Aloysius is Lord Sebastian Flyte's

teddy bear A teddy bear, or simply a teddy, is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. The teddy bear was named by Morris Michtom after the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt; it was developed apparently simultaneously in the first deca ...

in Evelyn Waugh's novel '' Brideshead Revisited'', published in 1945. Aloysius is with Sebastian as he gets a "haircut" the first time the novel's protagonist, Charles Ryder, sees Sebastian at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

. Later in the novel, Sebastian wonders whether he should take Aloysius to

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

with him: "I have a good mind not to take Aloysius to Venice. I don't want him to meet a lot of horrid Italian bears and pick up bad habits" (Chapter 3). Sebastian describes his time spent at Brideshead with Charles in Chapter 4: "If it could only be like this always – always summer, always alone, the fruit always ripe, and Aloysius in a good temper...". The model for Aloysius was Archibald Ormsby-Gore, the beloved teddy bear of John Betjeman, Waugh's friend at

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. The bear is most likely named after the Catholic saint Aloysius Gonzaga – the patron saint of youth. Aloysius, and in particular his representation in the 1981 television adaptation of the novel, is credited with having triggered the late-20th century teddy bear renaissance. He was depicted by a teddy bear named Delicatessen, owned by the actor Peter Bull.

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Further reading