Arthur Dalrymple

Arthur Dalrymple

Portrayed by James McAvoy
Full Name	Arthur Dalrymple
Title	Viscount Linley
Associated Noble House(s)	Earldom of Haddon, Viscountcy of Linley
Date of Birth	29th August 1783
Father	Edward Dalrymple
Father's Rank	Earl of Haddon
Mother	Anne Dalrymple (nee Sundon) (deceased)
Mother's Rank	Countess of Haddon
Town Residence	{{{residence}}}
Income	{{{income}}}
School	{{{school}}}
University	{{{university}}}
Year Attained Title	N/A

Arthur Dalrymple, Viscount Linley, is the elder son of the current Lord Haddon. He lives predominantly in London and has recently courted scandal by breaking his engagement to Harriet Fforde. He is a romantic.

Family

Edward Dalrymple, Lord Haddon - father Anne Dalrymple, Lady Haddon (deceased) - mother Letiticia Dalrymple, Lady Haddon - step-mother A half-sister and half-brother

Background

Not only has Arthur yet to inherit, but does not stand to do so in the forseeable future, since his father enjoys excellent health. As a result, Arthur is in the position of being a man of means and status, but with very little responsibility to take up his time. As an only child and heir for most of his life (his mother failed to carry any more children to term), he has been slightly spoiled and has come to expect a certain amount to go his way.

Arthur's parents lived a marriage best described as amiable convenience. After her death, his father remarried; Arthur is not close to his step-mother, though she is a bare two years older than he is himself. He has little to do with his half-siblings, and tries to have little to do with his step-mother. Though he is polite and does not dislike her, he also has little in common with her beyond age, and feels that their familial relationship is absurd.

At Eton he was a bit of a 'teacher's pet' and a fair academic student, continuing on to read Classics at university. He was a late developer, physically speaking, and only his status and a few useful friendships prevented him being more teased at school than he was. Most of those friendships have remained intact; one such being with Clarence Haworth.

More recently, Arthur has been the subject of some gossip, as the result of an unfortunate romance. As yet unmarried, Arthur was swept away by his affection for a charming young lady, Harriet Fforde, last season. The couple were engaged for a while, but for reasons unclear to society he broke off the engagement and has since spent much of his time at his home or visiting with sympathetic friends such as the Haworths.

Personality

Arthur is rather Romantically and poetically inclined. His preferred sports are fencing and hunting - which conveniently fit the image. 'Romantic', of course, is in the literary sense of the term, and not to be confused with modern interpretations. He is struck by nature and chivalry, poetry and the imagination. Although he tends to fall "in love" fairly easily, these have (until his engagement) not been particularly strong or lasting attachments. Nor is he perpetually smitten - he can go several months without feeling the need to quote Latin or Greek romantic poetry about a girl who has captured his interest.

His personality tends to extremes of emotion; in modern terms he might even be classed as bi-polar to some degree. When things are going well for him, all is right with the world and no cloud can be seen on the horizon; when things take a more negative turn, the universe is conspiring against him. He is an extremely loyal friend and takes it as a point of honour to be so. Conversely, he finds it hard to forget any slights or disappointments.

Arthur is an intelligent man, and not naive, though some might presume him to be. He does, however, have a propensity to throw himself with a little too much enthusiasm into new ideas he comes across - probably as a result of having too much time on his hands and not enough responsibility. These bursts of enthusiasm are often short lived (like a summer thunderstorm), but sometimes things do stick.

Relationships

Friends

Lord Louth

Lady Louth

Lord Selwyn

Mark Fotherington

Hugo Fotherington

Lady Viola Fitzgerald

Geoffrey Stapleton

Thomas Sterne

Love interest

Harriet Fforde

Enemies

Harriet Fforde