# Mr. Coates — The Works of Max Beerbohm character guide

> Mr. Coates in The Works of Max Beerbohm by Max Beerbohm.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** 1807 old Mr. Coates

**First appearance:** 0007-poor-romeo

## Snapshot

An eccentric old father whose oddity shadows his son Romeo, a minor figure in the dandy chronicle.

## Who they are

Coates belongs to the book's gallery of marginal grotesques, the sort of elderly oddity whose habits and pretensions Beerbohm notes with a raised eyebrow. He is less a plot agent than an atmosphere, a reminder that dandyism had its embarrassing relatives as well as its heroes. His presence in the early pages helps establish the collection's method: to understand an age, you must look at its fools as carefully as its wits.

## Relationships

### [Emma](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_works_of_max_beerbohm_se/characters/emma)

_romantic_

Emma was romantically involved with Mr. Coates, likely as a lover or mistress, with a dynamic of affection and dependency.

### [Romeo Coates](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_works_of_max_beerbohm_se/characters/romeo_coates)

_family_

Mr. Coates and Romeo Coates were likely father and son, with a relationship of paternal guidance and shared theatrical interests.

### [Mr. Pryse Gordon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_works_of_max_beerbohm_se/characters/mr_pryse_gordon)

_friendship_

Mr. Coates and Mr. Pryse Gordon were friends and fellow theatrical enthusiasts, often collaborating or socializing.

### [Sir James Tylney Long](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_works_of_max_beerbohm_se/characters/sir_james_tylney_long)

_social_

Mr. Coates and Sir James Tylney Long were social acquaintances, moving in overlapping aristocratic and theatrical circles.

### [Romeo Coates](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_works_of_max_beerbohm_se/characters/romeo_coates)

_family_

Mr. Coates and Romeo Coates were likely father and son, with a relationship of paternal guidance and shared theatrical interests.

## In the story

### [Poor Romeo!](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_works_of_max_beerbohm_se/chapters/poor-romeo)

The Antiguan amateur actor whose disastrous debut as Romeo in Bath is the focus of the chapter; he later becomes a figure of absurd ostentation.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_works_of_max_beerbohm_se/characters/mr_coates
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_works_of_max_beerbohm_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_works_of_max_beerbohm_se/characters