Eliza is a Scottish Catholic woman who serves as the housekeeper and primary confidante to her cousin, author William Ainsworth. Left without parental access to her son after her husband abandoned her, she relies strictly on William for housing and stability. She possesses a sharp intellect and holds strong opinions on abolition. She frequently masks her true thoughts to maintain her position in a male-dominated literary household.

William is an aging Victorian novelist whose literary fame has severely diminished over the decades. He writes melodramatic, heavily stylized fiction about places and cultural slang he has no firsthand experience with. He ignores his own privilege and relies entirely on Eliza to manage his household and emotional stability.

Sarah is an illiterate former maid who becomes William Ainsworth's second wife. Born to a sex worker and descended from deported convicts, she retains fierce pride in her working-class heritage despite her sudden elevation in social status. She actively follows the Tichborne Claimant case and uses the populist movement to express her frustrations with the British aristocracy.

Andrew is a Black man born into enslavement on the Hope plantation in Jamaica. Brought to England by the wealthy Tichborne family, he spends decades serving the English aristocracy. He acts as a key witness in the Tichborne Claimant trial, maintaining a calm public persona that masks his quiet resilience.

Henry is Andrew Bogle's youngest son, born in Australia. Unlike his father, Henry actively confronts British racism and refuses to adopt a subservient posture. A confident orator, he actively coordinates his father's public appearances for the Tichborne campaign.

Anaso is Andrew Bogle's father, originally born into a powerful African tribe before being kidnapped and enslaved in Jamaica. Renamed Nonesuch Bogle by a Scottish overseer to mock his natural pride, he uses his sharp intelligence to secure clerical work. This strategic move spares both himself and his son from lethal manual labor on the plantation.

Frances is William Ainsworth's first wife. Raised in a Baptist household that instilled strong abolitionist values, she passes these political convictions on to Eliza. She suffers from poor health and deep sorrow stemming from William's prolonged absences and blatant neglect of their family.

Charles Dickens is an extraordinarily famous British novelist whose career trajectory continually frustrates William Ainsworth. While beloved by the public for championing the poor in his fiction, in private he exhibits a massive ego and dismissive attitude toward women's political opinions.

Arthur Orton, widely known as the Tichborne Claimant, is a man who insists he is the shipwrecked aristocrat Sir Roger Tichborne. Speaking with a commoner's accent and lacking classical education, he becomes a populist hero for the working classes, who view his legal battles as a symbol of their own fight against aristocratic gatekeeping.

Edward Tichborne is an English nobleman acting as an agent for his family's estates. Impressed by Andrew Bogle's capabilities in Jamaica, he brings the young man to England as a servant, fundamentally altering the trajectory of Bogle's life.

Myra is an enslaved woman on the Hope plantation who suffers extreme physical abuse from overseers. Deeply skeptical of British promises of emancipation, she finds inspiration in the Haitian revolution and instills a strong sense of reality in her son.

Mr. Ballard is a Scottish plantation manager in Jamaica. Overwhelmed by the brutal reality of running the estate for absentee owners, he relies heavily on Anaso's knowledge of the enslaved community to maintain order.

Roger Elletson is the biracial son of the late plantation owner and a Black woman. Despite his own marginalized heritage, he internalizes white supremacist ideologies and treats darker-skinned enslaved people with open cruelty.

Edward Kenealy is an Irish writer and lawyer defending the Tichborne Claimant. Known for his aggressive courtroom tactics, he carries a dark personal history of abuse that alienated him from former literary friends like William Ainsworth.

Miss Jackson is a Black singer performing in London. She maintains strong boundaries, openly showing relief when she does not have to explain her life story or background to curious white audience members like Eliza.