Horace Derwent Character Analysis in The Shining

A billionaire entrepreneur who bought and renovated the Overlook Hotel after World War II. Derwent throws the masquerade ball on the August night in 1945 that perpetually unfolds in the hotel’s ballroom, and when Jack finally goes insane and gets drunk in the Colorado Lounge, Derwent is there teasing one of the ball’s guests, Roger—who is dressed in a dog costume—with liquor. Jack first learns about Derwent when Ullman hires Jack as the hotel’s winter caretaker, but Jack really learns about Derwent when he goes through the boxes in the basement and finds a scrapbook documenting the Overlook’s history. Derwent has known mob connections, and he is also involved in bootlegging and prostitution. Presumably, Derwent is still alive during Jack’s time (1975), as Jack asks Al Shockley if Derwent is still involved in the hotel. Al refuses to answer. Derwent represents the Overlook Hotel’s seedy underbelly and is part of many of its scandals, including the “gangland-style shooting” in the Presidential Suite in 1966 and the murder of Vittorio Gienelli.

Horace Derwent Character Timeline in The Shining

The timeline below shows where the character Horace Derwent appears in The Shining. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...was bought and sold several times and stood vacant during World War II until Horace Derwent, a millionaire entrepreneur, bought and renovated it. (full context)

...the Overlook has the finest roque court in America. Ullman continues with his history lesson. Derwent lost a considerable amount of money in the hotel, and he sold it to some... (full context)

The scrapbook is full of old newspaper clippings about the Overlook Hotel and Horace Derwent, the hotel’s former owner. Jack looks through pages of the famous people who stayed at... (full context)

...rubs his lips and reads about the Las Vegas group who owned the hotel before Derwent bought it back. The newspaper clippings suggest that Derwent had some sort of connection to... (full context)

...he wants. Jack says he just has some questions about the hotel’s history and Horace Derwent. Ullman didn’t tell him that Derwent had ties to the mob, Jack says, nor did... (full context)

...write a book about the hotel. Before Jack hung up the phone, he asked if Derwent was still involved with the hotel, but Al didn’t see how that was any of... (full context)

Fear, the Paranormal, and Reality Theme Icon

...Jack looks around, and everyone in the bar is staring at him. He sees Horace Derwent, and Jack is pretty sure the woman next to him, staring into her Singapore sling,... (full context)

...mask, and she invites Jack up to her room. Over her shoulder, Jack can see Derwent, and a man dressed in a dog costume, Roger, is following him on all fours,... (full context)

...After all, it is Jack the hotel wants, not Danny or Wendy. As Jack speaks, Derwent yells at Roger for peeing on the floor and the room erupts in laughter. Grady... (full context)

“Midnight!” Derwent shouts. “Unmask! Unmask!” The clock chimes and the crowd cheers. Two figures, a father and... (full context)