William Adamson
William is an academic who has just returned from a voyage of botanical discovery along the Amazon river basin. His benefactor,Sir Harold Alabaster, funds his trips and so when he is back in England he acts as an additional tutor to the Alabaster children. William is gentle and kind, not given to swings of emotion or rushes of passionate feeling. He does, however, know right from wrong and this is why he immediately takes against the morally bankrupt Edgar Alabaster.
Despite his usually well controlled emotions, William is very quickly attracted to Eugenia and proposes marriage quickly. However, once they are married he realizes that they are really rather distant from each other and that they are barely spending any time together despite the fact they share five children.
When William discovers his wife having sex with her brother he discovers the truth about his marriage. He also learns that the affair has been going on since the siblings were barely more than children and that he has been used as a smokescreen for their behavior, the dutiful husband who is brought out to satisfy the demands of society,but who means nothing.
William finally realizes that he is allowed to be happy when Matty declares her love for him. He has always been drawn to her and the two finally admit their feelings before heading off on another Amazon voyage. William is the voice of reason and decency in the novellas and is essentially likable.
Eugenia Alabaster
In appearance, Eugenia is a typical delicate flower of Victorian womanhood, but her outward appearance belies her true self underneath. Eugenia is initially warm and friendly towards William, and accepts his proposal of marriage despite the fact she is still in mourning for her late fiance who has committed suicide. She claims that she feels guilty over his death but she is basically a self centered person so it is difficult to imagine that her remorse might be anything genuine.
Eugenia is involved in a sexual affair with her odious brother Edgar and claims that she has tried to end it on many occasions but that he will not allow her to do so. This seems somewhat feasible because we know him to be a rapist, but Eugenia has had many opportunities to escape from him and it is clear that at heart she wants to be with him more than she wants to be with anyone else.
Edgar Alabaster
Sociopathic Edgar is a sexual predator and deviant with absolutely no morals whatsoever, he is a rapist and caught in the act of raping a young servant girl whom he claims to be with him willingly. He is a bully of a man and overwhelms the girl so much that she agrees with him. Edgar has been having a sexual affair with his sister since they are both very young and it seems likely that he would have been the instigator.
Edgar is a snob and looks down on William because he lacks means of his own.
Matty Crompton
Matty is the Alabaster family tutor and seems to be meek, gentle and lacking in adventure. This outward appearance belies the determined and spunky woman underneath. Matty is ambitious and incredibly frustrated by her financial reliance on the Alabaster family. Since she lives in the home with them she is also reliant on them for almost everything else.
Matty has already self published a book about insects and is a knowledgeable entymologist. She is the "happy ending" for William at the close of the novellas having purchased two tickets for the Amazon basin for them to take the trip together, although she intends to take the trip alone if he does not want to accompany her.
Sir Harold Alabaster
William's benefactor is a man with a genuine interest in the natural world, particularly botany, and he experiences discovery vicariously through William. He is the patriarch of a large family and for the most part is disconnected from his children, particularly Edgar, whom he has spoiled. Although generous with funding for William's expeditions he expects William to work hard in turn as a tutor in a sort of academic quid pro quo.
