| 1 | Opaline | Carlisle | Book dealer |
| | Lyndon | Carlisle | Opaline's brother, 20 years older |
| | Mrs. | Barrett | Carlisle housemaid |
| | Austin | | Eligible bachelor Lyndon introduced |
| | Jane | | Opaline's best friend |
| | Papa | | Opaline's father, died 1918 |
| 2 | Martha Winter | | Went to Dublin to work |
| | Madam Eileen | Bowden | Lady 80 years old hired Martha |
| | Henry | Field | Man on sidewalk outside Martha's window |
| 3 | Lucinda | | Henry's sister |
| | Nora | | Runs bed & breakfast Henry stays |
| | Barry | | Nora's husband |
| 4 | Armand | Hassan | Man on board ship with Opaline |
| 5 | Isabelle | | Henry's fiancé |
| 6 | Mr. | Dunne | Official from Planning Office |
| 7 | Sylvia | Beach | Owns Shakespeare & Co. bookshop |
| | Miss | Monnier | Owns shop across the street from Shakespeare & Co. bookstore |
| | James | Joyce | Sylvia's friend, wrote Ulysses |
| 8 | Shane | | Martha's ex-husband |
| | Vladimir | | Madam Bowen's third husband |
| 9 | Harper | Lee | Wrote To Kill A Mockingbird |
| | Sylvia | Plath | Wrote Double Exposure |
| | Walter | Benjamin | Man who lost manuscript |
| 10 | Ernest | Hemingway | Author invited to shop at Shakespeare & Co. |
| 13 | Bingley | | Beau for Opaline from brother |
| 16 | Matthew | Fitzpatrick | Owns nostalgia shop in Dublin |
| | Adrianne | | Sylvia's partner Shakespeare & Co. |
| 17 | Archie | | Madam Bowden's 2nd husband |
| 18 | Rosenbach | | Name in letter Henry researched |
| 19 | Opaline | Gray | Adopted new last name |
| | Mr. | Hanna | Owner Webb's bookshop |
| | Ollie | | Matthew's son |
| | Alfred | Law | Owned Bronte papers |
| | William | Law | Owned Bronte papers |
| 20 | Mitch | | Shane's best friend |
| | Currer, Ellis, Acton Bell | | Bronte sisters wrote under name |
| | Arthur Bell | Nichols | Married Charlotte |
| | Miss | Pritchett | Assistant to Mr. Law |
| | Patrick | Bronte | Father of Bronte sisters |
| | Ellen | Nussey | Bronte correspondence |
| | Elizabeth | Gakell | Biographer of Charlotte Bronte |
| | Martha | Brown | Family housekeeper at parsonage |
| | Thomas Cautley | Newby | Published Bronte books |
| | Herr | Lahr | Sold Lady Chatterly's Lover |
| | Charles | Dodgson | Lewis Carroll wrote Alice in Wonderland |
| | Henry | Liddell | Dean at Oxford, frend of Lewis Carroll |
| | Alice Liddell | Hargreaves | Original Alice, daughter of Henry Liddell |
| | Abe | Rosenbach | Buyer, called "Terror of the Auction Room" |
| 24 | Neil | | Lucinda's husband |
| 25 | Mrs. | Brown | Reginald's wife |
| | Martha | Brown | Reginald's aunt |
| | Reginald | | Owner Brown's Bookshop |
| | Branwell | | Charlotte's brother |
| 27 | Muriel | | Matthew's wife |
| 28 | Egerton | Talbot | Character in Emily's book |
| | Rose | | Tenant Egerton in love with |
| 30 | Lord | Byron | Wrote book for Blessington |
| 31 | Lady | Blessington | "Conversations between" on auction |
| | Lady Sydney | Morgan | Wrote "The Wild Irish Rose" |
| | Charles | Maturin | "Melmouth The Wanderer" |
| | Mr. | Ravel | Paris - visited
Shakespeare & Co. |
| 32 | Connell | | Character in Normal People |
| | Marianne | | Character in Normal People |
| 34 | Mabel | Harper | Wrote column in newspaper |
| | Lathrop Colgate | Harper | Husband of Mabel and rare book dealer |
| 37 | Polly | | Nurse at asylum |
| | Dr. | Lynch | Connacht District Lunatic Asylum |
| 39 | Derrick | | Head of the department asylum |
| | Jane | Burridge | Married Lord Finley |
| | Lord | Finley | Married Jane Burridge |
| 40 | Dr. | Hughes | Dr. Lynch's assistant |
| | Patricia | | Nurse at Conacht Asylum |
| | Agatha | | Woman at table in asylum |
| | Mary | | Kind woman, roommate with Opaline in asylum |
| 41 | Logan | | Takes night course literature, chef |
| | Beverly | | Retired dental nurse, classmate |
| 45 | Sharon | | Takes care of administration at asylum |
| | Mrs. | Hughes | Works at asylum |
| 46 | Daisy | | Young girl works at asylum |
| 47 | | Clohessys | Martha's great grandparents |
| 49 | Josef | Wolffe | Brought supplies to Opaline |
| 52 | Frank | O'Dowd | Firing squad for cowardice |
| | Mr. | Turner | Journalist wrote article about brother |
| | Celine | | Opaline's mother? Lyndon doesn't know. |
| | Chantal | | Opaline's mother? Lynson doesn't know. |
| 54 | Rose | Clohessy | Martha's grandmother |
| | Alfred | Carlisle | Opaline's real father |