The Line of Beauty - Characters in "The Line of Beauty"

Characters in "The Line of Beauty"

• Nick Guest. A white gay postgraduate student at University College, London writing a thesis on Henry James and staying at the Feddens'.
• Don and Dot Guest. Nick's parents, of comparatively humble origins.
• Tobias 'Toby' Fedden. Nick's handsome, straight best friend from Oxford University.
• Catherine Fedden. Tobias's sister, an outspoken woman who has bi-polar disorder and engages in self-harming.
• Gerald Fedden. Tobias's father, a Conservative MP.
• Rachel Fedden. Tobias's mother.
• Elena. The Feddens' housekeeper.
• Lord Lionel Kessler. Rachel's brother, Jewish, politically left-wing and possibly gay.
• Lady Partridge. Gerald's mother, and Catherine and Tobias's grandmother. Her first husband was Gerald's father, Jack Fedden, a lawyer; her second husband was Jack Partridge, a builder of motorways. She has outlived them both.
• Leo Charles. Nick's black lover, whom he meets through a singles page. Leo dies from AIDS, as does his ex-boyfriend, Pete. Leo's homosexuality is not accepted by his mother, who is a devout Christian.
• Rosemary Charles. Leo's sister. She and her girlfriend, Gemma, visit Nick to inform him of Leo's death.
• Antoine Wani Ouradi. A friend of Nick and Tobias's from Oxford. He has a secret sexual relationship with Nick and later develops AIDS.
• Bertrand Ouradi. Antoine's father, a rich Lebanese businessman, and a large donor to the Conservative Party.
• Monique Ouradi. Wani's mother. She is French.
• Uncle Emile. Wani's uncle. His son is named Antoine.
• Martine. Antoine's 'fiancée', who is paid an allowance by his mother to continue the appearance of dating him.
• Russell. One of Catherine's boyfriends, a photographer.
• Jasper. One of Catherine's boyfriends, an estate agent.
• Brentford. One of Catherine's boyfriends, a taxi-driver.
• Norman Kent. Rachel's former boyfriend. A left-wing artist, he has painted several portraits of the Fedden family.
• Penny Kent. Norman's daughter. She becomes Gerald's secretary and the two have an affair.
• Pat Grayson. Catherine's gay godfather, an actor who dies of AIDS.
• Barry Groom. A Conservative politician who never says hello. His wife is named Jenny.
• John Timms. A minister in the Home Office. His wife is named Greta.
• Morden Lipscomb. An American, often referred to as 'the mordant analyst'.
• Sir Maurice Tipper. A rich and greedy businessman engaged in unethical business practices. He is also a homophobe. His wife is named Sally.
• Sophie Tipper. The Tippers' daughter, who nearly marries Tobias.
• George Titchfield, a minor Conservative politician and one of the Feddens' neighbors.
• Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister and MP for Finchley, she makes an appearance at the Feddens' house party, and Nick asks her to dance.
• Polly Tompkins. One of Nick's former classmates. He is gay and works in the government. He eventually marries and is elected to Parliament as a Conservative.
• Sam Zeman. A banker and former classmate of Nick's. He helps Nick invest money given to him by Wani.
• Simon Jones and Howard Wasserstein. Two gay men who work at Wani's office.
• Treat Rush and Brad Craft. Two American 'queens' interested in financing Nick and Wani's film adaptation of The Spoils of Poynton.
• Ricky. A man Nick and Wani pick up at the pool.
• Tristão. A Madeiran waiter, gay.