---
type: Person
title: Mr. Gardiner
description: Mrs. Bennet's brother, a sensible London tradesman who hosts Jane and
  Elizabeth Bennet and resolves the Lydia Wickham crisis.
resource: raw/pride-and-prejudice.txt
tags:
- bennet-family
- london
- gentry
- derbyshire
timestamp: '2026-07-16T18:15:29Z'
citadel_version: 0.3.0
---

Mr. Gardiner is [Mrs. Bennet](../persons/mrs-bennet.md)'s brother and the husband of
[Mrs. Gardiner](../persons/mrs-gardiner.md); the narration calls him "a sensible, gentlemanlike
man," who lives by trade in London.[^s1] He invites [Elizabeth Bennet](../persons/elizabeth-bennet.md)
on a summer touring holiday, originally planned for the Lakes but curtailed by business to a shorter
trip through Derbyshire.[^s2] Fond of fishing, he is invited by
[Fitzwilliam Darcy](../persons/fitzwilliam-darcy.md) to fish the [Pemberley](../misc/pemberley.md)
stream whenever he likes; his easy, pleasant manners draw out the housekeeper Mrs. Reynolds,
whom he asks whether her master is often at Pemberley and whether marriage might keep him there
more.[^s3]

When news reaches Lambton that [Lydia Bennet](../persons/lydia-bennet.md) has eloped with
[George Wickham](../persons/george-wickham.md), Mr. Gardiner cuts the tour short and hurries with
Elizabeth to Longbourn, then goes on to London to join [Mr. Bennet](../persons/mr-bennet.md) in
the search, promising "every assistance in his power."[^s4] He is credited with locating the
couple, finding them not yet married, and negotiating a marriage settlement on Mr. Bennet's behalf —
one hundred pounds a year during Mr. Bennet's life plus Lydia's equal share of the family's five
thousand pounds — reporting that Wickham's finances "are not so hopeless as they are generally
believed to be."[^s5] Lydia and Wickham are married from the Gardiners' house in Gracechurch
Street.[^s6] Mr. Bennet suspects his brother-in-law has personally advanced money to secure the
match and resolves to repay him.[^s7]

[Mrs. Gardiner](../persons/mrs-gardiner.md)'s subsequent letter to Elizabeth reveals this credit was
misplaced: it was [Fitzwilliam Darcy](../persons/fitzwilliam-darcy.md), not Mr. Gardiner, who
actually found the couple, paid Wickham's debts, settled money on Lydia, and purchased his
commission. Darcy was so obstinate about doing everything himself that Mr. Gardiner "was forced to
put up with only having the probable credit of it, which went sorely against the grain" — he would
have gladly settled the whole matter himself had it been left to him.[^s8]

## See also

- [Mrs. Gardiner](../persons/mrs-gardiner.md)
- [Elizabeth Bennet](../persons/elizabeth-bennet.md)
- [Lydia Bennet](../persons/lydia-bennet.md)
- [George Wickham](../persons/george-wickham.md)
- [Pemberley](../misc/pemberley.md)
- [Mr. Bennet](../persons/mr-bennet.md)
- [Mrs. Gardiner](../persons/mrs-gardiner.md)

## Sources

[^s1]: [raw/pride-and-prejudice.txt](../../raw/pride-and-prejudice.txt), lines 5735-5743 — Mr. Gardiner's character, on Mrs. Gardiner's introduction (ingested 2026-07-16)
[^s2]: [raw/pride-and-prejudice.txt](../../raw/pride-and-prejudice.txt), lines 9225-9227 — the delayed and curtailed Derbyshire tour (ingested 2026-07-16)
[^s3]: [raw/pride-and-prejudice.txt](../../raw/pride-and-prejudice.txt), lines 9422; 9429; 9633-9634; 9676-9678 — Mr. Gardiner's fishing invitation and questions to Mrs. Reynolds at Pemberley (ingested 2026-07-16)
[^s4]: [raw/pride-and-prejudice.txt](../../raw/pride-and-prejudice.txt), lines 10513-10514 — Mr. Gardiner promises every assistance in the search for Lydia (ingested 2026-07-16)
[^s5]: [raw/pride-and-prejudice.txt](../../raw/pride-and-prejudice.txt), lines 11311-11313; 11316-11319; 11324-11327 — Mr. Gardiner's letter reporting the settlement terms (ingested 2026-07-16)
[^s6]: [raw/pride-and-prejudice.txt](../../raw/pride-and-prejudice.txt), lines 11333-11336 — the wedding takes place from the Gardiners' house (ingested 2026-07-16)
[^s7]: [raw/pride-and-prejudice.txt](../../raw/pride-and-prejudice.txt), lines 11384-11386 — Elizabeth and Mr. Bennet suspect Mr. Gardiner has personally advanced money (ingested 2026-07-16)
[^s8]: [raw/pride-and-prejudice.txt](../../raw/pride-and-prejudice.txt), lines 12096-12107; 12093-12098 — Mrs. Gardiner's letter revealing Darcy, not Mr. Gardiner, funded and arranged the match (ingested 2026-07-16)
