The Library
of Alexandria

A character in The Spy

Who is Sarah Wharton?

By the Library of Alexandria · 2 minute read · Updated 23 Oct 2026

In short

  • Sarah Wharton is Frances's sister in The Spy by James Fenimore Cooper, part of a family caught between opposing armies.
  • She has a romance with a British officer and sees the war through her own hopes.
  • Her family lives at the Locusts, a country house in the unsettled Neutral Ground of Westchester County.

Who Sarah Wharton is

Sarah Wharton lives with her father, Mr. Wharton, and her sister, Frances, at the Locusts. Their house stands between the British and American lines, where neither army fully controls the countryside. Soldiers and armed raiders make the war a constant presence around the family home.

Sarah Wharton and the others in the story

Sarah's romance with a British officer gives her a personal connection to one side of the conflict. Her sister Frances loves Peyton Dunwoodie, an American cavalry major, while their brother Henry serves as a British captain. These ties place the sisters' hopes within a household divided by the war.

Their father wants to protect his family and property rather than take part in the fighting. Sarah belongs to this wider picture of ordinary lives shaped by competing loyalties.

Questions

Who is Sarah Wharton in The Spy?

Sarah is a daughter of Mr. Wharton and the sister of Frances and Henry Wharton.

Who does Sarah Wharton love?

Sarah has a romance with a British officer.

How is Sarah Wharton related to Frances?

Sarah and Frances are sisters who live at the Locusts. Their romances connect them to officers on opposite sides of the war.

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