Tom Knelston, a young left-wing solicitor, with political ambitions
Jack Knelston, his father, the postman in West Hilton, a small Hampshire village where Tom has grown up
Mary Knelston, his mother
Colin and Arthur Knelston, his brothers
Jess Knelston, his eldest sister
lsobel Parsons, Tom’s godmother
Alan Parsons, her husband and heir to Parsons, a large department store in Hilchester, the nearby town
Miss Rivers, Tom’s teacher at primary school
Tristram Sherrin, history master at the grammar school
Angela Smithers, Tom’s first girlfriend, a salesgirl at Parsons
Pemberton & Marchant, firm of solicitors where Tom works as a trainee
Gordon Pemberton and Basil Marchant, the two partners there
Nigel Pemberton, Gordon’s son, also a trainee
Betty Foxton, secretary to the two partners
Mr Roberts, chairman of the Hilchester branch of the Labour Party
Ted Moore, Labour Party member and Tom’s champion there
Laura Leonard, a teacher and staunch member of the Labour Party
Edith, her mother
Babs, her sister
Brigadier Sir Gerald Southcott, local grandee, living at West Hilton Manor
Caroline, his wife
Diana, their beautiful, spoilt daughter
Michael, their elder son, a medical student
Richard, their younger son
Ned Welles, a fellow medical student and friend of Michael Southcott
Sir James Welles, his surgeon father, a consultant at St Peter’s, Ned’s first hospital
Sir Neil Lawson, chairman of the board of governors of St Luke’s, Ned’s second hospital
Sir Digby Harrington, on the board of governors of St Luke’s
Phillip Harrington, his son and a registrar
Jennifer, Ned’s secretary at his private practice
Persephone Welles, Ned’s beautiful mother who ran away with an artist when Ned was very young
George Tilbury, a boyfriend of Persephone’s
Susan Mills, a young patient of Ned’s
The Hon Johnathan Gunning, who Diana marries
Jamie, their son
Sir Hilary and Lady Vanessa Gunning, his parents
Piers and Timothy Gunning, Johnathan’s brothers
Catherine, a girlfriend of Johnathan’s
Sir Harold Morton, Diana’s obstetrician
Hugh Harding, her solicitor
Wendelien Bellinger, a socialite and Diana’s best friend
Ian Bellinger, her husband
Ludo Manners, good friend to Ned Welles and part of the Bellingers’ set
Cecily Manners, his wife
Betsey Southcott, married to Michael after the war, also one of the Bellingers’ set
Donald Herbert, a rich and successful businessman, and important power behind the throne of the Labour Party
Christine Herbert, his long-suffering wife
Robert Herbert, his brother, Islington solicitor, and Tom’s employer
Colin Davidson, Tom’s constituency agent
Alice Miller, a young nurse at St Thomas’ Hospital
Alec and Jean Miller, her parents
Philip Jordan, a doctor, her boyfriend
Kit, Lucy and Charlie, Alice and Tom’s children
Mrs Hartley, Tom and Alice’s kindly neighbour
Dr Redmond, their GP
Jillie Curtis, Alice’s best friend at boarding school, and a medical student
Geraldine and Peter Curtis, her rich and well connected left-wing parents
William Curtis, her uncle, a prominent obstetrician
Mrs Hemmings, cook and housekeeper to Jillie’s parents
Eleanor (Nell) Henderson, a young novelist
Julius Noble, her fiancé
Seth Gilbert, editor at Eleanor’s publishers
Patrick Brownlow, suitor of Jillie’s
Harry Campbell, the editor of the Daily News
Jarvis McIntyre, the proprietor
Clive Bedford, the political editor
Josh Curtis, his assistant and cousin of Jillie
Philippa Parry, the women’s editor
Blanche Ellis Brown, fashion editor of Style magazine
Esmé, Diana’s agent when she becomes a model
Freddie Bateman, an American photographer
Miss Dickens, the editor of American Fashion
Ottilie, her fashion editor
Leo Bennett, the diary editor of the Dispatch newspaper
His brother Marcus, a garden designer
Mark Drummond, proprietor of the Dispatch
Fiona Jenkins, a journalist on the Dispatch
Ricky Barnes, a keen young trainee reporter on the Daily Sketch newspaper
Christian Greenfell, a vicar