Mr. Gardiner, Basic Character Information

Mr. Gardiner is Mrs. Bennet‘s sensible and intelligent brother.

Basic Information:

Given Name: Edward

Age: Unknown, his wife is described as being younger than his sisters, but that doesn’t mean that he necessarily is.

Primary Residence: London, in Gracechurch Street somewhere near Cheapside and within view of his own warehouses.

Spouse: M. Gardiner
Children: two girls, ages 6 and 8 (as of July) and two younger boys, with the possibility that they may have more

Income source: “A very respectable line of trade”

Hobbies: is fond of fishing

Physical Characteristics: Unknown

Personality Characteristics: Mr. Gardiner is a sensible and gentlemanlike man with easy and pleasant manners. He is described as being superior to his sister due to a combination of nature (natural ability) and education. He also shows himself to be conscientious and responsible during the course of Lydia’s elopement.

What to call him:

• Edward – no one in the book calls him this, we only know it is his first name from a letter that he wrote to Mr. Bennet.
• Mr. Gardiner – this is how he is typically referred to, even his niece Elizabeth refers to him as “Mr. Gardiner” when she is speaking to Darcy (though later in the conversation she does also refer to him as “my uncle”).
• My uncle – the Bennet daughters all use this appellation, with out a name attached as their primary means of referring to him.
• My brother Gardiner – when Mrs. Bennet is complaining to Bingley about the way Lydia’s wedding appeared in the papers, she refers to Mr. Gardiner as “my brother Gardiner.”