| Adela |
An actress, staying at Granville Place, Miriam’s previous lodging, who plays Esther Summerson |
| 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. |
| Dr. Bentley |
A friend of Mr. Hancock’s |
| Mrs. Binkley |
A friend of Alma and Hypo Wilson’s |
| Bob Greville |
An aging bachelor interested in Miriam |
| Mr. & Mrs. Bollingdon |
Friends of Harriett and Gerald Ducayne (Miriam’s sister and brother-in-law |
| Buck |
A young roué who is a patient of Mr. Orly |
| Mr. & Mrs. Canfield |
Cousins of Mr. Hancock |
| Lady Cazalet |
A patient with an urgent toothache |
| Miss Dear |
A consumptive former nurse who befriends Miriam — although, as it turns out, mostly to take advantage of her as a visitor and companion during a hospital stay |
| Dr. Densley |
One of Miss Dear’s doctors, a tall, elegant Scot “of the warm heart and wooden head” |
| Mr. Dollard |
A newspaperman and one of Mr. Hancock’s patients |
| Elspeth Ducayne |
Harriett and Gerald Ducayne’s daughter |
| Emma |
The maid at Mr. Hancock’s office |
| Gerald Ducayne |
Husband of Harriett, Miriam’s youngest sister. Corresponds to Jack Hale. |
| Gilbert Haze |
An ailing artist whose studio Miriam visits with Miss Szigmondy |
| The Greens |
The family with two young girls for whom Eve Henderson works as a governess. Miriam visits them in Chapter 27. |
| Mr. Grove |
A friend of Gerald Ducayne’s who shows interest in Miriam |
| Mr. Hancock |
A dentist and Miriam’s employer. She will remain working for him for over eleven years. Corresponds to John Henry Badcock. |
| Harriett Ducayne |
Miriam’s youngest sister, now married to Gerald Ducayne. Corresponds to Jessie Abbot Richardson. |
| Henry Irving |
A real-life character, considered the greatest actor of the Victorian era. Miriam sees him perform at the Lyceum Theatre |
| Mrs. Herrman |
A patient of Mr. Hancock’s, whose bill Miriam deals with in Chapter 3. |
| 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. |
| Miss James |
The head parlormaid at the Wimpole Street dental practice. |
| 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. |
| Jimmy |
Mr. Winthrop’s assistant |
| Mr. Leyton |
Mr. Orly’s son, the youngest dentist in the practice |
| Mag |
One of Miriam’s friends, slightly older, who shares a room with Jan |
| Major Moke |
One of Mr. Orly’s patients |
| Mr. Orly |
The senior partner in Mr. Hancock’s practice, whose family lives at the Wimpole Street offices |
| Pierson |
Mag and Jan’s landlady, probably also a prostitute |
| Mr. & Mrs. Pinner |
A big man with a crest like a cockatoo and his wife, neighbors of the Wilsons |
| Sarah/Sally Henderson |
Miriam’s oldest sister, correponds to Frances Kate Richardson |
| Miss Teresa Szigmondy |
An Austro-Hungarian Jewish woman, an acquaintance of Mr. Hancock, who takes Miriam on a visit to artists’ studios in Hampstead |
| Mr. Taunton |
A “poor little man” who falls for Miss Dear |
| Ted Burton |
One of Miriam’s early admirers |
| Mr. Tremayne |
A young man interested in Miriam |
| Basil Wilberforce |
A real-life character, the Canon of Westminster |
| Winthrop |
The head dental technician at Mr. Hancock’s practice |
| Mr. Wontner |
Mr. Hancock’s first patient in the book |