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Illustrated portrait of Lewis

A character in The Swimming-Pool Library

Lewis

Nantwich’s protective servant, whose control of access complicates service and dependence.

What they want

To protect Charles and control access to the household.

The book

Cover of The Swimming-Pool Library by Alan Hollinghurst
The Swimming-Pool LibraryAlan Hollinghurst, 1988

Queer freedom in 1980s London meets class, power, loneliness, and the lives that came before it.

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Who they are in the book

Spoiler-free

Lewis is Charles’s servant and gatekeeper.

He protects the household and resents intrusions.

His tension with Charles complicates the power of service, dependence, affection, and control.

How the book draws them

Appearance, manner, and tone — as the book sketches them, in our words.

  • ProtectiveHe watches visitors closely.
  • PossessiveCare and control are difficult to separate.
  • ControlledHe expresses conflict through formality.
  • DependentEmployment and attachment bind him to Charles.
Lewis’s position in the houseHow the book leaves them, what happened after, and what the record says. Open when you're ready.

Conflict around Charles’s care intensifies.

Lewis is dismissed from his role.

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