Barbara Buncle/John Smith/Elizabeth Wade

Barbara Smith is a middle-aged, single, poor author at the beginning of "Miss Buncle's Book." She writes a novel, "Disturber of the Peace," that becomes a bestseller. Her novel is a satirical, whimsical tale set in Copperfield, a thinly-veiled depiction of her hometown, Silverstream. She wrote the novel with the sole objective to bring in an income.

At the beginning of the novel, Barbara is somewhat frumpy in appearance, wearing embarrassingly-shabby clothing and hats. This is one reason why throughout much of the novel, people do not take Barbara seriously. The general consensus is that she is not especially smart, or at least not perceptive. Mr. Abbott, for example, starts out in their first meeting unable to grasp her character or intelligence. Was she really capable of writing "Disturber"? And indeed, Mr. Abbott continues to objectify Barbara and privately condescend to her intelligence...