Hugo Hamilton

Hugo Hamilton is a minor character who featured in the 1939 novel, And Then There Were None. He was the ex-lover of Vera Claythorne, who left her following the death of his Cyril. Hugo's reason for doing was because he believed Claythorne orchestrated the murder of his young nephew for her own benefit.

Role in the story
Hugo Hamilton was born into a wealthy family and was the younger of his fathers two children. Whilst his older brother, Maurice found love, Hugo remained a bachelor for some time. For unspecified reasons, Hugo lost almost all of his share of the families money. Although he remained close to his family, he apparently refused to accept any charity from them and worked hard to keep himself going. By his own admittance however, he struggled.

When his brother Maurice unexpectedly died, Hugo as the sole surviving heir to his deceased parents, stood a chance of inheriting the entirety of his families fortune. However, this all changed when three months later, Mrs Hamilton (Maurice's widow) gave birth to a son, Cyril. In accordance with Maurice's wishes, this made Cyril the sole heir to the Hamilton fortune. Hugo was disappointed, but did not hold a grudge, on the contrary, he treated the boy with nothing short of love and affection, almost as if he was his own son.

Despite all of this, Cyril was a sickly child who could not attend school. As such he was home taught and accompanied his mother on frequent holidays. It was during one such excursion that Hugo met Vera Claythorne, Cyril's governess. The pair developed a mutual attraction for one another, which quickly blossomed into love. For as much as he loved her however, Hugo admitted to Vera that he could not marry her, due to his financial situation. Unfortunately, this simple confession would have tragic and devastating consequences for the Hamilton's.

On 11th August 1935, whilst the family was on holiday at the coast, Cyril Hamilton died by drowning. According to Vera, he sneaked away whilst she was not watching and tried to swim out to some rocks offshore. When she realised what had happened, Vera had apparently torn after Cyril, but despite her best efforts, could not reach him in time. Although both were ultimately pulled from the water, Cyril was pronounced dead at the scene. As a result of this, the shocked and horrified Hugo, inherited his families money, bringing an end to his financial troubles.

An inquiry into the incident cleared Vera Claythorne of any blame. After hearing her testimony, the presiding judge commended her for her efforts and although distraught, Mrs Hamilton likewise thanked Vera for at least trying to save her son. To Vera's astonishment and confusion however, Hugo completely avoided her and not long afterwards he disappeared out of her life. It did not Vera long to discern the reason why. She realised that Hugo had figured out the truth - that she had intentionally let Cyril, so that he could inherit his families fortune and marry her.

Claythorne made a desperate attempt to contact Hugo, but he never responded to her letter and she never saw him again. Years later, Vera remained deeply affected by the loss of Hugo. Despite her best efforts, she thought about him often, wondering where Hugo was and what he was doing. In his final letter, Lawrence Wargrave revealed that he had met with Hugo on a cruise. Deeply traumatized by the role he played in Cyril's demise and how Vera had tricked everybody in order to get away with murder, Hugo had become a drunkard, throwing away his money carelessly. Carefully plying the young man with questions, Wargrave gathered all the information that the could about the circumstances surrounding Cyril's death. After corroborating the facts, Wargrave agreed with Hugo assessment about Vera and chose as one of the victims for his grand scheme.

Vera would ultimately receive her justice at the climax of the events on Soldier Island. Driven mad by the trauma and her own personal guilt, Vera ultimately hanged herself, thinking that it was what Hugo would have wanted. It is not known how Hugo reacted to the news of Vera's death, but it is possible that he was finally able to gain some closure and move on with his life.

Adaptations
Hugo Hamilton has appeared in a number of stage and film adaptations of And Then There Were None. Surprisingly, in some of these retellings his role is changed from that of a side character to an antagonist. For instance, in the 1945 film adaptation, it was he and not Vera that orchestrated Cyril's death. Vera was merely his unwilling accomplice, whom Hugo then dumped after getting the money he had always wanted.

In other versions however, he retains his role as the bereaving uncle. The 2015, BBC miniseries, was Hugo's most accurate portrayal to his novel counterpart. Several more scenes were added however, such as Hugo visiting Vera in hospital, where he is able to take note of both her behavior and words, making his suspicion that more pronounced. Like in the book, Hugo watched Vera testify at the inquiry, whereupon he realised that she had indeed killed Cyril. Unlike in the book however, where he simply left, Hugo confronted Vera directly about what she had done. Although Vera tried to deny any involvement, stating that she loved Hugo, he did not believe her. Barely able to control his temper, Hugo made it very clear that he now hated Vera, stated how much her actions had hurt him (because he genuinely loved Cyril) and assured her that if he ever found a way to prove what she had done, he would make sure she was hanged as a murderer.