Abhiroop Das
Created by Steven Knight, Netflix’s ‘House of Guinness‘ tells the dramatized story of the Guinness family, who were responsible for the creation of one of the most successful alcoholic beverage empires in history. This period drama focuses on the four Guinness siblings, Arthur, Edward, Anne, and Benjamin, exploring the complexities of their psyche and how that bleeds into their actions, both public and private in nature. As Arthur takes on the mantle of the company’s leader, the task of balancing his secrets with his work becomes all the more challenging. In such a scenario, Olivia Charlotte Hedges-White comes as a breath of fresh air, bringing along the freedom to express himself as he sees fit. To that end, Arthur’s relationships take on an important role in the narrative, challenging the social conventions of that time. SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Real-Life Arthur Guinness’s Sexual Orientation Remains a Mystery
While a significant chunk of the narrative explores Arthur’s life as a person who is secretly gay, this does not have any direct parallels to his real-life counterpart. Although there have been speculations about Arthur Guinness, more commonly known as Lord Ardilaun, being gay and having an “unconventional marriage” as reported by the Irish Times and IrishCentral, there are no first-hand sources or historical accounts that add more credence to this claim. Instead, it is more likely that the show was inspired by the life of Arthur Guinness’s uncle, named Arthur Lee Guinness. The latter was the founder of Guinness Beer, along with the Guinness Brewery in 1759. Although he is largely known for laying the foundation of one of the most successful business endeavours in the world, an alleged account from his personal life might have informed the plot of ‘House of Guinness.’
According to numerous reports, Arthur Lee Guinness had an affair with his distant cousin, Dion Boucicault, sometime around 1839. The news about this development led to a family crisis, causing Arthur to formally resign from the company. While he was still involved in larger decisions surrounding the brewery, much of the business was taken care of by his younger brother, Benjamin Lee Guinness, who serves as the patriarch in the Netflix series. Given that Dion Boucicault was working as a clerk at the brewery during the alleged affair, the account bears some vague resemblance to the show’s take on Arthur Guinness, where he has a brief affair with an employee at the brewery named Patrick. However, the commonality ends on a superficial level, and it is more likely that the writing team of the show, led by Steven Knight, added their creative touch to this rendition of Arthur Guinness.
Arthur and Olivia Guinness Were Likely Not in a Lavender Marriage
Similar to the information about Arthur Guinness’s sexual orientation, there aren’t many reports describing his married life with Olivia Charlotte Guinness, best known as Lady Ardilaun. It is widely known that the couple enjoyed holding lavish parties, with some sources speculating that Lady Ardilaun played a part in her husband’s decision to sell his share of the company to his brother. However, there is no credible account of whether the two were in a lavender marriage. While Arthur and Olivia Guinness notably did not have any children, that fact alone does not sufficiently contribute to the claim that the former potentially was gay. As such, it is likely that this plot thread is a fictional reinterpretation of their relationship, meant to dramatize the tale further.
Although Arthur and Olivia are in a lavender marriage in ‘House of Guinness,’ their internal dynamic reflects a deep emotional intimacy. Arthur finds in his wife a friend whom he can confide in, and together they go on to make several important decisions, both in the personal and professional facets of their life. However, tensions begin to arise when Olivia falls in love with Rafferty, the Guinness company foreman. Though Arthur consents to the two having a sexual relationship, he forbids them from continuing things on the romantic front, reiterating the original agreement of his marriage with her. Given that Rafferty is a fictional character invented purely for the story, it is not a stretch to call this arc fictional in nature, with Arthur and Olivia’s dynamic adding some zest to the narrative.
Read More: Shows Like House of Guinness
