Horace Delaney (portrayed by Edward Fox) was James Delaney's stern father and a cutthroat businessman.
Official Description[]
"Horace Delaney was the father to James and Zilpha and is said to have gone mad before he died, leaving his estate and the mysterious Nootka Sound to his son. [1] He was an adventurer, merchant, and shipping mogul." [2]
Character Overview[]
Horace Delaney was described by everyone as a man driven to insanity, speaking on the foreshore to his son who was presumed dead in Africa. Manservant Brace claimed that he was a kind man. However, James is aware that Horace bought his wife from the Nuu-chah-nulth people along with Nootka Sound, forced her to pass as a Neapolitan noblewoman and locked her in her bedroom to abuse her before having her committed to an asylum.
Story[]
Horace Delaney was buried in the cemetery of his parish with Zilpha and Thorne Geary dealing with the funeral payment, refusing to pay an extra amount to deter grave robbers. Upon his return from Africa, much to everyone's surprise when he heads to the church, James visited the morgue to steal the coins lying on Horace's eyes as payment for the caretaker. James later put the coins in the offertory during the funeral service. [3] James Delaney went to visit a coroner to investigate his father's death and threatened to kill him if grave robbers would disturb Horace's final rest.[4]
During a conversation between James and Brace, it was revealed that Horace Delaney was poisoned by his manservant as a mercy killing. [5]
Gallery[]
Episode Appearances[]
- Season 1
- Episode 1 (corpse)
- Episode 2 (mentioned)
- Episode 3 (mentioned)
- Episode 5 (mentioned)
- Episode 6 (mentioned; hallucination)
Notes[]
- Horace Delaney was inspired by historical Lieutenant John Meares. Meares, much like Horace Delaney, claimed that he had acquired some land from a Nootka Chief in exchange for pistols and other goods—this would become an asset to Britain during the Nootka Crisis. [6]
References[]
- ↑ Radiotimes.com - Meet the cast of Taboo
- ↑ BBC One - Taboo Cast & Characters
- ↑ Knight, Steven (writer) & Nyholm, Kristoffer (director); January 7, 2017 BBC; January 10, 2017, FX; "Episode 1". Taboo.
- ↑ Knight, Steven (writer) & Nyholm, Kristoffer (director); January 14, 2017, BBC; January 17, 2017, FX; "Episode 2". Taboo.
- ↑ Hardy, Chips & Knight, Steven (writer) & Engström, Anders (director); February 11, 2017 BBC; February 14, 2017, FX; "Episode 6". Taboo.
- ↑ The Career of Lieutenant John Meares on Wikipedia.org