daughter with suspicion, even when her politesse causes her to outwardly act otherwise.

Mrs. Wray is reluctant to take in boarders, or as she and other Champion Hill residents refer to them, “paying guests,” due to the damage it will do to their image. She likes Leonard, who humors her, helps with housework, and treats her with respect; however, she is critical of Lilian, whom she believes is a subpar wife, and is suspicious of Frances when she defends Lilian.

After Lilian murders Frances, Mrs. Wray is understandably in a state of shock. Her testimony unwittingly establishes Frances and Lilian’s alibies. Her suspicion of Frances only grows with Frances’s increasingly frantic behavior as the trial progresses.   

Christina is Frances’s former girlfriend, living in the city with her new girlfriend, Stevie. Christina writes articles for a small, political newspaper. Christina and Frances met during the war while Christina handed out pamphlets for a political rally. The two dreamed of sharing a life together in an apartment in the city. When their relationship was discovered by Mrs. Wray, Frances was not brave enough to go through with their plans. Christina eventually found the life they had wanted together, but with Stevie, an art teacher. Ultimately, Christina represents a fork in the path of Frances’s life: she is the future Frances threw away. She thought she was making a brave sacrifice in giving up her life with Christina, but in reality, it was an act of cowardice.

Christina is still close with Frances. Frances turns to her for advice and comfort during the dark days after Leonard’s death. Christina is the only one Frances confides in about her relationship with Lilian. However, this relationship strains Christina and Frances’s relationship. Frances must be careful about exactly what she tells Christina and about how worried she appears in front of her. 

A detective for Scotland Yard investigating the murder of Leonard Barber, Inspector Kempe is the novel’s main antagonist. Frequently described as looking like a banker, his innocuous appearance only makes him seem more sinister to Frances and her guilty conscience. Kempe’s behavior and attitude are hard for Frances to read; one minute he is emotionless, cold and calculating; the next he is warm and friendly. This causes Frances bout after bout of anxiety and relief. At times it seems he suspects Lilian of Leonard’s death, though this is due to Frances and Lilian’s guilty consciences and Kempe’s routine investigatory work.

Though Kempe puts Frances and Lilian through a torturous series of questions that seem to indicate he suspects them, he quickly moves on. Because they are women, they are not prime suspects for a man used to dealing with hardened male criminals. He refers to the suspect as a male before the police even have anyone in mind. When Leonard’s affair with Billie Grey comes to light, Kempe sets his sights on Spencer Ward, absolutely convinced that the young man is the perpetrator.

Kempe’s shift of focus onto Spenser marks a unique shift in his role as antagonist. Instead of being directly in danger, this puts Frances and Lilian in the horrible position of framing an innocent man for a crime they committed. They resolve to turn themselves in if Spenser is convicted. Kempe’s testimony seems alternately damning and liberating to the women. He is ultimately disappointed with Spenser’s acquittal. Kempe jokes with Frances about aspects of the trial that she was correct about, indicating that though she spends the last third of the novel fearing him, Kempe likes and respects her. 

Stevie is an art teacher and Christina’s girlfriend after Frances breaks up with her. While Frances maintains a close friendship with Christina and does not hate Stevie, she cannot help but be jealous of the life Christina and Stevie have built together. Stevie reminds Frances of the possibilities she threw away for Mrs. Wray’s sake.

Edith is the former fiancé of Frances’s deceased brother, John Arthur. When John Arthur died in the war, Edith maintained warm connections with the Wrays, visiting once a year around the anniversary of her fiancé’s death. She visits early during the course of the novel and reveals that she is reengaged to a wealthy man with children. While Frances is happy for her, Mrs. Wray is crestfallen: it only reminds her of her many losses.

Though she is only briefly in the novel, Edith is something of a foil to Frances. Her engagement ring represents the safe, heteronormative life that Frances is denied. Edith tells Frances that Frances seems to be settling into her role; this inadvertent remark causes Frances to grimly reflect on the life with Christina she threw away, and it makes her desperate for change. 

Spencer Ward is a low-class young man who is framed for the murder of Leonard Barber, who had illicit affair with his girlfriend, Billie Grey. Spencer is an uncouth, violent young man, who has had multiple run-ins with law enforcement. However, on the night of Leonard’s murder, he was at home with a headache—a detail confirmed by his elderly mother and a neighbor. Because of his past, and because he previously attacked Leonard, Spencer is a prime suspect for the crime.

Spenser becomes a locus of guilt and anxiety for Frances and Lilian. If he is found guilty, it will exonerate them from culpability. However, their consciences will not easily let them cause an innocent man to take the fall for their crime. Ultimately, the evidence against Spencer does not incriminate him against all doubt. To Frances’s relief, he is acquitted. 

Billie Grey is Spenser Ward’s girlfriend and the woman with whom Leonard had been having an affair. The press tends to emphasize the scandalous aspects of her character; however, she genuinely loved Leonard. She breaks down at the end of her testimony in Spenser’s trial.

Frances notes the similarities between Billie and Lilian, both in looks and in attitude. She imagines Billie is like Lilian at the start of her and Leonard’s relationship, before the rushed marriage and loss of a child soured it. This allows for more sympathy for Leonard, who was as miserable in his marriage as Lilian was. 

Mrs. Viney is the mother of Lilian, Vera, Netta, and Min. A tiny, stocky, older woman, Mrs. Viney is of a lower class than the residents of Champion Hill and is thus seen as uncouth by Mrs. Wray. Frances takes a liking to her. While Mrs. Viney is coarse and loud, she is a caring woman who loves her daughters. She even loved Leonard, who did not like to be around her, and is shocked and appalled by his death. After Leonard’s murder and Lilian’s “miscarriage,” Mrs. Viney attempts to take motherly control over Lilian. 

Charlie Wismuth is a good friend of Leonard’s, who helps Leonard cover up his affair with Billie Grey. Charles, though engaged, had an affair with Billie’s older sister, a married woman. Consequently, he lied to the police to avoid ruining his relationship with his fiancé. However, guilt drives him to help the police find his friend’s murderer. Because of his false testament, he faces criminal charges by the end of the novel; because of his infidelity, his fiancé breaks off their engagement.