| | | | Part 1 |
| 1 | Edward Julius | Radcliffe | An artist. |
| | Mrs. | Mack | Birdie's adopted mother. |
| | Elodie | Winslow | An archivist. |
| | Margot | | Elodie's workmate. |
| | Mr. | Pendleton | Elodie's boss. |
| | Pippa | | Elodie's best friend. |
| | Miss | Perry | Pippa and Elodie's teacher. |
| | William | Simms | A satchel manufacturer. |
| | Lesley | Stratton-Wood | The great-niece of James Stratton. |
| 2 | James | Stratton | A gifted writer and banker. Edward's colleague. Aka: Pale Joe. |
| | Molly | | James's servant and mistress. |
| | Lauren | Adler | Elodie's mother. |
| | Alastair | | Elodie's fiancé. |
| 3 | Clare | Radcliffe | Edward's sister. |
| | Adele | Bernard | Felix's wife. |
| | Birdie | Bell | The clockmaker's daughter. Protagonist. Aka: Lily Millington. |
| | Penelope | | Alastair's mother. |
| | Mrs. | Smith | Elodie's neighbor. |
| | John | Ruskin | An art dealer. |
| | Sarah | | Jack's husband. |
| 4 | Caroline | | Pippa's art mentor. |
| | Julia Margaret | Cameron | A photographer. Ada's roommate. |
| 5 | Joseph | Bazalgette | The inventor of the Sewer System. |
| | John | Haverstock | An art dealer. James's acquaintance. |
| | Mrs. | Berry | Elodie's landlady. |
| | Judith | Davies | Elodie's doctor. |
| 6 | Martin | | Mrs. Mack's son. |
| | Fanny | Brown | Edward's fiancé. Aka: Frances. |
| | Mildred | Manning | One of Birchwood Manor's visitors. |
| | Felix | Bernard | Adele's husband. One of Edward's painting colleagues. |
| | Sarah(2) | | Lover of Birdie's father. |
| | Captain | | Mrs. Mack's brother. |
| | Jeremiah | | Friend of Birdie's father. |
| | Bernstein | | Berry's husband. Aka: Tomas. |
| 7 | Tip | Wright | Elodie's great-uncle. Birdie's friend. |
| | Charles | Wood | A lieutenant. |
| | Danny | | Fiancé of Birdie's mother. |
| | Winston | Winslow | Elodie's father. |
| | Beatrice | Wright | Tip's sister. |
| | Grendel | | Mrs. Mack's boat. |
| | Leonard | Gilbert | The man who became obsessed with Radcliffe's story. |
| | Lucy | Radcliffe | Edward's sister. |
| | | | Part 2 |
| 10 | Jack | Rolands | The man that Rosalind hired to find the Radcliffe's diamond. |
| | Rosalind | Wheeler | Jack's boss. |
| | Ada | Lovegrove | One of the students in Miss Radcliffe's school. Rosalind's great-aunt.. |
| | Thornfield | | The deputy headmistress in Birchwood Manor. |
| | Shashi | | Ada's aaya. |
| | Lady | Turner | A friend of Ada's parents. |
| 11 | Charlotte | Rogers | Ada's tormentor. |
| | May | Hawkins | Ada's tormentor. |
| | Angelica | Barry | One of Ada's fellow ramblers. |
| | Meredith | Sykes | One of Ada's fellow ramblers. |
| | Bili | | Ada's little cat. |
| 12 | Miss | Byatt | The school drama
teacher at Miss Radcliffe's school. |
| | Valerie | Miller | One of Ada's schoolmates. |
| 13 | Tom | | Leonard's brother. |
| | June | | Leonard's sister. |
| | Anthony | Baxter | Leonard's old school friend. |
| 14 | Professor | Harris | Leonard's teacher. |
| | Thurston | Holmes | Edward's fellow artist. |
| | Kitty | | Leonard's lover. |
| 16 | Nicholas | Owen | The man who designed the Birchwood Manor. |
| | Hamish | | Edward's cousin. |
| | Diana | Barker | One of Edward's models. |
| 17 | Mina | Waters | A spiritualist. |
| | Rose | | Leonard's parlor maid. |
| 18 | Mrs. | Hammett | The publican's wife. |
| | Juliet | Wright | Tip's mother. |
| | Alan | Wright | Tip's father. |
| | Jeremy | | Alan's best friend. |
| | Mr. | Tallisker | Juliet's boss. |
| 19 | Freddy | | Juliet's son. Aka: Red. |
| | Roger | Westonbury | A volunteer at Birchwood Manor. |
| | Richard | Brown | A steel company owner. Fanny's father. |
| 22 | Lauren | Bacall | A 1940s journalist. |
| | Mr. | Rufus | Juliet's hound. |
| 23 | Ben | | Jack's brother. |
| | | | Part 3 |
| | Bettina | Radcliffe | Edward's mother. |
| 25 | Emma | Stearnes | Edward's maid. |
| | Robert | Fitzroy | The inventor of the barometer. |
| 26 | Mr. | Matthews | Edward's lawyer. |
| | Jane | | Lucy's maid. |
| | Wesley | | The police inspector. |
| 29 | Richard | Middleton | A coffin maker. |
| | Peter | Bell | Birdie's father. |
| | | | Part 4 |
| 30 | Rachel | Lamb | Mrs. Hammett's daughter-in-law. |
