| | | | Part 1 |
| | Imogen Grace | Fortier | Author of "Letter from the Island" column. AKA: Immy. |
| | Gladys | Taber | Author of the "Butternut Wisdom" column in family circle. |
| | Mother | | Joan's mother. |
| | Joan | Bergstrom | Mrs. Fortier's admirer. A fan of "Letter from the Island". |
| | Francis | | Imogen's husband. |
| | John | Updike | Author of Rabbit, Run. |
| | Hazel | | Imogen's friend. |
| | Nero | Wolfe | Author. |
| | Elizabeth | David | Writer. |
| | Freya | Stark | Wrote about Persia. |
| | Edna | Ferber | Author. |
| | Pearl | Buck | Author. |
| | Mateo | Rodriguez | The neighbor's carpenter. AKA: Mr. R. |
| | Mrs. | David | Joan's neighbor. |
| | Jean | Bartel | Mother's friend. Formerly Miss America. |
| | Simenon | | Author. |
| | Charlotte | Armstrong | Joan's favorite local writer. |
| | James | Bond | Chef. |
| | Father | | Joan's father. |
| | Mrs. | Dryer | Enterprising woman. |
| | Aggie | Underwood | City Editor of Los Angeles Herald Examiner. |
| | Dan | | Francis's brother. |
| | Buck | | Francis's brother. |
| | Hal | | Francis's brother. |
| | Irene | Corskie | Francis's sister. |
| | Pauline | | Imogen's cousin. |
| | Ardis | | Imogen's cousin. |
| | Angelo | Pelligrini | English Lit. Professor. |
| | Diego | Rivera | Mexican painter. |
| | Mr. | Pelligrini | Chef. |
| | Warren | Magnuson | Senator. |
| | Scoop | Jackson | Warren's legislative partner. |
| | John | Kennedy | Current US President. |
| | Lyndon | Johnson | Current US Vice President. |
| | Aunt | Commie | Francis's aunt. |
| | Professor | Fox | An Anthropologist. |
| | Matao | Uwate | A local celebrity. |
| | Ann | Soeleiman | Holds cooking classes at the Los Angeles International Institute. |
| | Inge | | Mother's second cousin. |
| | Seneca | | Ancient roman. |
| | Kit | | Imogen's niece. |
| | Michael | | Kit's fiance. |
| | | | Part 2 |
| | Mrs. | Saderberg | The travel agency woman. |
| | Mrs. | S. Santos | The woman who sells a paste called mole. |
| | James | Garner | Actor. |
| | | | Part 3 |
| | Miles | Davis | Jazz Trumpeter. |
| | Charles | Aznavour | French Singer. |
| | Mary | Burchell | Novelist. |
| | Alice | | Secretary of the newly-formed Friends of the Market. |
| | Wing | Luke | One of the council members |
| | Jane | Jacobs | Author. |
| | Theolonious | Monk | Jazz Musician. |
| | Frida | | Francis's ex-fiancé. |
| | Helen | Macinnes | Writer. |
| | Mr. | Luke | Victor's friend. |
| | Victor | Steinbreuk | An architect. |
| | Jeanne | Voltz | The editor of food pages. |
| | Susan | | One of the girls from Bailey Memorial Home and Hospital. |
| | Helen | Gurley-Brown | Of Sex and the Single Girl fame. |
| | Joan | Didion | A journalist from the Saturday evening post. |
| | George | Peppard | Actor. |
| | Henrietta | Neatrour | A literary agent from New York. |
| | Immy Frida | Rodriguez | Mateo and Joan's daughter. |
