Timothy Cavendish

Timothy Langland Cavendish is a fictional character created by David Mitchell. He is an hapless publisher striving to maintain his business afloat, and is the of many downfalls and turns of luck. First appearing in Ghostwritten, his importance and voice is clearly established in Cloud Atlas, which give him the role of the main protagonist in the section The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish.

Biography
Little is known about Timothy Cavendish's childhood.

He has been unhappily married to a certain Madam X. (which he refuses to name) and divorced after he discovered she had an affair with a German dentist.

Future appearances
Timothy Cavendish is scheduled to appears in David Mitchell's future long novel ( unknown title ) set in 1960s Soho, where we will see him in a younger incarnation.

Movie Adaptation
Timothy Cavendish is played by actor Jim Broadbent, and by Tom Hanks in the in-movie adaption of The Ghastly Ordeal. David Mitchell has said that since the movie adaptation he has been unable to imagine him in his head without Broadbent's portrayal. The author also said that he was happier with his arch ending in the movie, which sees him reunited with Ursula, so much that he intends to incorporate this happy end and make it canonical in his novels.

In the advanced copy of the Bone Clocks, Timothy Cavendish meets Crispin Hershey. He joyously tells that they are making a movie out of his memoir -most probably the one Sonmi ~451 will see decades later- and that his role will be played by non other than Tom Hanks. This is clearly a reference to the real-life movie Cloud Atlas. Jim Broadbent plays Timothy in it but Tom Hanks, along his multiple roles includes a in-movie adaptation of The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish, where he plays a rather bad actor playing Timothy.

The movie emphasises greatly the importance its viewing will have on Sonmi ~451, where she sees a short clip of it where Timothy, trapped in the Aurora House, claims that he "will not be subjected to criminal abuse". This short clip, played in a loop, will inspire her friend Yoona to rebel from her condition of waitress and deliver the same line, before trying to escape and setting the whole story in motion.

Trivia
-Timothy Cavendish has been known to be David Mitchell's favorite character. It is indeed shown by the fact he is so far the most recurring of his characters, appearing in Ghostwritten, Cloud Atlas, the short story Aknowledgment, the advanced copy of the Bone Clocks ( before being "edited" out ) and in a future book set in 1960s London.