| Jake | Armitage | Jo's husband. A film screenwriter. |
| Josephine | Armitage | Narrator and Protagonist. Aka: Jo. |
| Beth | Conway | One of the stars of "The Sphinx". Jake's mistress. |
| Bob | Conway | Beth's husband. |
| Norl | Coward | A playwright. |
| Maria | Dante | One of the stars of "The Sphinx". |
| Ireen | Douthwaite | Jo's former friend. |
| Meg | Evans | The woman who wrote a letter to Jo. |
| Clark | Gable | An American film actor. |
| John | Hurst | One of the stars of "The Sphinx". |
| Betty | MacLaren | Jo's former classmate and friend. |
| Mrs. | Norris | The nanny of Jo's mother. |
| Mr. | Simpkin | The man that Jo hated. George's friend. |
| Clergyman's | son | The boy that Jo loves. |
| Uncle | Ted | Jo's uncle. |
| Mary | White | Jo's former classmate and friend. |
| Angela | Williams | Jo's former classmate and friend. |
| Brian | | Mary's lover. |
| David | | Jo's friend. |
| Dinah | | One of Jo's daughters. |
| Doug | | One of Jake's colleagues. |
| Eliabeth | | The current princess. |
| Eric | | Jo's friend. |
| Franco | | The general who invaded Spain. |
| George | | Jo's father. |
| Giles | | A professional violinist. Jo's 3rd husband. |
| Graham | | Jo's ex-boyfriend. |
| Major | | Dinah's father. Jo's 2nd husband. |
| Ned | | The cameraman. |
| Philpot | | Jake's colleague and mistress. |
| Poppy | | Philpot's daughter. |
| Roger | | Brian's friend. Mary's suitor. |
| William | | Driver of Jake's father. |
