| Alma Wilson |
A former schoolmate of Miriam’s now married to the writer Hypo Wilson. She corresponds to Catherine Amy Robbins Wells, wife of H. G. Wells. |
| Mrs. Bailey |
The landlady at the boarding house on Tansley Street where Miriam takes a room |
| Mrs. Barrow |
A boarder at Mrs. Bailey’s |
| Mr. Antoine Bowdoin |
A Frenchman and one of Mrs. Bailey’s boarders |
| Christine |
One of the Broom’s servants |
| Miss Eleanor Dear |
A consumptive former nurse who befriends Miriam and later betrays Miriam. She eventually marries Mr. Rodkin. |
| Donizetti |
Owner of the cafe Miriam begins to frequent |
| Emile (Emily) |
One of Mrs. Bailey’s servants |
| Eve Henderson |
Miriam’s older sister, who takes a job at a London flower shop during the course of Interim |
| Florrie Broom |
The older of the Broom sisters |
| Grace Broom |
The younger Broom sister and the one who feels closest to Miriam |
| Mr. Gunner |
One of Mrs. Bailey’s boarders. He plays the violin. |
| Mr. Hancock |
A dentist and Miriam’s employer. She will remain working for him for over eleven years. Corresponds to John Henry Badcock. |
| Harriet Henderson |
Miriam’s youngest sister, married to Gerald Ducayne |
| Mr. Helsing |
One of the two Norwegian men who board at Mrs. Bailey’s |
| Dr. Hurd |
One of the four Canadian doctors who stay at Mrs. Bailey’s. His mother and father also visit the house. |
| Hypo Wilson |
A writer of growing fame and husband of Alma Wilson. Corresponds to H. G. Wells, whom Dorothy Richardson would later have an affair with and become pregnant by, eventually losing the child to a miscarriage |
| Irishman |
A unnamed red-haired boarder at Mrs. Bailey’s |
| Jan |
Nickname of Frederika Elizabeth von Bohlen, a friend of Miriam’s who lives with Mag. The two women, lively and independent, represent the “New Women” of the late 1890s. |
| Mr. Jo-anzen |
The other Norwegian man staying at Mrs. Bailey’s |
| Mr. Leyton [Orly] |
The son of Mr. and Mrs. Orly and the youngest dentist in the practice owned by Mr. Hancock and Mr. Orley |
| Mag |
One of Miriam’s friends, slightly older, who shares a room with Jan |
| Mr. Bernard Mendizabal |
A Spanish Jew who boards at Mrs. Bailey’s and who allows the other boarders to think he is having an affair with Miriam |
| Mrs. Philps |
Grace and Florrie Broom’s aunt. To Miriam, she represents the good side of middle-class suburban life. |
| Polly Bailey |
Mrs. Bailey’s youngest daughter |
| Mr. Rodkin |
A Russian Jew and boarder at Mrs. Bailey’s. He later marries Miss Eleanor Dear. |
| Mrs. Rogers |
A tall woman who attends Mr. Bowdoin’s musical evening |
| Sarah/Sally Henderson |
Miriam’s oldest sister, correponds to Frances Kate Richardson |
| Sissie Bailey |
Mrs. Bailey’s younger daughter, whom Miriam tutors in French |
| Strelinsky |
A violinist that Mr. Mendizabal introduces to Miriam at Ruscino’s cafe |
| Dr. von Heber |
One of the Canadian doctors staying at Mrs. Bailey’s. He develops an attraction to Miriam that is broken when he suspects her of having an affair with Mr. Mendizabal. |
| Dr. Wayneflete |
One of the Canadian doctors staying at Mrs. Bailey’s. Dr. Hurd describes him as “a genius.” |
| Dr. Winchester |
The oldest of the four Canadian doctors. |
I’m on my approx 10th reading of Pilgrimage and I’m still learning and sorting out characters. Does anyone have any idea who Mag and Jan were based on?
Mag was based on Mabel Heath, who Richardson came to know through her sister Alice (Eve in Pilgrimage). As she wrote her sister Jessie in 1946,
From Windows on Modernism: Selected Letters of Dorothy Richardson, p. 537.