Nancy is Lois Pickett’s daughter and Bobby Pickett’s younger sister. Nancy works as Mr. Almanac’s assistant in the chemist’s shop. She is a boyish and aggressive young woman and is secretly a lesbian. Nancy used to pick on Tilly Dunnage at school and often got into fights when people made fun of Bobby, who has a learning disability. Nancy is involved in a secret relationship with Ruth Dimm, who runs the post office. She and Ruth often go through people’s packages and gossip about their affairs.
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Nancy Pickett Character Timeline in The Dressmaker
The timeline below shows where the character Nancy Pickett appears in The Dressmaker. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
...head is hunched over so that cannot see where he is going. Mr. Almanac’s assistant, Nancy Pickett, arrives back from the football game and she helps him. She tells him cheerfully...
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Nancy leads Mr. Almanac to the door and she sits him down in a wheelchair. She...
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Chapter 4
...her. They approach the cake stall, which is manned by Lois Pickett and Beula Harridene. Nancy Pickett sweeps the street nearby. Lois and Beula gossip together as they watch Molly and...
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...that Mr. Almanac is hunched over. Molly cries out that she is being poisoned, and Nancy Pickett appears behind Tilly. Nancy is a boyish, strong-looking woman whom Tilly remembers from school....
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Chapter 5
...the night shift. Beula Harridene also works at the post office. One morning, Ruth and Nancy wake up together on the couch in the post office phone exchange. Nancy is naked,...
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Ruth shouts out a greeting to Beula, who hides in the bushes outside. Nancy dresses hurriedly, dashes out of the post office and across the road, and climbs into...
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Nancy drinks some milk and she leaves for work. As she opens the pharmacy, Beula Harridene...
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Chapter 8
At the post office, Nancy and Ruth get comfortable on the couch and they prepare to drink the tea Ruth...
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...the time Tilly and Molly leave, Irma’s pain is gone and she can’t stop giggling. Nancy rushes into the kitchen and asks Irma sharply why she was not outside to catch...
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Chapter 10
At the pharmacy, Nancy prepares to send Mr. Almanac out for the mail. She points him in the direction...
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Chapter 12
At Pratt’s General Stores, Alvin places a wedding cake in the window display. Beula, Lois, Nancy, Ruth, Faith, and Purl all peer through the glass and watch Gertrude and Muriel flip...
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Chapter 14
Down at the post office, Nancy and Ruth look over a fashion magazine that Nancy has ordered. Nancy is fascinated by...
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Chapter 17
...that ball is more expensive this year and that some people from Winyerp are coming. Nancy says that Tilly just received another package, and Sergeant Farrat joins them and says the...
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Chapter 22
Marigold composes herself and serves cakes and tea to the women. Just then, Nancy bursts in and knocks Marigold over, causing Marigold to spill cake and tea on the...
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Chapter 27
Nancy closes the pharmacy and shoves Mr. Almanac across the street toward his house, where the...
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