# Lucian Taylor — The Hill of Dreams character guide > Lucian Taylor in The Hill of Dreams by Arthur Machen. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Lucian, Master Lucian, Taylor, old Taylor, poor Lucian, other Lucian **First appearance:** 0001-the-hill-of-dreams ## Who they are A dream-struck rector's son who wanders past the known world into occult territory, then carries its glamour and its hunger with him to London. ## Relationships ### [Annie Morgan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_hill_of_dreams_se/characters/annie_morgan) _romantic_ Annie is Lucian's first love and muse, a pure but doomed romance that haunts him. ### [Mrs. Dixon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_hill_of_dreams_se/characters/mrs_dixon) _social_ Mrs. Dixon is a kind landlady who provides Lucian with lodging and maternal care. ### [Reverend Merivale Dixon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_hill_of_dreams_se/characters/reverend_merivale_dixon) _social_ Reverend Dixon is a local clergyman and Mrs. Dixon's husband, offering Lucian occasional guidance. ### [Miss Deacon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_hill_of_dreams_se/characters/miss_deacon) _social_ Miss Deacon is a neighbor and acquaintance who interacts with Lucian in the village. ### [The Doctor](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_hill_of_dreams_se/characters/the_doctor) _professional_ The doctor attends to Lucian's declining physical and mental health. ### [Dr. Burrows](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_hill_of_dreams_se/characters/dr_burrows) _professional_ Dr. Burrows is a physician who treats Lucian and observes his deteriorating condition. ### [Young Bennett](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_hill_of_dreams_se/characters/young_bennett) _friendship_ Young Bennett is a childhood friend and companion from Lucian's youth. ### [Mr. Ritson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_hill_of_dreams_se/characters/mr_ritson) _social_ Mr. Ritson is a local figure who engages with Lucian in the village setting. ### [Edith Gervase](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_hill_of_dreams_se/characters/edith_gervase) _romantic_ Edith is a beautiful but unattainable woman who becomes an object of Lucian's obsessive desire. ### [Barnes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_hill_of_dreams_se/characters/barnes) _social_ Barnes is a local acquaintance who interacts with Lucian in the village. ### [Jack](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_hill_of_dreams_se/characters/jack) _friendship_ Jack is a friend from Lucian's past, representing a simpler, more carefree time. ### [Agatha Gervase](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_hill_of_dreams_se/characters/agatha_gervase) _social_ Agatha is Edith's sister, a minor figure in Lucian's social circle. ## In the story ### [The Hill of Dreams](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_hill_of_dreams_se/chapters/the-hill-of-dreams) The protagonist, deeply immersed in his imaginative world and alienated from his surroundings. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_hill_of_dreams_se/chapters/i) The protagonist, a schoolboy with a passion for medieval Latin, Villon, and useless reading, who is considered mad by his peers. He is later taken from school at seventeen due to his father's poverty. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_hill_of_dreams_se/chapters/ii) Lucian experiences the torment of waiting for his manuscript's fate, receives rejection, and later discovers his work plagiarized. He also has a moment of renewed creative inspiration. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_hill_of_dreams_se/chapters/iii) Lucian is lost in romantic obsession, neglecting his work and his father's questions. He reflects on the social stigma of being a literary man and engages in a secret ritual of writing devotional texts to Annie. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_hill_of_dreams_se/chapters/iv) Visits Caermaen to study Roman ruins and artifacts; develops a mental technique to ignore annoyances; retreats into the garden of Avallaunius; seeks new sensory experiences for Annie. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_hill_of_dreams_se/chapters/v) Lucian is deeply engaged in his literary craft, experimenting with prose and seeking magical suggestion. He experiences a profound crisis of confidence and depression, questioning his life's work. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_hill_of_dreams_se/chapters/vi) Suffers from writer's block and profound desolation during the winter; wanders the frozen streets feeling isolated and tormented by his inability to write. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_hill_of_dreams_se/chapters/vii) Lucian reflects on his past literary struggles, his youthful hopes and despairs, and the haunting memories of the Roman fort and Annie Morgan, while sitting in the dark after completing a manuscript. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_hill_of_dreams_se/characters/lucian_taylor - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_hill_of_dreams_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_hill_of_dreams_se/characters