Oscar Van Rhijn

Occupation
Banker at United Manhattan Trust
Marital status
Single
Date of birth
1842 or later
Place of birth
New York, New York
Residence
New York, New York

Family
From the Rhine
Brook (maternal)
Arnold van Rhijn (father) †
Agnes Brook (mother)
Henry Brook † (uncle)
Mrs. Henry Brook † (aunt)
Marian Brook (maternal cousin)
Ada Forte (maternal aunt)
Luke Forte † (uncle-in-law)
Aurora Fane (paternal cousin)
Dashiell Montgomery (paternal cousin)
Frances Montgomery (first cousin)

Gender
male
Eye color
brown

Early life
Oscar van Rhijn is the son of the late Arnold Van Rhijn and his wife, Agnes (née Brook). He is part of old New York society, as his family moved to the city in 1674. As a descendant of Arnold van Rhijn, one of the founders of the United Manhattan Trust—established in 1797—Oscar inherited a high-ranking role in banking. He is a first cousin of Marian Brook on his mother's side and Aurora Fane and Dashiell Montgomery on his father's side. Oscar did not know Marian before she moved to New York in 1882, due to the fractured relationship between his uncle and his mother.
Her godmother is Archie Baldwin's aunt.

"My mother wants me to have everything. Wait a lifetime." - Oscar to Marian
Oscar appears to have a somewhat ambivalent relationship with his mother Agnes. Oscar frequently visits the Brook household, and wants to maintain close relations with Agnes, despite her strict and authoritarian nature. He shares his mother's penchant for witty, sometimes sarcastic jokes, and they have many mutual teasings with each other. Agnes has clear standards in mind for how Oscar should act and behave, and he often fails to meet her requirements, which leads Agnes to find things like "inconsiderate and rude" of him. She has been angered by many things Oscar has done. Despite everything, she seems to love Oscar, her only surviving son, very much and wants to keep him close to her.

Oscar and John Adams have known each other for a long time. They had an established but hidden romantic relationship, and appeared to be living together in 1882 (season 1). John could not approve of Oscar's plans to marry. Oscar swore to him that nothing would change between them even if he did, but John became increasingly frustrated with his plans to court Gladys Russell. In 1883 (season 2), Oscar and John broke up, which Oscar seems to have difficulty coping with. John remains close to Oscar, treating him with care and concern, although he still does not approve of his plans to marry. John believes that marrying a woman will not make Oscar happy, and that he would be lying to himself if he did so.

At the age of 8, he dreamed of becoming a duke, more than he wanted to be a king.
He is not a fan of the Romanesque architectural style.
Oscar seems to be good at playing tennis.
His fashion sense often stands out from the more somber styles of other men in society. He uses more ornamental patterns and bolder colors.
He is the only character seen wearing sunglasses.
Oscar often wears fox or wolf-themed tie pins. He also wore a skull-shaped pin to Marian and Dashiell's engagement luncheon.