Characters
- Polly Hampton, the daughter of Lord and Lady Montdore, is renowned for her beauty but not much else
- Lady Montdore, Polly's abrasive, narcissistic and inconsiderate mother
- Lord Montdore, Polly's kindly and rather dull father and the previous Viceroy of India
- Fanny Wincham, the narrator, is a distant cousin of Polly's and a frequent visitor of the family
- Cedric Hampton, the heir to Hampton and a close friend of Fanny's, is flagrantly homosexual and extremely charming. He causes a great deal of gossip and scandal, yet most people are won over by his charm once they meet him. Once he arrives at Hampton, he spends most of his time making over his aunt
- Harvey "Boy" Dougdale, husband of Lord Montdore's sister Patricia and later the husband of Polly Hampton. Boy is bisexual and known for his extremely active sex life
- Lady Patricia Dougdale, whom Polly is said to resemble, is the wife of Boy Dougdale. Patricia pined for Boy for several years before he finally married her, but within six months of the wedding Patricia became aware of her husband's extramarital affairs. She was long afflicted with ill health and her death is a major plot point in the story
- Davey Warbeck, Fanny's uncle and close friend of the Montdores and the Alconleighs
- Jassy Radlett, Fanny's cousin, is a regular visitor who never fails to cheer up Fanny
- Victoria Radlett, Jassy's younger sister, and likewise one of Fanny's most welcome visitors
- Matthew Alconleigh, father of Jassy and Victoria and uncle to Fanny, Matthew is notable for his intense loathing of Cedric Hampton
- Sadie Alconleigh, Fanny's aunt and mother of Jassy and Victoria, is a close friend of the Montdores
- Alfred Wincham, an Oxford don and Fanny's husband. Although Fanny often claims that she and her husband are perfectly suited for one another, Alfred is often dismissive of his wife's behavior and interests
- Norma Boreley, Fanny's neighbor, is one of her closest friends despite their many differences in temperament
- Mrs. Chaddesley Corbett, the most popular and prominent socialite of her day and an important visitor at Hampton
- Fabrice de Sauveterre, a wealthy French duke and a guest at Hampton. Sauveterre is a major character in The Pursuit of Love
Read more about this topic: Love In A Cold Climate
Famous quotes containing the word characters:
“To marry a man out of pity is folly; and, if you think you are going to influence the kind of fellow who has “never had a chance, poor devil,” you are profoundly mistaken. One can only influence the strong characters in life, not the weak; and it is the height of vanity to suppose that you can make an honest man of anyone.”
—Margot Asquith (1864–1945)
“Children pay little attention to their parent’s teachings, but reproduce their characters faithfully.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“Of all the characters I have known, perhaps Walden wears best, and best preserves its purity. Many men have been likened to it, but few deserve that honor. Though the woodchoppers have laid bare first this shore and then that, and the Irish have built their sties by it, and the railroad has infringed on its border, and the ice-men have skimmed it once, it is itself unchanged, the same water which my youthful eyes fell on; all the change is in me.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)