Mortimer is known by many names, including Bluejay, Silvertongue, Bookbinder, and Mo. He is the father of Meggie and Resa's husband. Though he was once a simple bookbinder with a powerful reading voice, Fenoglio wrote the character Bluejay and at the beginning of this novel, Mortimer has assumed the role of this character. He assists the Black Prince in his defence of the local villagers against the Adderhead and governor Milksop. He believes that the world in Inkheart is just as real as the one he came from, and seeks to find a way to destroy the Adderhead, because he once bound a book for the evil lord that made him unable to die, even though Mortimer did soak every tenth page in the book in order to make it rot. Mortimer places himself in danger constantly, and his wife and daughter must rescue him often. Many other powerful characters in the novel respect him deeply, including Fenoglio, Dustfinger, and Violante, and these characters all seek to aid him in whatever ways they can. By the end of the novel, Mortimer is able to defeat the Adderhead by depending on these allies and his own knowledge of the book he once bound for the Adderhead. Yet upon defeating his enemy, Mortimer and his family choose to stay in Ombra and live their lives there.
