Dramatis Personae (Updated)

Below are a few characters that will be used in a Lion's Den exclusive debuting November 11, 2014 in serial installments as The Confessions of Mossy Kade

 recent pic of  Jimmy Marlow - narrator
(pic borrowed from The Godfather)

Jimmy Marlow- (narrator) Pulitzer Prize winner, 3 time finalist for National Book Award,  and page 3 columnist for The Chicago Telegram. Almost the first person Jimmy met when moving to Chicago was Mossy. Mossy is 6 years older, a mentor, and Jimmy usually runs his writing by Mossy for input and refers to him as his best reader.

Mossy Kade circa 1971

Mossy Kade at age 25
(pic borrowed from The Public Enemy)

Mossy Kade- the protagonist who some may say bears a striking resemblance to GSL to which GSL responds: "yes in certain ways but many events depicted are not precisely accurate; characters that friends of GSL may recognize have composite aspects from other people for the sake of brevity and artistic license is often needed rather than getting bogged down in sorting out minutiae  and yes 'Mossy Kade' is a name I've used as an alter ego for over 30 years...those most in the know will say The Confessions ring true without being 100% accurate"

Estella and Ripley in Wales

Estella about 2004

Estella- often thought to be "Mossy's girl" by his (and her) family and friends although their relationship is far more complex and evolving;  Estella's mother, far from being the cold bitter Ms. Havisham, is a gentler and charming version of Downton Abbey's Dowager Countess if she had been raised on a large Southern tobacco farm and she has always had a special place in her heart for Mossy.

The Magnificent Ambersons
pic from the Orson Welles movie

The Magnificent Ambersons:  so named due to their extraordinary success and influence.  Contrary to the Booth Tarkington Ambersons, the 5 sons here are all world beaters in their own right in fields such as medicine, law, politics, construction, and Information Technology.  The Good Doctor, a middle son, is Mossy's best friend later in life and sees himself as something of a big brother to Mossy. The family patriarch, Judge Amberson, is a political powerbroker who has often been summoned to  the White House and Camp David.  The Judge takes an active interest in Mossy's life and seeks to become a mentor.

Queen B- like a sister to Mossy and charming hostess

Prince Peter of Bucktown- husband to Queen B whose successful marriage Mossy helped facilitate

Dutch- best drinking buddy to Mossy who is from a branch of a very prominent family whose surname always catches the attention of hot-on-the-make strivers.

Terence Bedford Jackson IV aka "Terry Drama" & "eye-vee"

Terence Bedford Jackson IV aka 'Terry Drama' or "eye-vee"- by Terry's friends Mossy is sometimes referred to as "Terry's straight friend"; they often attend the Opera together or join Terry's Swans for bacchanalian lunches or drinks out that can sometimes find Mossy entangled with an 'attached' Swan....everybody that meets Terry mentions within the first two minutes how "you remind me of Truman Capote...." and yes the resemblance in every way (except when holding a pen) is uncanny.

The greatest author's note in the history of English Literature seems well placed here.
From Brideshead Revisited
suggested by Darling Jane Hattatt

© Copyright 2014 The Chicago Lion's Den and GSL