James Rosdew
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| Portrayed by Jamie Bell | |
| Full Name | James Rosdew |
|---|---|
| Title | Mr. Rosdew |
| Date of Birth | 02 May 1787 |
| Father | George Rosdew |
| Father's Profession | Mine Owner |
| Mother | Agnes Rosdew |
| Mother's Profession | Housewife |
| Town Residence | ??? |
| Profession | Trainee Mine Owner |
| Income | ??? |
James Rosdew is the second son of George and Agnes Rosdew, younger brother to George Rosdew and cousin to Isabella Rosdew.
Family
- Father: George Rosdew, b. 1763
- Mother: Agnes Rosdew, née Nancarrow, b. 1765
- Brother: George ‘Jory’ Rosdew, b. 1784
- Sister: Glenna Rosdew, b. 1796
- Sister: Grace Rosdew, b. 1798
For extended family, see Rosdew Family
History
Born the second son of George and Agnes Rosdew, Jim had never imagined he would be set to inherit much. The family fortunes were already divided between his father and uncle, and he had always assumed that they would not divide them any further. As such, as a boy, he rather took it for granted that it should be Jory that stayed at home to learn to run the family business from their father, and that he should be the one to go out to seek his fortune. And what better way to find that fortune than in the same manner as his heroic Uncle Edmund? The future seemed very clear to the young Jim Rosdew, but fate had other ideas.
Aged ten, he was gently told by his mother that he might have to stay at home -- Navy officers had to be able to read and write, you see, and Jim had never been able to manage either of these things. Letters seemed to slip around the page, never making any kind of sense to him no matter how much time he spent practising. He would never be able to read a map, or orders from his superior officers, or important letters. He would never be able to write missives, or check the ship’s ledgers, or read the books he needed to in order to pass the board. He would never, in short, be an officer.
But Jory would be.
The jealousy that Jim felt when they told him was second only to the heartache he felt at saying goodbye to his brother, who he would miss deeply. His cousin Bee gamely wrote out letters he dictated in the garden at Roscarrock, and read him the replies, but it wasn’t quite the same as having him home with him. Never a particularly enthusiastic student even when he did show up for school to begin with, he had no inclination to carry on with it once Jory wasn’t there, and so his father began to teach him more and more of the family business at Wheal Castle. He has grown up to be a practical sort of a man, well liked by his community, and his life has been somewhat staid and uncomplicated, brightened by his brother’s occasional returns and the fantastical stories that come with him.
Until recently he was courting the pretty daughter of a rich landowner from Illogan, but she threw him over for a lawyer from upcountry. Although he had always dreamed of a family of his own, and had begun to dream of that family with her, in all honesty it was the implication that he wasn’t good enough for her that cut deeper than losing her. Even so, gossip travels fast in a small community like Portreath, and he leapt at the chance to follow one of his father’s friendlier associates to London. He has no plans to stay for a long time, perhaps a few weeks, enough time to check in with Bee and shadow Mr. Henshaw to several meetings -- but of course, he doesn’t know his brother’s ship has just come in.