Sexuality
One of the central most issues of The Line of Beauty is related to the protagonist, Nick Guest's, sexuality. As a closeted gay man in the United Kingdom during the Margaret Thatcher years, Guest struggled to live his life fully and remain true to himself. For years, he asked if he could be a gay man and a Conservative Englander too. In the end, after likely contracting HIV, Nick decides that it is best to live as himself. He decides that being true to oneself is more important than anything else, including power and politics. Sexuality, he decides, should be recognized and accepted by everyone, no matter their political parties. After all, a person's sexuality doesn't determine if they are good or bad people. Just who they love.
Politics
Much of the novel is set in and around the political world, particularly the Conservative party in the United Kingdom. The novel follows the well-to-do Fedden family, who are up-and-comers in the Conservative party. Throughout the novel, readers see how the Fedden family's politics inform their worldview and how they act. Because of their Conservative politics, they often look to the past as an aspirational thing and something to work towards. But with the eruption of the fight for homosexual rights, the Conservative party begrudgingly started to accept homosexuals. But that doesn't mean individuals were so accepting. The Fedden family, for instance, were relatively rude and homophobic to Nick Guest, who they became close to and with whom they lived for many years. That's all because of their political belief system.
