Anen—Friend of Arthur Flinders-Petrie, High Priest of the Temple of Amun in Egypt, 18th dynasty.
Archelaeus Burleigh, Earl of Sutherland—Nemesis of Flinders-Petrie, Cosimo, Kit, and all right-thinking people.
Arthur Flinders-Petrie—Also known as The Man Who Is Map, patriarch of his line. Begat Benedict, who begat Charles, who begat Douglas.
Friar Roger Bacon—An early philosopher, scientist, and theologian who worked and taught first at Paris and then Oxford from around 1240 to 1290; he has been called Doctor Mirabilis for his wonderful teaching.
Balthazar Bazalgette—The Lord High Alchemist at the Court of Emperor Rudolf II in Prague, friend and confidant of Wilhelmina.
Benedict Flinders-Petrie—The son of Arthur and Xian-Li, and father of Charles.
Burley Men—Con, Dex, Mal, and Tav. Lord Burleigh’s henchmen. They keep a Stone Age cat called Baby.
Charles Flinders-Petrie—Son of Benedict and father of Douglas, he is grandson of Arthur.
Cosimo Christopher Livingstone, the Elder, aka Cosimo —A Victorian gentleman who seeks to reunite the Skin Map and understand the key to the future.
Cosimo Christopher Livingstone, the Younger, aka Kit—Cosimo’s great-grandson.
Dardok—The head of the River City Clan whom Kit first encounters in the Stone Age; also known as Big Hunter.
Douglas Flinders-Petrie—Son of Charles, and great-grandson of Arthur; he is quietly pursuing his own search for the Skin Map, one piece of which is in his possession.
Emperor Rudolf II—King of Bohemia and Hungary, Archduke of Austria and King of the Romans, he is also known as the Holy Roman Emperor and is quite mad.
Engelbert Stiffelbeam—A baker from Rosenheim in Germany, affectionately known as Etzel.
En-Ul—The elder statesman of the River City Clan.
Giles Standfast—Sir Henry Fayth’s coachman and Kit’s ally.
Gustavus Rosenkreuz—The Chief Assistant to the Lord High Alchemist and Wilhelmina’s ally.
Lady Haven Fayth—Sir Henry’s headstrong and mercurial niece.
Sir Henry Fayth, Lord Castlemain—Member of the Royal Society, staunch friend and ally of Cosimo. Haven’s uncle.
Snipe—Feral child and malignant aide to Douglas Flinders-Petrie.
Turms— A king of Etruria, one of the Immortals, and a friend of Arthur; he oversees the birth of Benedict Flinders-Petrie when Xian-Li’s pregnancy becomes problematic.
Wilhelmina Klug, aka Mina—In another life, a London baker and Kit’s girlfriend. In this life, owns Prague’s Grand Imperial Kaffeehaus with Etzel.
Dr. Thomas Young—Physician, scientist, a certified polymath with a keen interest in the archaeology of ancient Egypt, his astonishing breadth and depth of accomplishment led to his epithet: “The Last Man in the World to Know Everything.”
Xian-Li—Wife of Arthur Flinders-Petrie and mother of Benedict; daughter of the tattooist Wu Chen Hu of Macao.