† deceased before story begins
[not mentioned]
fictional
Bonaparte family:
- Mother: Letizia (Madame Mère)
- Uncle: Cardinal Fesch, Letizia’s step-brother
- Joseph (wife Julie)
- Napoleon (wife Josephine; second wife Marie-Louise of Austria)
- Lucien (second wife Alexandrine)
- Elisa (husband Felix Bacciochi)
- Louis (wife Hortense, daughter of Josephine)
- Pauline (also Paolina, Paoletta)
- Caroline (husband Joachim Murat)
- Jerome (second wife Catherine of Württemberg)
leclerc family:
- Victor Emmanuel Leclerc†, Pauline’s first husband
- Dermide Leclerc, Pauline’s son
- Adolphe Leclerc, Victor’s uncle and Sophie’s grandfather
- Sophie Leclerc, Victor’s cousin (once removed); ward of Napoleon
- Charles Speare, British officer on Elba, Sophie’s husband
Borghese family:
- Camillo Filippo Ludovico, Prince Borghese
- Anna Maria, Dowager Princess Borghese, Camillo’s mother, widow of Prince
- Marcantonio
- Francesco Borghese, Camillo’s younger brother, later Prince Borghese
- [Marcantonio Borghese, Francesco's son, Prince Borghese, named for his grand
father] - Lady Gwendolyn Talbot, wife of Marcantonio
- Agnese Borghese, daughter of Gwendolyn and Marcantonio
Pauline’s Household (figures serve at various times):
- Madame Ducluzel, housekeeper
- Doctor Peyre
- Carlotta, nursemaid
- Nunzia, Sophie’s maid
- Auguste de Forbin, count, Pauline’s chamberlain
- Felix Blangini, music master
CAMILLO’s Household:
- Maxime de Villemarest, secretary
- Matteo, manservant
- Bettina, family attendant, sister of Matteo
- Doctor Vastapani, court doctor at Turin
other important characters:
- Luigi Angiolini di Serraverra, Italian diplomat
- Gian Andrea Visconti, young Milanese aristocrat
- Chevalier de St.-Luc, royalist French agent in Rome
- Prince Georg, heir to Grand Duchy of Mecklenberg-Strelitz
- Antonio Canova, sculptor
- Duchess Lante della Rovere, Camillo’s mistress (and cousin)
