Annabel is the inquisitive, intelligent younger daughter of a wealthy American family. Unlike peers who focus exclusively on advantageous marriages, she harbors a deep passion for literature and British history. She initially resents being managed but soon forms a strong intellectual bond with her new governess.

Ushant is a young British peer burdened by the immense responsibilities of his title and massive properties. Formal and traditional, he treats his aristocratic duties with absolute seriousness and expects obedience from his household. He seeks a wife who will conform to his rigid expectations of duty, preferring someone inexperienced in the mechanisms of his rank.

Miss Laura is a pragmatic Anglo-Italian governess with a distinguished artistic lineage. She interprets the complex social codes of both American newcomers and the British aristocracy with quiet intelligence. Though her employment is precarious, she is fiercely loyal to her charges and uses her cultural knowledge to enrich their lives.

Guy is the pragmatic heir to the impoverished Honourslove estate. Unlike many idle British aristocrats, he chooses to work abroad as an engineer to earn the money necessary to save his family home. He possesses an independent character and values personal integrity over societal expectations.

Virginia is the elder St. George sister, celebrated for her exceptional beauty and composed demeanor. She is perfectly suited for the upper-class marriage market, valuing status and social security. She easily adapts to the expectations of aristocratic life and focuses intently on securing a titled British husband.

Lizzy is a quick-witted, highly strategic young American woman seeking social advancement. She possesses a keen understanding of group dynamics and marriage politics, often observing the weaknesses of her rivals. She is willing to sacrifice her own immediate opportunities if it ensures a collective victory for her friends.

Conchita is a free-spirited young woman of Brazilian-American heritage. Her family's social ambiguity and casual habits make her a subject of gossip among traditional New York elites. Her early engagement to a British lord serves as the catalyst that inspires the other American families to seek aristocratic matches overseas.

Mrs. St. George is a highly class-conscious mother desperate to secure prestigious marriages for her daughters. Frustrated by her family's exclusion from the most elite New York circles, she directs her ambitions toward the British aristocracy. She constantly catalogs social threats and resents her husband's business ties to less respectable families.

Colonel St. George is a wealthy American businessman with a fondness for gambling and questionable company. He is more concerned with profitable financial alliances than with the rigid social protocols his wife obsesses over. His immense wealth finances his family's transatlantic ambitions.

Mrs. Elmsworth is a loud, exuberant American mother who seeks the best social opportunities for her girls. Though her family has experienced financial losses, she remains a determined presence in the competitive marriage market and frequently coordinates with the other American mothers.

Mabel is the younger Elmsworth sister. Initially seen as awkward and bony, she follows her sister and friends into the social frays of London, observing the strategies necessary for an advantageous marriage.

Mrs. Closson is a mysterious woman with Brazilian heritage whose social standing is heavily scrutinized by the traditional American elite. She is indulgent with her children and relies on her husband's wealth to maintain their extravagant lifestyle.

Teddy is Conchita's lively, somewhat raucous brother. He is known for practical jokes, late-night gatherings, and playing the guitar, representing the disruptive, energetic spirit of the American newcomers.

Lord Richard is the younger son of a prominent British aristocratic family, currently working on a South American estate. His swift engagement to Conchita introduces the American families to the possibilities of transatlantic marriages, though his past holds rumors of scandalous behavior.

Lady Brightlingsea is a reserved but commanding British aristocrat. She is highly skeptical of American manners and anxious about the financial stability of her children's marriages, relying on intermediaries to manage the influx of wealthy foreigners.

Lord Brightlingsea is a British aristocrat entirely absorbed in maintaining his historical properties. He operates with polite distance, evaluating the wealthy American guests purely on their ability to finance his failing estate.

Lord Seadown is the eldest son of the Brightlingsea family. He is a quiet, somewhat passive aristocrat who needs a wealthy bride to settle his debts and escape a costly previous romantic entanglement.

Miss Jacqueline is an expatriate American living in London who works as a discreet, pragmatic matchmaker. Having experienced romantic tragedy in her own youth, she now uses her extensive social connections to help wealthy American girls secure positions within the British aristocracy.

Sir Helmsley is an elderly British aristocrat heavily burdened by the declining wealth of his historic estate. Proud of his lineage and protective of his home's cultural treasures, he reluctantly sells family art to maintain his lifestyle and is highly suspicious of the new American social climbers.

The Dowager Duchess is a rigid, deeply traditional matriarch who prioritizes duty, decorum, and the preservation of the Tintagel estate above all else. She strictly enforces aristocratic protocols and expects absolute conformity from the younger generation.

Lady Churt is a well-connected, aggressive British aristocrat. She views the American newcomers as intruders and acts with hostility when her own social and romantic positions are threatened by their arrival.

Hector is a confident, ambitious Member of Parliament with industrial wealth. A keen social climber, he seeks to elevate his status by aligning himself with the sharp-witted American women, recognizing their potential to disrupt the old order.

Cyril Dinsmore is a discreet, professional solicitor who advises the British aristocracy on legal strategies to protect their titles, wealth, and public reputations.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti is an aging, famous British poet and painter who maintains an eccentric household. He relies on assistants and wealthy patrons to mass-produce his artistic works.

Lady Glenloe is a brisk, active British hostess who manages her household with practicality rather than pomp. She provides a refreshing contrast to the rigid atmosphere of other aristocratic homes.

Corisande is one of Lady Glenloe's daughters, raised in a bustling, practical environment that encourages her genuine youthfulness and curiosity.

Kitty is the younger Glenloe daughter, enjoying a relatively carefree and intellectually stimulated upbringing far removed from strict London high society.