CHARACTERS

THE FALCONERS

Philip Henry Rosewood Falconer, founder of the dynasty; a head butler

Esther Marie Falconer, his wife and co-founder of the dynasty; a head housekeeper

THEIR SONS

Matthew Falconer, his eldest son and heir; a stall owner at the Malvern Market

George Falconer, a noted journalist on The Chronicle daily newspaper

Harry Falconer, a chef and owner of a café, the Rendezvous

THEIR GRANDCHILDREN (MATTHEW’S OFFSPRING)

James Lionel, an ambitious young businessman on the rise

Rosalind, known as Rossi, a seamstress

Edward Albert, assistant to his father on the stalls

THEIR DAUGHTER-IN-LAW

Maude Falconer, Matthew’s wife and mother of his children; a seamstress

THE VENABLESES

Clarence Venables, Esther Falconer’s brother-in-law, great-uncle of James Falconer, owner of a shipping company in Hull

Marina Venables, Clarence’s wife and younger sister of Esther Falconer. Great-aunt of James Falconer; a noted artist

THEIR CHILDREN

William, eldest son and heir, working at the Hull shipping company

Albert, second son, working at the Hull shipping company

THEIR DAUGHTER-IN-LAW

Anne Venables, Albert’s wife

THE MALVERNS

Henry Ashton Malvern, owner of the Malvern Company, a big business enterprise and real estate company

Alexis Malvern, his only child and heir; a partner in the business

Joshua Malvern, his late brother and business partner

Percy Malvern, his cousin, who runs the wine business in La Havre

THE TREVALIANS

Claudia Trevalian, eldest daughter and heir of the late Sebastian Trevalian

Lavinia Trevalian, sister of Claudia

Marietta Trevalian, sister of Claudia

Dorothea Trevalian Rayburn, an art collector and member of the Trevalian private bank’s board; sister of the late Sebastian; now the head of the family

Cornelius Glendenning, Claudia’s husband, a banker, now running the Trevalian private bank in London

THE CARPENTERS

Lord Reginald Carpenter, a publishing tycoon and proprietor of The Chronicle

Lady Jane Cadwalander Carpenter, his wife

THEIR DAUGHTERS

Jasmine, a debutante

Lilah, a debutante

THEIR TWIN SONS

Sebastian and Keir, born in March 1889

THE PARKINSONS

Maurice Parkinson, a well-known biographer, journalist, and academic

Ekaterina, known as Kat, his wife, descended from the Shuvalovs

THEIR CHILDREN

Natalya, eldest daughter, known as Natalie, assistant to Alexis Malvern, in charge of the arcades

Irina, second daughter, a dress designer

Alexander, son, known as Sandro, a theatrical designer of stage scenery

(All three children are English born.)