In the novel By the Pricking of My Thumbs, Mrs Liz Copleigh and her husband live in Sutton Chancellor. Mrs Copleigh is short and round, and has her blonde hair rolled up in sausage curls. Tuppence Beresford describes her as "a character straight out of the pages of a novel by Dickens".
During the summer she takes in paying guests. She makes an exception for Tuppence, despite it not being July.
The garrulous Mrs Copleigh proves to be a rich source of information about the history of Canal House which Tuppence is primarily interested in, however it is never clear how much of the gossip she provides is true and how much is garbled.
According to Nellie Bligh, Mrs Copleigh also goes to the vicarage, to "look after the vicar". However, Miss Bligh needs to see that she does things properly.
Portrayals[]
In the 2006 ITV adaptation which was part of their Agatha Christie's Marple series, Mrs Copleigh is reworked into the character Hannah Beresford who runs the the "Bull and Butcher" inn in the village of Farrell St Edmund.
In the 2005 Pascal Thomas adaptation Mon petit doigt m'a dit..., the parallel character is [[In the 2005 Pascal Thomas adaptation Mon petit doigt m'a dit..., the parallel character is Hélène Coupelay.