Edmund Granville
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| Portrayed by Luke Norris | |
| Full Name | Edmund Alexander Granville |
|---|---|
| Title | Mr Granville |
| Associated Noble House(s) | None |
| Date of Birth | 19th September 1784 |
| Father | Alexander Granville |
| Father's Rank | Solicitor |
| Mother | Amelia Granville |
| Mother's Rank | Clergyman's daughter |
| Town Residence | 25 Curzon Street |
| Income | |
| School | Harrow |
| University | Oxford (Christ Church College) |
Edmund Granville is originally from Truro, where he followed in his father's footsteps as a lawyer. He has recently come to Town to try to mend the relationship between his family and that of Sir Maximus Granville, a distant cousin, whose heir he now is.
Edmund is played by Sarah
Family
- Alexander Granville – father, deceased (1754 – 1809)
- Amelia Granville – mother (1760 -)
- Sir Maximus Granville – first cousin, twice removed (1745-), second baronet
- Charlotte, Lady Granville – first cousin, twice removed via marriage (1750-)
- Tarquin Granville – second cousin, once removed, deceased (1769-1798)
- Aeneas Granville – second cousin, once removed, deceased (1771-1796)
- Peggy Granville (née Mason) – second cousin, once removed via marriage, deceased (1771-1799)
- Isabella Granville – third cousin (1793 -)
Background
Born the only son of a distant offshoot of the ancient family of Granville, Ned grew up in Cornwall. His mother Amelia was the younger daughter of the local reverend, and his father, Alexander, a solicitor who supplemented his income by tutoring young men in the classics, but his future was irrevocably altered when he was twelve years old and his father received word that his second cousin, Tarquin, had died, making Alexander the heir to the baronetcy, the Granville estate – and the Granville fortune.
Alexander, who had only met his cousins one or twice and hadn’t much liked them, and harboured some resentment for being characterised as the 'poor relations' for needing to work for his income, was not thrilled at the news – and even less so when Sir Maximus contacted him, asking him to go out to the West Indies and manage the family plantations. Not wishing to leave his family for an extended period of time and unwilling to uproot them and move them across the ocean, he refused. This was not taken well by Sir Maximus, who then cut off all contact entirely and made it clear that Alexander was not welcome in his home.
Ned’s day to day was not much changed by these events, but Alexander now decided that his son had better have a more formal education than his private tutoring and made the choice to send Ned to Harrow when he turned fourteen. He spent four years there, working diligently, and, at eighteen, won a scholarship to read Law at Oxford University, as a member of Christ Church College.
On finishing university Ned returned home to Cornwall and began to work in his father’s firm as an apprentice clerk. His intent was to work there for a while to gain experience, and then to apply to the Inns of Court in London and work towards becoming a barrister. In 1807, he visited a friend from Oxford in London and while staying there he started to make enquiries at the different Inns – but then things changed drastically when his father fell ill at the start of 1808.
When it became clear that his father was not going to recover any time soon, Ned made the decision to stay in Cornwall, to help look after Alexander and to support his mother. That was how things stayed, until his father died in late 1809.
Now left the heir to the Granville baronetcy, and the sole supporter of his mother, Ned thought long and hard during the year of mourning for Alexander about what the best thing to do would be. He finally came to the decision to reach out to his distant cousin, Sir Maximus, and attempt to mend the fences that his father had burned.
After several months of difficult, uncertain correspondence, Ned was invited to come and join them in London, and he has made the journey up from Cornwall in the hope of putting the discord that existed between his father and his cousins behind them.
Personality
Ned has by and large had a very happy, content life. He was brought up by parents that loved each other deeply and who, though by no means rich, were in a comfortable situation in life. They were both openly affectionate to their son, and from them Ned learned the great value of patience and kindness. He has always looked up and admired their determination and work ethic, and has inherited from them his open and warm-hearted nature.
The prospect of being an heir to a baronetcy has cast a peculiar shadow over his life, as something not really spoken of by either parent – though the idea of being financially secure and holding a respected titles has a great deal of appeal, Ned’s father always spoken of the ton and society as something so distant and different from themselves that Ned has a great deal of insecurity and uncertainty as to how well-equipped he truly is to handle such responsibility and if he can really fit in among the upper echelons of society. A stray, sarcastic comment Alexander made to a young Ned about “destroying the ancient house of Granville” lodged in his head, and he worries that he will be the obscure relative who disgraces the long, distinguished reputation of his family – or, worse, that he must choose between living up to the Granville name or upholding his own values.
In part because of these insecurities, Ned has always been determined to prove to himself and to anyone else that he is capable and thus gives his all to everything he does and is fairly intractable once he has set his mind to something – not a trait that always works out in his favour, and sometimes leads him to forgetting to take proper care of himself.
He has a quick, lively mind and is a voracious reader, with a love of simply knowing things that manifests in odd facts and tidbits he has picked up. However, he is also somewhat easily distracted because of this and often gets lost in his own thoughts, sometimes even mid-conversation which, naturally, doesn’t go a long way towards making him friends. Those who do manage to overlook such faux pas find him a supportive and loyal friend who will do anything in his power to aid those he cares for.
Thread Tracking
Monday 20th May
- Family Ties: Ned arrives at 25 Curzon Street and meets his cousins Sir Maximus, Lady Granville and Isabella Granville [1]
Tuesday 21st May
- Past the Point of No Return: Ned and his cousins attend the opera and Ned is introduced to Kenward Asquith [2]
Wednesday 22nd May
- Think for a minute, stop for a minute: Ned attends Almack's for the first time and meets Felix Sutcliffe [3]
- The talent of conversing with strangers: Ned bumps into Frederick Lazenby while at Almack's [4]
- I think there's a flaw in my code: Ned is introduced to and dances the third set with Blanche Carey at Almack's [5]
- The gleam in your eye is so familiar a gleam: Ned meets old friend Bee Rosdew at Almack's [6]
- Just move those left feet: Ned meets Cassandra Fortescue at Almack's [7]
Saturday 25th May
- Life's more fun when you play games: Ned takes part in a cricket match in Hyde Park organised by Robert Fitzgerald and meets Eliza Fitzroy and Henry Fitzroy [8]
Monday 27th May
- What is spring? Growth in everything...: Ned runs into Cora Smith while out walking in Hyde Park [9]
Tuesday 28th May
- Welcome to the Book Club: Ned goes to Decker's bookshop and meets Elise Hampton [10]
- Only boys who save their pennies: On leaving Decker's, Ned runs into Jasper and Cassandra Fortescue and accompanies them to Gunter's [11]
Wednesday 29th May
- We've gained notoriety and caused much anxiety in the ranks of Society with our games: Ned meets Louisa Thorpe in Hyde Park when he inadvertently spoils her prank [12]
Thursday 6th June
- Sweet earth alive under me: Ned arrives at the picnic thrown by Alice Beckett [13]
- I knew you were trouble when you walked in: Ned meets Lady Lou again when they play pall mall at Mrs Beckett's picnic [14]