Thomas Hart

Thomas Hart is one of the novel’s main characters. In Part I, Thomas is 50 years old and living on Lower Bridge Road in Aldleigh, a small town in Essex, England. He lives alone, writes a column for the local newspaper, the Essex Chronicle, and attends the local church, Bethesda Chapel.

To many people in the surrounding area, Thomas seems to be “a strange man” (36). His formal way of speaking and his antiquated attire give “the impression he belong[s] elsewhere” (36). Indeed, Thomas often feels that he belongs nowhere, as he feels divided between competing facets of himself. As a gay man, Thomas learned from the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s that he should feel ashamed of his sexuality and must hide his true self from others. This feels particularly true in the context of Thomas’s church community, as he knows that the Bethesda members would...