Ambrose Hutchinson

Ambrose Hutchinson was a young 19th century poet who lived in London, England in the early 1890s. He was a sociable man who often attended the opera and was acquainted with many bankers and artists. One acquaintance was Warren Gadd, who gave Hutchinson an invitation to his housewarming party. Some two months after their first meeting, Gadd preyed upon Hutchinson's attraction to other men and convinced him to visit his home, as he had previously several other young male artists and writers. Some of these young men were also associates of Hutchinson's. Wanting to keep his sexuality and the liaison with Gadd secret, he falsely claimed to friends that he was visiting his mother. In reality, Hutchinson's mother had been dead for years. Once Gadd had Hutchinson in his grips, he used his mental powers to drain the young man's consciousness to power his infinite library. The process left him essentially brain dead, with only minimal signs of life. Eventually, like Gadd's previous victims, even those signs of life faded and he passed away. The relief pathologist who studied the unresponsive bodies of Hutchinson and the previous men attacked by Gadd determined their condition was due to natural causes. Sergeant Percival Quick of the Metropolitan Police Service suspected something more sinister, and when the regular pathologist Professor George Litefoot returned from holiday in Brighton, Quick brought him in to examine Ambrose Hutchinson. After studying the young man's near lifeless body, hearing Quick's account of what happened and reviewing his personal effects, Litefoot swore to Hutchinson that he would find out who did this to him. (PROSE: Beautiful Things)