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