The Line of Beauty
| Author | Alan Hollinghurst |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Gay, historical novel |
| Publisher | Picador Books |
Publication date | 2004 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback and Hardback) |
| Pages | 300 pp (hardcover edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-330-48321-8 (hardcover edition) Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
The Line of Beauty is a 2004 novel by Alan Hollinghurst.
Plot introduction
Setting in early to middle 1980's in United Kingdom, the story surrounds the post-Oxford life of the protagonist, Nick Guest.
Plot summary
Template:Spoiler The novel concerns the post-Oxford life of Nick Guest. Nick moves in as the lodger of one of his friends from university, Toby Fedden, whose father, Gerald, has just been elected as a Member of Parliament in the 1983 General Election. While Nick's sexuality develops — falling in love with a black council worker — he becomes more confident. Gerald fosters an increasingly frantic desire for Margaret Thatcher. Nick finds himself caught in a situation where he is only partially accepted by the family — expected to make up the numbers at dinner and go on holiday with them, but always remaining semi-detached from them. He is not a natural part of the society in which they move, and his sexuality is tolerated only as long as it is hidden: he remains a "guest" for four years.
Characters in "The Line of Beauty"
- Nick Guest. A gay postgraduate student, writing a thesis on Henry James and staying at the Feddens.
- Dennis Guest. Nick's father, a humble man.
- Dot Guest. Nick's mother, humble too.
- Tobias Toby Fedden. Nick's straight friend from Oxford University.
- Gerald Fedden. Tobias's father, a Conservative MP.
- Rachel Fedden. Tobias's mother.
- Lord Kessler. A friend of the Feddens, a rich homophobe.
- Catherine Fedden. Tobias's sister, an outspoken suicidal girl.
- Jasper. Catherine's boyfriend, an estate agent.
- Russel. Catherine's ex-boyfriend, a bad boy, whom she dates again by the end of the novel.
- Lady Partridge. Catherine's and Tobias's grandmother, a racist.
- Antoine Wani Ouradi. A friend of Nick's and Tobias's from Oxford University, a rich Arab.
- Bertrand Ouradi. Antoine's father, a rich Arab businessman.
- Martine. Antoine's wife, who gets a paid by his mother.
- Leo Charles. Nick's black lover, whom he meets through a lonely hearts.
- Rosemary Charles. Leo's sister.
- Gemma Charles. Leo's other sister.
- Sir Maurice Tipper. A rich and greedy shareholder; a homophobe.
- Sally Tipper. Sir Maurice's wife.
- Sophie Tipper. The Tippers's daughter, who nearly married Tobias.
- Tristao. A foreign waiter, gay.
- Margaret Thatcher. Herself, the Prime Minister of Great Britain.
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Critical Appreciation
Hollinghurst has received praise for his portrayal of life among the privileged governing classes during the early to middle 1980s.[1] The book touches upon the emergence of HIV/AIDS, but what is less typical is the relationship between politics and homosexuality, its acceptance within the Conservative Party and mainstream society. The book also looks at the sexual hypocrisy towards homosexuals that straight people often exude regarding promiscuity.
Awards and nominations
The book won the 2004 Booker Prize.
TV adaptation
The novel was adapted for television by Andrew Davies as a three-part mini-series for BBC Two, broadcast from 17 May 2006. It stars Dan Stevens as Nick Guest, with Hayley Atwell, Tim McInnerny, Alice Krige, Alex Windham, Oliver Coleman, Joseph Morgan, Lydia Leonard, Elize Du Toit, Don Gilet, Kenneth Cranham and Barbara Flynn.[2]
Footnotes
External Links
- The BBC Line of Beauty website
- Review from The Guardian
- New York Times Review
- Review from the Washington Post
- Review from the San Francisco Chronicle
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