Briony Tallis

One of the novel's two protagonists, Briony, is introduced in the summer of 1935 as a precocious 13-year-old aspiring writer with a penchant for order and secrecy. She is the baby of the family, virtually an only child. She begins writing clumsy, imaginative short stories at age 11. On the day of her older brother Leon's homecoming, Briony happens to see her sister Cecilia strip down to her underwear and disappear into a fountain in front of Robbie, the household gardener and long-time friend. Briony chooses to interpret this as an action done under duress. The Trials of Arabella, Briony's play, is called off, disappointing her cousins. Briony has decided to be a novelist.

After taking out her frustration on a field of nettles, Briony takes a stand on the bridge, waiting for something grown-up and important to happen. Robbie sees her there and asks her to deliver a...