The Hellbound Heart characters

Appears from the start

A restless pleasure-seeker who has exhausted ordinary sensations and acquired a puzzle box said to open a route to experiences beyond the human world. He solves it in the hope of meeting beings who can satisfy him, without understanding how completely their idea of pleasure differs from his own.

Appears from the start

Beings from another order of existence who answer the opening of Lemarchand's puzzle box. Their bodies bear elaborate alterations, and they no longer distinguish pain from pleasure in any ordinary human sense. They regard Frank's summons as consent to enter their domain.

First appears in chapter 2

Frank's conventional, good-natured brother, who moves with his wife into the neglected family house where Frank once conducted his private experiments. He is practical and trusting, and he hopes that repairing the property will give the couple a fresh start.

First appears in chapter 2

Rory's reserved wife, who joins him in restoring the Cotton house. She feels detached from her marriage and is troubled by memories associated with Frank, whose confidence and appetite once fascinated her.

First appears in chapter 4

A friend of Rory who quietly wants a closer life with him than friendship allows. Her concern for him makes her attentive to the growing strain in his household and suspicious of Julia's unexplained behavior.