Chapter 1 opens with Widge, the narrator of the novel, reflecting on his earliest memories as a baby in an orphanage. When Widge is seven, a rector named Dr. Timothy Bright arrives at the orphanage in search of an apprentice, and he settles on Widge. Although Widge initially believes that his dreams of joining a loving adoptive family are coming true, he is sorely disappointed when he realizes that is not the case. Dr. Bright is a strict and violent master, and he regularly beats Widge and underfeeds him.

The only skill that Dr. Bright teaches Widge is a particular type of scriptography, invented by Dr. Bright himself. Dr. Bright calls this written language charactery, and he explains that it is the “art of short, swift, and secret writing, by the which one may transcribe the spoken word as rapidly as it issues form the tongue” (5). In other words, charactery is a system of writing that allows listeners to quickly and accurately transcribe spoken language.

Once Widge is twelve and old enough to ride a horse by himself, Dr. Bright sends him to neighboring churches to copy their sermons, which Dr. Bright then delivers to his parish rather than writing his own.