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Toby Fedden
Nick’s Oxford friend, early crush, and doorway into the Fedden family.
An independent adult life while retaining the ease and advantages of his family’s world.
The book

Who they are in the book
Spoiler-freeToby is Gerald and Rachel’s handsome upper-class son.
Nick’s friendship and unspoken attraction to him open the household door.
Toby enjoys family privilege without examining all of its contradictions.
How the book draws them
- PolishedHis ease makes upper-class life seem natural.
- Attractive to NickErotic and class desire overlap in Nick’s attention to him.
- A doorwayHis friendship brings Nick into the family.
- Less exposedHe moves through the collapse with more protection than Nick.
If you like The Line of Beauty
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