Blood and Bone China
Linus Hemlock
Played by David Lemberg
First appearance: Chapter One - Oblivion and Paradise
Linus Hemlock was born in the city of Lemberg, now known as Lviv in Ukraine, on the 24th October 1855. His mother Kathryn von Masoch was a private piano teacher, related to Leopold von Sacher-Masoch the infamous literary masochistic writer. He grew up in the Bukovina region of the Carpathian mountains and much of his time was spent with his grandfather, a talented ceramic potter. Under pressure from his parents, Linus moved to Austria to study Mathematics and Physics at Graz University. However, he was unhappy and needed to express his creativity, so Linus moved to a prominent pottery town called Bunzlau in the Kingdom of Prussia. Here he found work as an apprentice in a successful ceramic factory and later left to open his own pottery shop. Linus became recognised for his clinical and technical detailed compositions.
After five successful years and gaining popularity among established friends and peers, Linus' career took a turn for the worse. His sado-masochistic tendencies and infidelities with a politician's wife compromised his position among the community. In fear of revenge and the threat of a duel, he quickly fled by night through Europe and eventually to England; changing his Slavonic name. After a brief spell in London, Linus moved to Stoke-On-Trent through fear his identity and reputation would be exposed. Linus had heard of the success of companies such as Wedgwood and they greatly inspired him. After settling in Stoke, he set up his own pottery company and married a local baroness called Tessa, an erratic but very wealthy woman who was distantly related to the Wedgwood's. In 1886, she bore him a child called Leonora but mysteriously died in childbirth. Rumours spread that she had been poisoned.
In the summer of 1897, Leonora passed away due to scarlet fever. Linus, now owner of a world famous ceramic factory and an extremely wealthy and powerful man, withdrew from society only socialising with a few select members of the local upper class. He also rarely leaves his home, the imposing and majestic Hemlock Manor, which he shares with his new young mistress Victoria.
David Lemberg is a Manchester born actor and studied at David Johnson Drama. He has appeared in episodes of Shameless and Coronation Street and has also played a villainous Serbian gangster in the film 'The Crew' and the role of Tupolski in 'The Pillowman' at the RNCM last year. He is simply relishing the role of Linus Hemlock.
