Mr. Septimus Luker Character Analysis in The Moonstone

A London moneylender and gem dealer who takes possession of the Moonstone some time after its theft from the Verinder estate, although he firmly denies any involvement with the Diamond whenever he is asked publicly. He pledges the Diamond to his bank for a year and gets mugged by the three Indians shortly after. Later, one of the Indians visits him with a strange question about a loan, and he pays a visit to Mr. Bruff, who considers him “so vulgar, so ugly, so cringing, and so prosy” compared to the Indian. When it is time for him to take the Moonstone out of the bank, Bruff, Franklin, Cuff, and Gooseberry keep an eye on him in an attempt to uncover the Diamond’s thief. It turns out that this was Godfrey Ablewhite, who made a mistake by going to Luker with the stolen gem: because Luker knew about his crime, the dealer was able to offer Godfrey very unfavorable terms in exchange for safeguarding it.

Mr. Septimus Luker Quotes in The Moonstone

The The Moonstone quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Septimus Luker or refer to Mr. Septimus Luker. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Detective Methods and Genre Standards Theme Icon

“In the name of the Regent of the Night, whose seat is on the Antelope, whose arms embrace the four corners of the earth.

Brothers, turn your faces to the south, and come to me in the street of many noises, which leads down to the muddy river.

The reason is this.

My own eyes have seen it.”

Related Characters: The Three Indians (speaker), Mr. Bruff, Mr. Murthwaite, Mr. Septimus Luker

Related Symbols: The Moonstone

Page Number and Citation: 293

Explanation and Analysis:

Mr. Septimus Luker Character Timeline in The Moonstone

The timeline below shows where the character Mr. Septimus Luker appears in The Moonstone. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Intention, Identity, and Personality Theme Icon

...Monday, the three Indians will reemerge wherever Rachel happens to be, and the moneylender, Septimus Luker, will somehow come up as well. (full context)

...him in Sergeant Cuff’s handwriting, with a curious police report circled: the gem dealer Septimus Luker is being harassed by a persistent group of “three strolling Indians,” whom he thinks might... (full context)

...if they choose to believe Sergeant Cuff’s suspicion that Rachel has sold the gem to Luker, rather than his own faith in the family. And he also reveals that he cannot... (full context)

...come to the meeting. The others on the Committee explain that Godfrey and Mr. Septimus Luker were “victims of an outrage which had startled all London” the previous week. While she... (full context)

...reason” (and then apologizes for “fall[ing] insensibly into my Sunday-school style”). The stranger was Mr. Luker, by the way. At home, Miss Clack continues, Godfrey found a boy waiting for him... (full context)

Mr. Luker, similarly, received a mysterious letter that day from a man who professed to be “an... (full context)

...to call in a clergyman and the doctor’s “heathen advice.” Julia explains that Godfrey and Luker’s “strange adventure[s]” further aroused Rachel’s spirits, and Miss Clack responds by suggesting that Rachel must... (full context)

...neither life nor property. Godfrey never wanted to go public with the story, but Mr. Luker did, and so Godfrey had no choice. Godfrey asks the radiant and grateful Miss Clack... (full context)

...“Christian friends, don’t let us judge!”). Rachel gets Godfrey to admit that some have suggested Luker’s gem is, indeed, the Moonstone, although Luker has firmly denied knowing anything about it. Rachel... (full context)

...admits that “scandal says […] I am the man who has pawned” the Moonstone to Luker. Rachel screams that “this is my fault!” and that she cannot bear to “let an... (full context)

...reasonably known, Bruff declares, is that Rachel, Godfrey, and Franklin are all innocent, and that Luker probably has the diamond. (full context)

...a foreign man comes to Bruff’s office with a card bearing the recommendation of Septimus Luker. Bruff’s clerk explains that the man looks Indian, and Bruff realizes that he may have... (full context)

...box, which he offers as collateral on a loan he hopes to take out. (Mr. Luker, the Indian explained, does not have the money to lend.) Bruff knows that “this Oriental... (full context)

...this last question was the purpose of the man’s visit, as an interview with Septimus Luker confirms the next day. Luker is “so vulgar, so ugly, so cringing, and so prosy”... (full context)

...To Murthwaite, it is obvious that the writer of this letter is the worker Septimus Luker fired for trying to steal an “Oriental treasure.” Bruff finally understands how the Indians knew... (full context)

Murthwaite now asks Bruff for “a piece of information”: does Bruff know who paid for Luker to buy the Moonstone? Bruff does not know, but Murthwaite suggests it may have been... (full context)

Returning to the timeline of the Indians’ actions, Murthwaite suggests that Mr. Luker is responsible for “the loss of their second chance of seizing the Diamond,” for he... (full context)

...and focus on “what we can discover in the future.” Namely, he knows that Mr. Luker will withdraw the Moonstone from the bank in a few weeks, at the end of... (full context)

...during the experiment. Franklin points out that the Diamond is pledged in London with Mr. Luker, but Jennings suggests that this theory “rests on a mere assumption” and could be completely... (full context)

...to talk about the Moonstone, which he and Mr. Muthwaite were confident remained in Mr. Luker’s possession. Jennings believes “that distrust of me was at the bottom of all this,” but... (full context)

...where the Diamond is now, and notes that he is still planning to follow Mr. Luker when he retrieves it from the bank sometime the same month. He insists Franklin Blake... (full context)

...at the train platform and Bruff and Franklin go with him. Bruff explains that Mr. Luker has recently been seen with two police officers, and that this likely means he is... (full context)

All of the sudden, Mr. Luker and the two plainclothes police officers come out of the bank offices, and Franklin and... (full context)

...have no relation to the Moonstone. And after dinner, the policeman sent to protect Mr. Luker report that he had an ordinary night: he returned home and went to bed, and... (full context)

...case and argues that his primary suspect as named in the letter—in addition to Mr. Luker—should be watched for the foreseeable future. (full context)

...had suspected of working for the Indians, and whom Gooseberry had seen receiving something from Luker. Gooseberry followed the man as he darted outside and got into a cab. (full context)

...this box, with “a valuable of great price,” was retrieved from the bank by Mr. Luker. Cuff shows Franklin that the sailor’s face is actually a disguise. After pulling off the... (full context)

...order to get The Moonstone. The coroner’s report confirmed the cause of death, and Mr. Luker confirmed that the box found in Godfrey’s room was the same one in which the... (full context)

Sergeant Cuff summarizes Mr. Luker’s statement about Godfrey Ablewhite. Soon after the theft, Godfrey Ablewhite approached Mr. Luker with the... (full context)

Cuff explains that Mr. Luker accepted the story because he thought “Godfrey Ablewhite was too great a fool to have... (full context)

...man for whom he was trustee. He saw no option but to deal with Mr. Luker (although, had he not owed the man the money, Cuff argues, Godfrey very well might... (full context)

After pledging the Diamond to Mr. Luker, as the reader already knows, Godfrey proposes to Rachel again (but withdraws his offer when... (full context)

Mr. Septimus Luker Character Analysis

Mr. Septimus Luker Quotes in The Moonstone

The Discovery of the Truth 2: 3 Quotes

Mr. Septimus Luker Character Timeline in The Moonstone