The Grand Babylon Hotel · Chapter
V: What Occurred to Reginald Dimmock explained
Prince Aribert arrives at the Grand Babylon Hotel and meets Nella and Theodore Racksole.
What happens
Prince Aribert arrives at the Grand Babylon Hotel and meets Nella and Theodore Racksole. During a private conversation with Nella, he reveals his secret identity as Count Steenbock from their Paris meeting. Their talk is interrupted when Reginald Dimmock's body is brought in on a stretcher, having collapsed and died suddenly. The doctor later declares it is not heart disease, hinting at unusual symptoms.
Themes in this chapter
Mystery and Intrigue
Dimmock's sudden death with unusual symptoms introduces a central mystery, compounded by Prince Aribert's secret identity and the hidden State secret.
Class and Snobbery
The contrast between Racksole's American pragmatism and Prince Aribert's royal status highlights class dynamics, as Racksole mentally evaluates the Prince as a potential commercial traveller.
American vs. European Culture
Racksole's blunt, businesslike demeanor and Nella's independent spirit clash with European aristocratic formality, exemplified by the Prince's constrained role as a 'Serene Highness.'
Characters to notice
- Theodore Racksole
Studies Prince Aribert, receives urgent summons, and later brings in Dimmock's body.
- Nella Racksole
Leads Prince Aribert to the Louis XV chamber, discusses their past meeting, and is shocked by Dimmock's death.
- Prince Aribert
Arrives without his equerry, reveals his Count Steenbock alias to Nella, and grieves over Dimmock's body.
- Reginald Dimmock
Found dead after collapsing in the quadrangle; doctor says symptoms are unusual.
Key passages
“He decided that the young fellow was personable enough, 'had no frills on him,' and would make an exceptionally good commercial traveller for a first-class firm.”
Racksole thought the Prince was likeable, unpretentious, and would be an excellent salesman for a top company.
Racksole's pragmatic American assessment of Prince Aribert's character.
“I am a nobody—a Serene Highness who has to pretend to be very important, always taking immense care never to do anything that a Serene Highness ought not to do. Bah!”
Prince Aribert feels trapped by his royal title, forced to act important while being essentially powerless.
The Prince's frustration with the constraints of his aristocratic role.
“The poor fellow was just walking across the quadrangle towards the portico when he fell down. A commissionaire who saw him says he was walking very quickly. At first I thought it was sunstroke, but it couldn't have been, though the weather certainly is rather warm. It must be heart disease.”
Racksole describes how Dimmock collapsed suddenly while walking fast, initially suspecting sunstroke but now thinking it might be heart disease.
Racksole's initial account of Dimmock's death, later contradicted by the doctor.