Characters

     A young women in her mid-20s. She is impeccably dressed as befitting her station as a society widow, but her clothes at present are slightly out of fashion, being from finest shops in Glasgow. She has evidently been living primarily on her own during the two years since her husband passed away. In conversation she is often outspoken, but she tries to hide her gaelic twinge of accent. Her hair is oddly short and not put up, and she smokes cigarettes.

     Mrs. Brookmyre-Kingsley is a socialist teacher and freethinker, and the widow of Mr. Stephenson Kingsley Jr., who was presumed dead two years ago (in 1885) when he went missing during an expedition in central America. She lives in the West End in a place of her own, though she is welcome at the home of her late husband's family. These days, she busies herself with her work in the East End teaching working women. She associates with various Free-thinkers and Fabians, such as George Bernard Shaw. She is a skeptic of the supernatural, but she is intrigued by the Art of Memory and has been casually studying it. She seems to know a lot about breweries and beer and liquor.

     A cultured man in his early fifties, by profession a librarian, philologist, and literary scholar working for the British Museum. He is a member of the Apostles Club at Cambridge. He is outspoken in his criticism of British academic philology, but failed to obtain a professorship at either Oxford or Cambridge. Readers of the Gentleman's Magazine may also have noticed his frequent letters there. He is married with two daughters, but they are rarely present. If pressed, he will inform that his wife moved to drier climes on the Continent for her health. In conversation he is feisty, arrogant, and condesending -- but also brilliant.

     Coneybeare (which he will insist is pronounced 'kenber'), went to University in Germany. There he took up mountaineering, and also met and married his wife Henrietta. Much to his dismay, he has an uncle who is a popular stage actor -- a fact which he feels has often caused him to be slighted. He is a skeptic on spiritualism and most popular superstition. However, he does strongly believe that there was magic in the world in earlier ages -- and further he believes that through philology of middle ages, the secrets of this magical thinking can be unlocked.

     A young society woman of 26, the daughter of Mrs. Stephenson Kingsley. Miss Kingsley is an active philanthropist for progressive social causes.

     A tall and good-looking aristocratic man of 37. By profession, he is a professor at Cambridge, stying native belief or "fetish". He is unmarried, and well-travelled in both the Old and New worlds. He has rugged good looks and an athletic frame, but his nose has been broken from his hobby of boxing. In conversation, he often gets very excited and animated when talking about his theories. He uses a round gilded snuffbox curiously worked with the barbaric hieroglyphs of the Aztecs. The snuff itself is mixed with cocaine.

     He is the son of Mrs. Stephenson Kingsley, and currently in line for the peerage after his unmarried uncle. He had an identical twin brother, Stephenson Jr., as well as a younger sister Helen. However, Stephenson Jr. is currently missing and presumed dead, after mysteriously disappearing in Mexico 2 years ago. Currently, he lives with his mother Mrs. Stephenson Kingsley (widowed) and his younger sister, Helen, in London. Helen is a philanthropist who funds various causes (and is friends with Lydia). Lydia is Stephenson Kingsley's widow.

     An elderly society woman (58 years old), the mother of three and widow of Mr. Stephenson Kingsley Sr.

     ...

     A painter of some reknown. 32 years old. Upper middle class. Medium height and build. Speaks several continental languages. Indulges in rich fabrics in otherwise respectable clothing. Unmarried, his mother and sister.

32. A society painter, based on John Singer Sargent Speaks German, Spanish, Italian, and more. Grew up travelling all over Europe. Unmarried. Has his own place but mother and sister live nearby. Major takes photographs and tries to photograph an image of a spirit - he believes his dead sister Lily visits him. (Kirilian auras). Guin let us know he was gay but this wasn't apparent in the game.

     A young man of 20. He wears dark suits of quality make, but strays from fashion in how he wears and cares for them. He often has a rumbled look which he attempts to pass as romantic among artistic crowds, and wears his hair slightly too long. A calloused finger and thumb indicate he's a student, but the mark of a hip flash from which he drinks indicates his wayward streak. In conversation, he has trouble keeping a civil tongue. He does not hold his family in high regard, but appears to have a significant allowance.

     Background: Henry (or "Harry" to his friends) is the son of a wealthy factory owner and a senior at King's College, Cambridge. He is often overintellectual, yet often bursts out in crude or inappropriate comments. He is often angry at father, and makes bitter comments against his industrialist family and how they expect him to go into that boring old factory.

     Mid 40s. A doctor. A lesser son of a lesser landed family from the north. Always impeccably dressed. Most likely a surgeon since his cuffs and collars appear to be replaced with alarming frequency. Treats the afflictions of the 'sporting classes'. Appears to have been trained on the Continent. Tall, greying. Unmarried.

Gordon - Alain Westerbrook . A doctor. From a lesser landed family in the north/scots border. Impeccably dressed. Sometimes overlaundering, overshining of cuffs and shoes, as if his clothing had been very stained and had to be harshly laundered. (ie covered in blood) Reputation of being very much in demand in certain circles for treaiting fainting spells, innocuous maladies. Educated partly on the continent. Tall, starting to grey, mid to late 40s. Unmarried. An amateur lepidopterist. Kinglsley brings him butterflies. (Alchemy as model of the human mind - like Jung) Coneybeare calls him "Alsie" - they knew each other in whatever Swabian university they both went to.