John Berendt
This author is a real-life crime writer who published this non-fiction novel after living some very strange life in Savannah, Georgia. Although the polite, Southern hospitality of the town is obvious, Berendt quickly finds himself hanging out with Lady Chablis instead, and the whole host of Savannah's underground scene. He watches from nearby as Williams fights the murder charges, and as the town tries to assemble the truth, through gossip and scandal.
Jim Williams
This powerful mogul has a huge mansion in Savannah, Georgia, and although he makes dubious decisions in his personal life, there is a propensity in town for people to really like him, because he invites the whole town to his big estate for a fancy Christmas party. Jim Williams murders Danny, his assistant and lover, and he stands trial while Berendt is in town, recording the story as it unfolds. He is acquitted and then dies randomly anyway, in his own home from pneumonia.
Danny Hansford
Danny Hansford is a snotty, condescending young man who is the guardian for Jim Williams whose glaucoma threatens to lead him to faint. Also, secretly, that is a cover for the real dynamic. The two are lovers, and Danny plagues Jim by being difficult to live with, by being a bit of a diva, perhaps. Then, Jim murders him, either in cold blood or in self-defense. Danny dies in the same room that Jim eventually dies in.
Lady Chablis
This bombastic drag queen provides a comical element to the plot with her riotous commentary. She also serves the prose as a kind of archetypal character, giving Berendt essential information in a timely, gossipy manner. Lady Chablis tells him that Danny has been murdered, for instance, which helps the plot. Also, this novel is based on a true story, so Lady Chablis is likely a real person who lives openly as a gender-bending person in the deep South. She is a courageous person and a lover of life.
