V.

V./Victoria Wren/Vheissu/Vera Meroving/Veronica Manganese/Valletta/The Bad Priest is the titular character and a mysterious woman who appears in several incarnations throughout the novel. Herbert Stencil finds her mentioned in his father Sidney's journal. She first appears as Victoria Wren in Egypt and Florence. In this incarnation, she is most human and the least mysterious. She is present during several plots, but always on the fringe of the action. Later, we see her appear as Vera Meroving in a German colony in South Africa. Sidney Stencil meets her for the last time in his life as Veronica Manganese in Malta. Although she appears as a female human, it is also inferred that V. is manifest in the possibly mythical place of Vheissu, or the city of Valletta. V. also apparently dies after her incarnation as the Bad Priest. The fact that V. is masquerading...