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Aurora Fane (portrayed by Kelli O'Hara) is a wealthy and active socialite in New York City. She likes to maintain close ties to different parties, even the nouveau riche Russell family to some extent, so she's often responsible for introducing people to each other.

She maintains close ties with the van Rhijn family, and befriends Marian Brook, the impoverished niece of her aunt by marriage, upon her arrival to New York.

Biography[]

Early life[]

Aurora's other parent comes from the Van Rhijn family, making her first cousins with Oscar van Rhijn and Dashiell Montgomery. She's married to the New York city alderman Charles Fane, who sometimes attends social functions with her.

Season 1[]

Episode 1[]

Aurora and Anne Morris send a letter to Bertha Russell to support their charity in aid for orphaned girls, and invite her to join the meeting at the Fifth Avenue Hotel. Bertha arrives to the event with her daugher Gladys. Aurora and Anne are rather reluctant to getting to know Bertha due to her lack of connections, and the house they seem to find ostentatious. She's delighted to see her Ada and Marian Brook, who's just moved to New York, and Ada introduces them. Hesitantly, Aurora introudces Marian and Ada to Bertha and Gladys.

As they part to the next room, Aurora and Ada whisper about not telling Aunt Agnes about Bertha attending the charity, but Aurora says that those women give a lot of money when they want to get into the society. At the event, Aurora also tells both Gladys and Marian that the mysterious, lonely woman who's attending, is Mrs. Chamberlain.

On another evening, Aurora enters Bertha's soirée alone. Bertha spots that she's only there because of her fundraiser and tells her to leave almost immediately.

Episode 2[]

Bertha later offers her spacious ballroom for the upcoming charity bazaar that Anne is hosting with Aurora, which has been arranged to be held in the armoury. When the armory cancels due double-booking, Anne still refuses the Russells’ ballroom and moves the location to a hotel lobby, telling her husband that Aurora wouldn’t let her, while telling Aurora that she herself wouldn’t hear of it. Their bazaar was opened to the publuc by Mrs. Astor, only to be ruined by George Russell, who, in revenge at Anne for snubbing his wife’s offer, offered a hundred dollars to each woman selling to buy all the products and deliver them to his home, shutting down the whole fair early after just a few minutes and humiliating Anne and Aurora in front of everyone, including Mrs. Astor.

Episode 3[]

Anne and Aurora were deeply upset at George Russell’s stunt at the bazaar. Things got even worse when Anne’s husband, Patrick, tried to derail George Russell’s plans for a new railway station by temporarily changing the law, only for George to react by buying all stock from companies, preventing anyone else from buying them. Despite begging George for mercy, Patrick was turned away, and, facing financial ruin, took his own life.

Episode 4[]

In response to Patrick’s downfall and the ruin of his family in the aftermath, Aurora’s husband Charles, not wanting their family to meet a fate similar to the Morrises’, convinced her to help Bertha integrate into high society as a way to get on her and her husband’s good side. Aurora does this by arranging a luncheon with Bertha and Ward McAllister, Mrs. Astor’s right-hand man. She introduces Bertha to Mr. McAllister as a way of getting them on friendly terms, which is successful.

Relationships[]

Charles Fane[]

Her husband. While not much is known about their relationship, they seem to be quite close and love each other vey dearly, every time they're seen together they maintain a good relationship and never argue between them.

Agnes Van Rhijn[]

Agnes is Aurora's aunt by marriage. Despite not being blood-related, Aurora loves Agnes as her own aunt. She has a good relationship with Agnes and has maintained close ties with her for a long time. They're usually seen together in social activites or family luncheons.

Oscar Van Rhijn[]

Her cousin. Their relationship is more explored during season 2. Aurora tends to act as his confidant and accomplice, helping him to court young ladies to become his wife, like with Gladyss and later with Maud Beaton.

Marian Brook[]

Her cousin by marriage. They meet for the first time when she arrives to New York in 1882. They quickly develop a close friendship, and later Aurora becomes one of her best friends. Like with Oscar, Aurora tries to help Marian inviting her to her social activities and presenting her possible suitors.

Quotes[]

References[]

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