Code Name Verity Characters

Maddie is one of the novel’s protagonists and is Julie’s best friend; she narrates Part Two of the book. She grew up in a working-class family in Stockport, England and developed a love of… read analysis of Maddie Brodatt

Julie is one of the novel’s protagonists; she narrates Part One, which is framed as her account of her friendship with Maddie, written while she’s imprisoned by the Ormaie Gestapo. She’s writing as… read analysis of Julie/The Narrator/Queenie/Verity

One of the novel’s antagonists, von Linden is the Ormaie Gestapo captain who oversees Julie’s interrogation—and who decides how, and how much, Julie is tortured. Julie refers to him as von Linden in her account… read analysis of SS-Hauptsturmführer von Linden/The Captain

Anna Engel is a German woman employed by the Nazis who is one of Julie’s regular guards. Engel isn’t technically military; she’s a civilian. She’s a plain woman with a severe haircut, but she… read analysis of Anna Engel

Dympna is a wealthy young woman and the first female pilot (and only female flight instructor) Maddie ever meets. She soon becomes Maddie’s mentor and friend. They meet when Dympna crashes her Puss Moth airplane… read analysis of Dympna Wythenshawe

The intelligence officer is a man whom Maddie and Julie meet first while part of the WAAF working in radar. He works in intelligence for the Special Operations Executive. He’s a handsome man with… read analysis of The Machiavellian English Intelligence Officer/John Balliol

Paul is an English SOE agent who helps lead the Damask Resistance Circuit in Ormaie, France. Maddie dislikes him from the start: she flew him in England once, and he put his hand on her… read analysis of Paul

Mitraillette is Maman and Papa Thibaut’s eldest daughter and a member of the French Resistance. Mitraillette is her code name and means “submachine gun”; her real name is Gabrielle-Thérèse, but Maddie never comes… read analysis of Mitraillette

Amélie is Mitraillette’s little sister and Mama and Papa Thibaut’s youngest daughter. Maddie briefly refers to her by her Resistance code name, La Cadette (which translates to “the youngest”) but soon begins referring… read analysis of Amélie/La Cadette

Etienne Thibaut is a young man who has joined the Nazis and works for the Ormaie Gestapo. He’s French—and it’s unclear if he knows that his parents and siblings, Maman, Papa, Mitraillette… read analysis of SS-Scharführer Etienne Thibaut

Maman Thibaut is Papa Thibaut’s husband and Mitraillette, Amélie, and Etienne’s mother. She, along with her husband and daughters, is a member of the Resistance. Maman is originally from Alsace… read analysis of Maman Thibaut

Papa Thibaut is a man in the Resistance; except for his son Etienne, his entire family (Maman, Mitraillette, and Amélie) are also Resistance members. He owns a farm near a… read analysis of Papa Thibaut

The rose-grower is an elegant, elderly woman who leads Julie’s Resistance circuit and gave it its name: the Damask Circuit. Prior to the war, she was a renowned horticulturist and grew damask roses. Maddie… read analysis of The Rose-Grower

Georgia Penn is an American woman living and working in Nazi Germany. Most people—Allies and Nazis alike—believe she’s a legitimate Nazi sympathizer, as she broadcasts an English-language radio program that presents the Nazis as sympathetic… read analysis of Georgia Penn

The French girl is another prisoner in the Ormaie Gestapo headquarters. She detests Julie for being a collaborator. Julie eventually snaps and, after listening to the Nazis torture the French girl for hours, shouts for… read analysis of The French Girl/Marie

Maddie rescues the rear gunner from the cell in the Ormaie Gestapo headquarters where Julie was held until her death. Maddie and the rear gunner bond as, being female and Black respectively, they both face… read analysis of The Jamaican Rear Gunner

Julie and Jamie’s mother never appears in person in the novel, but Julie mentions her several times in her account. She lives in the family’s Scottish castle, and when World War II breaks out… read analysis of Julie’s Mother

Creighton is Maddie and Julie’s squadron leader when they’re in the WAAF working on radar. It’s only after Maddie has finished Julie’s account that she shares that Creighton isn’t the man’s actual name—his real… read analysis of Squadron Leader Creighton

Theo is a female pilot Maddie meets after her first flight for the ATA. She’s also the sister (and the spitting image) of a male pilot Maddie knew at her previous post. Theo is… read analysis of Theo

The photographer is a double agent who works for the Nazis in Ormaie and with the Resistance. He takes Maddie’s ID photo so she can assume the identity of Käthe Habicht, and he… read analysis of The Photographer

Maddie and Julie meet the farmer’s wife one rainy afternoon when Maddie is trying to teach Julie to navigate. The woman is kind, but almost too kind—she’s more than happy to draw Julie a map… read analysis of The Farmer’s Wife