| | | | The Anchoress |
| 1 | Katherine H. | Milton | Wealthy socialite living the good life in New York City.
Aka: Kitty. |
| | Miss | Scrivener | A teacher. |
| | Ogden Moss | Milton | Kitty's husband. Aka: Og. |
| | Neddy | | One of Kitty's children. |
| | Ogden Moss | Milton Jr. | One of Kitty's children. aka: Moss. |
| | Joan | | One of Kitty's children. aka: Joanie. |
| | Harriet | | Ogden's mother. |
| | Franklin D. | Roosevelt | 32nd President of the United States. |
| | Bernhard | Walser | A businessman. |
| | Gertrude | | Bernhard Walser's wife. |
| | Elsa Walser | Hoffman | Bernhard's daughter. |
| | Gerhard | Hoffman | Elsa's husband. aka: Getan. |
| | Franz | | Gerhard's brother. |
| | Herr | Josten | Bernhard's acquaintance. |
| | Private | Muller | A soldier. |
| | Bill | Moffat | A writer. |
| | Colonel | Rutzbahr | One of the German officers. |
| | Colonel Rudy | Putzgraff | One of the German officers. |
| | Wilhelm | Hoffman | Elsa's son. aka: Willy. |
| | Mrs. | Phipps | Kitty's mother's friend. |
| | John D. | Rockefeller | Head of the Standard Oil Company. One of the world's richest men. |
| | Miss | Lowenstein | Kitty's acquaintance. |
| | Johnny | | A doorman. |
| | Frank | | An elevator man. |
| | Duncan | Houghton | Kitty's cousin. aka: Dunc. |
| | Evelyn | | Kitty's youngest child. |
| | John Singer | Sargent | A painter. |
| | Sarah | Porter | A teacher. |
| 2 | Evie | Milton | Joan's daughter. |
| | Paul | Schlesinger | Evie's husband. |
| | Seth | | Evie's son. |
| | Minerva | | Evie's cousin. aka: Min. |
| 3 | Mrs. | Withers | Kitty's acquaintance. |
| 4 | Honey | Schermerhorn | Evie's oldest friend. |
| | Franz | Ferdinand | Austrian archduke. |
| 5 | Adolf | Hitler | The leader of the Nazi Party. |
| | Francisco | Franco | The head of the government of Spain. |
| | Benito | Mussolini | Italian political leader who became the fascist dictator of Italy. |
| | Paul Joseph | Goebbels | A master orator and propagandist. |
| 6 | Harry | Lowell Jr. | Ogden Milton's friend. |
| | Joseph | Stalin | The ruler of the Soviet Union. |
| | Theodore | Roosevelt | 26th president of the United States. |
| | Charles | Lindberg | Ogden's acquaintance. aka: Lindy. |
| 7 | Hazel | Graves | Evie's colleague. |
| 8 | Mrs. | Winslow | Kitty's acquaintance. |
| | Priss | | Duncan's wife. |
| | Sally | Lowell | Harry Lowell's wife. |
| | Solly | Weinberg | Ogden's acquaintance. aka: Sol. |
| | Dick | Sherman | Milton's lawyer. |
| | Susie | Bancroft | Solly Weinberg's acquaintance. |
| | Jo | | Granny Houghton's gardener. |
| 9 | Henry H. | Pratt | Evie's eldest cousin. |
| | Dr. | Conklin | Seth's professor. |
| 10 | Mr. | Crockett | Former owner of the house. |
| 11 | Harry | Lowell Sr. | Harry Lowell Jr.'s father. |
| | William | Shakespeare | English playwright and poet. |
| | Reinhard | Heydrich | A Nazi German official. |
| 12 | Jessie | | A cook. |
| | Polly | Ames | Crocketts' daughter. |
| | Fenno | Weld | Mrs. Ames' boy. |
| | Frank | Warren | A promoter. |
| | | | A Cappella |
| 13 | Winston | Churchill | British Prime Minister. |
| | Barney | Rosset | Joan's boss. |
| | D.H. | Lawrence | An English writer. |
| | Henry | Miller | An American writer and artist. |
| | William S. | Burroughs | American novelist, short story writer, essayist and painter. |
| | Allen | Ginsberg | American poet and writer. |
| | Leonard | Levy | Ogden's employee. aka: Len. |
| | Dr. | Southworth | Joan's physician. |
| | Norman | Mailer | Moss' acquaintance. |
| | Reginald | Pauling | African-American writer. aka: Reg. |
| | James Arthur | Baldwin | American novelist, playwright, essayist, poet, and activist. |
| | Emmett | Till | African-American murder victim. |
| 14 | Daryl | Norton | One of both Evie and Paul's most trusted sparring partner. |
| | Mrs. | Astor | Evie's acquaintance. |
| | Maud | | Evie's aunt. |
| | Jonathan | | Evie's great-uncle. |
| | Henry | James | American novelist. |
| | Nathaniel | Hawthorne | American novelist, dark romantic and short story writer. |
| | Eleanor | Roosevelt | Former First Lady of the United States. |
| | Macaulay | Culkin | American actor. |
| | Mrs. | Meecham | Ogden's employee. |
| | Proc | Smedley | Ogden's acquaintance. |
| | Jack | Higginson | Ogden's business partner. |
| | Addie | | Jack's wife. |
| | Whit | Lord | Joan's acquaintance. |
| | Mr. | Bacharach | A photographer. |
| | Sarah | Pratt | Dickie's mother. |
| | Dickie | Pratt | Evelyn's fiancé. aka: Dick. |
| 16 | Miles | Davis | American trumpeter, bandleader and composer. |
| | Sigmund | Freud | Austrian neurologist. The founding father of psychoanalysis. |
| | Cassius | Clay | Christian name of Muhammad Ali. |
| | Ornette | Coleman | American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer. |
| | Pres | Bancroft | A banker at Milton Higginson. |
| | Jean | | Moss' acquaintance. |
| 18 | Charles | Dickens | English writer and social critic. |
| | Jane | Austen | English novelist. |
| | Ralph | Ellison | American novelist, literary critic, scholar and writer. |
| | Saul | Bellow | Canadian-American writer. |
| | Augie | March | Australian indie/pop rock band. |
| 20 | Dwight D. | Eisenhower | 34th U.S. President. |
| 21 | Larkin | Reed | An author. |
| 22 | Jack | Slade | American criminal. |
| 24 | Lorraine | Hansberry | American playwright and writer. |
| | Philly Joe | Jones | A drummer. |
| | Jim | Mollow | A trumpeter. |
| 25 | Young Dick | Sherman | Moss' classmate. |
| | Shepherd | Pratt | One of Evie's cousin. aka: Shep. |
| | Harriet | | One of Evie's cousin. |
| | Charles | Levy | Len Levy's son. aka: Charlie. |
| | | | The Island |
| 26 | Alice | | Kitty's aunt. |
| | William | | Kitty's uncle. |
| | Anne | Pratt | Dickie's sister. aka: Annie. |
| | Roger | Pratt | Dickie's father. |
| | Mrs. | Hunnicut | One of Milton's acquaintances. |
| 27 | Jimmy | Ames | Milton's caretaker. |
| 28 | Aldo | Weld | Chairman of the Philosophy Department at Harvard. |
| | Fanny | | A lecturer. |
| | Abby | | Evelyn's friend. |
| | Griswold | Adams | One of Ogden's acquaintances. |
| | Mike | Wallace | One of Ogden's acquaintances. |
| | Adlai | Stevenson | 23rd vice president of the United States. |
| | George | | Miles Davis' drummer. |
| | Malcolm X | | African American civil rights leader. |
| 29 | Cole | Porter | American composer and songwriter. |
| 30 | Eddie | Fenwick | Anne Pratt's husband. |
| | Mrs. | Marstead | A cook. |
| 33 | Anthony | Trollope | English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. |
| | Gary | Cooper | American actor. |
| 35 | | Evans | A principal. |
| 36 | Possy | | Charlie's daughter. |
| 38 | Franny | | Joan's cousin. |
| | Peggy | | One of Milton's guests. |
| | Babs | | One of Milton's guests. |
| | Oatsie | Matthews | One of Milton's guests. |
| | Cy | Matthews | One of Milton's guests. |
| | Teeni | | One of Milton's guests. |
| | Bing | Lamont | One of Milton's guests. |
| | Constance | Ludlow | Teeni and Bing's daughter. |
| | Elliot | Lamont | Constance's husband. |
| | Fillmore | Baker Jr. | One of Milton's guests. |
| | Granny | Baker | One of Milton's guests. |
| | Fillmore Sr. | | One of Milton's guests. |
| | Mrs. | Cheever | One of Milton's guests. |
| | Mrs. | Gould | One of Milton's guests. |
| | Maisie | Cunningham | One of Milton's guests. |
| | Bill | | Maisie's brother. |
