Toby Esterhase - 'Esterhazy' or 'Esterhouse'?
It has been a while since I saw the film but I was struck by the way Toby Esterhase's name was pronounced 'Esterhouse'. Any clues?
shareIt's an anglicisation of the Hungarian Esterházy/Eszterházy (Ester-haa-zee) so, in origin, phonetically closer to Guinness's (Ester-hey-zee). Toby is ambitious to ingratiate himself within the Circus - adopting the more native sounding 'Esterhouse' is likely, he would believe, to assist in his assimilation.
shareThanks, that fits. He was rather keen to obscure his background, which must have been pretty seedy if he felt he had to disguise such a distinguished name.
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