# Baron Leopold Von Ragastein — The Great Impersonation character guide

> Baron Leopold Von Ragastein in The Great Impersonation by E. Phillips Oppenheim.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Von Ragastein, Leopold, Leopold Von Ragastein

**First appearance:** 0000-i

## Snapshot

The German nobleman whose face and name Dominey has borrowed, remembered by Stephanie as a lover who once spoke words that melted icebergs.

## Who they are

Leopold exists in the novel first as an absence and an accusation: the man Stephanie loved six years ago, the man whose mannerisms Dominey does not quite reproduce, the man she half-suspects is still alive somewhere in Africa. Her memories of him — his voice, his phrases, his passion — become a kind of forensic test that Dominey keeps failing in small ways. He is the shadow the whole impersonation is built around, and the reason every tender moment with Stephanie carries the risk of discovery.

## Relationships

### [Doctor Schmidt](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_great_impersonation_se/characters/doctor_schmidt)

_professional_

Schmidt was Ragastein's doctor and handler before the impersonation, maintaining medical oversight.

### [Doctor Schmidt](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_great_impersonation_se/characters/doctor_schmidt)

_professional_

Schmidt was Ragastein's doctor and handler before the impersonation, maintaining medical oversight.

### [Doctor Schmidt](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_great_impersonation_se/characters/doctor_schmidt)

_professional_

Schmidt was Ragastein's doctor and handler before the impersonation, maintaining medical oversight.

## In the story

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_great_impersonation_se/chapters/i)

Military Commandant of German East Africa; reveals his former identity as Sigismund Devinter, Dominey's schoolmate; disciplined and purposeful.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_great_impersonation_se/chapters/ii)

Reveals his plan to swap identities with Dominey and return to England as a spy.

### [Chapter VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_great_impersonation_se/chapters/vi)

Von Ragastein is mentioned in the context of his past love affair with Princess Eiderstrom.

### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_great_impersonation_se/chapters/xiv)

Dominey's assumed identity; the Kaiser addresses him by this name throughout the audience.

### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_great_impersonation_se/chapters/xv)

Mentioned as the man Princess Eiderstrom mistook Dominey for; he was her lover in Hungary and was exiled to East Africa.

### [Chapter XXVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_great_impersonation_se/chapters/xxvi)

Addressed by Seaman as Von Ragastein; praised by the Kaiser for refusing to marry Princess Eiderstrom.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_great_impersonation_se/characters/baron_leopold_von_ragastein
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_great_impersonation_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_great_impersonation_se/characters