Main characters
Calypso Cuthbertson Grant - Beautiful, mercenary, and self-centered. Calypso is well-aware of her power over men even as a teenager. She loves being the center of attention and enjoys the finer things in life (including her trademark fragrance Mitsouko). Before the war she is flirtatious, but sexually naive. She works briefly in the War Office, but leaves after marrying Hector Grant, a wealthy Scottish MP. Her marriage with Hector is rocky as they fight constantly and he has a drinking problem which prompts him to hit her on at least one occasion. At one point, Calypso almost leaves him, but he convinces her to stay. Calypso is unfaithful to Hector during the early part of their marriage, sleeping with a string of officers and other men, including her cousin Oliver and Max. Her encounters with Oliver are particularly unexciting when their first attempt ends with an air raid; their second is more successful, but ultimately unsatisfying. After Hector leaves for Egypt, Calypso assuages her loneliness as a "grass widow" with her dog Fling and by visiting Polly in her London house. Calypso dislikes her husband's ancestral home in Scotland and after becoming pregnant with her first and only child Hamish she declines to move there. Although she pretends not to love Hector, Calypso is devastated when he is reported missing in action, and then overjoyed when she discovers that he has only been captured. Calypso gives birth to her son Hamish during an air raid during which her London home is completely demolished. After Hector returns from the war she remains faithful to him until his death in the 1950s. She never remarries. When she is in her 60s she has a stroke which leaves one side of her face twisted and gives her foot drop. She attends the funeral at the Cornwall house and is instrumental in settling the demons of her son Hamish who mistakenly believes that she never loved his father.
Polly Cutherbertson - Polly is a pretty, green-eyed practical girl who prides herself on not showing deep emotion. She is very intelligent and obtains a hush hush job in the War Office which she is very dedicated to. Polly is very close to her brother Walter and to the Floyer twins who live next door to Richard and Helena. She at first is jealous of Calypso because of the interest the Floyer twins have in her, but as the war progresses they become chummy. Polly is raised strictly by her famous surgeon father Martin Cuthbertson, her Uncle Richard's brother, and so when the war offers her a chance to get out from under her parents' thumb she hits the ground running. She lies her way into getting birth control and then embarks on a brief affair with a London fireman Tony Woods. She successfully resists Max's charms at first, but eventually sleeps with him just once. After breaking it off with Tony, Polly starts a lifelong relationship with the Floyer twins. Polly is observant; she is the first to guess that Calypso is pregnant. Polly's parents are killed in an air raid in 1940. When news of her brother Walter's death comes, Polly tries to stay strong, but is completely devastated. She eventually breaks down when the twins tell her they are being posted overseas. She almost has a nervous breakdown waiting for news of their deaths and also begins to feel guilt for sleeping with both of them. A kind doctor advises her to enter into a polyandrous relationship with the twins, and unable to give either of them up, she decides to follow his advice. Later in the war, Polly's London home that she has inherited from her parents is destroyed by German bombs. Until its destruction, the house serves as a cozy home away from home for the cousins. After the war, Polly has two children, Iris and James. She is never sure if one twin or both are their fathers. In old age the slim Polly grows plump and prosperous. She is among the guests that attend the last funeral at the house in Cornwall before it is sold.
Walter Cuthbertson - Walter is Polly's younger brother, the sweetest of the family and generally liked by everybody. He is described as dark with a broken nose that never healed properly. As a teenager, he has a crush on Calypso, but after the war starts he forgets her and goes on to other women like Elizabeth (who Calypso meets briefly). Constantly seasick, Walter hopes to be assigned to submarine service when he enlists in the Royal Navy, but is instead assigned to a destroyer. He is present at Dunkirk. He spends his leaves at Polly's house in London, especially after the death of their parents early in the war. Walter is a sympathetic listener. He is the one Sophy confides in after she sees a man fall to his death. Walter is killed in the North Atlantic when a German U-boat torpedoes his destroyer. His last thoughts are of Sophy and his beloved sister Polly. Calypso is the first to find out about his death when she opens the telegram before Polly can see it. As a result of Walter's early death, he remains perpetually young in the memory of his cousins.
Oliver Anstey - Oliver is an unhappy, disillusioned young man. He is also deathly afraid of heights and invents "The Terror Run" game to prove himself (The game involves racing at top speed over the Cornwall cliffs with the fastest to the finish as the winner). The only child of Richard's older sister Sarah and her husband George Anstey, Oliver goes off to fight in the Spanish Civil War with the International Brigades where he witnesses many atrocities. He is wounded in Spain and comes home only to be caught up in another war. His obsession with his beautiful cousin Calypso marks his life, and he spends much of his youth unsuccessfully pursuing her. He is able to join the British Army immediately (due to his prior service in the O.T.C). and fights in campaigns in Norway and Africa. He is particularly miserable in the African campaign as he suffers from infected sandfly bites. He is close with his younger cousin Sophy who adores him. After the war, Oliver marries twice, both times to women who attract him only because they remind him of Calypso. He becomes a famous author and moves abroad. Later, in the his 60s he finally lays the ghost of Calypso to rest and begins a relationship with Sophy.
Sophy Cuthbertson - Sophy has large slanted black eyes and high cheekbones. Her origins are quite mysterious as she is the daughter of Richard's globe-trotting half-sister. Richard believes that her father is Chinese, although his sister died before she could confirm this. Sophy is adopted by her Uncle Richard and raised reluctantly by his second wife Helen. She enjoys the company of her ebullient cousins when they make their yearly visits to her uncle and aunt's house in Cornwall. She has a particular affection for Oliver and is the only one who can properly comfort him when he returns from the Spanish Civil War. She has a traumatic experience with a flasher as a child when he falls, or is pushed by her, over a cliff. She was also sexually molested by her Uncle Richard. After the onset of the war, she is sent away to boarding school and is allowed to spend most of her holidays at Polly's bustling house in London. She later leaves school due to bullying and lives with Calypso for a time. She helps deliver Hamish when he is born during an air raid. She is close with Monika who gives her the love that she doesn't receive from Helena. Max becomes her first lover when she is just a teenager and she returns the favor when she has a brief affair with both his son Pauli and Hamish after the war. Despite everything, she remains in love with Oliver her whole life. During Max's funeral she meets him again for the first time in years and she agrees to start over with him.
Paul and David Floyer - Brown-eyed, blonde identical twins, the Floyer brothers are the children of the rector and his wife Mildred. They grow up in Cornwall near Helena and Richard's home. Despite their father's profession, they are atheists. They look so similar that no one can tell them apart. As young men they have a fondness for Calypso, but soon forget her when the war starts and they join the Royal Air Force. They gain the nickname of the High Floyers (as their father is a High Church Anglican) and are each shot down once during the Battle of Britain. They are stationed in Malta and North Africa during much of the war, but during the first part of the war they begin a lifelong love affair with Polly who finds herself unable to choose between them. It is they who comfort her when her brother (and their best friend) Walter dies. After the war, they form an unconventional family with Polly. As they are identical twins Polly is never certain who actually fathers her children Iris and James. They are described as being plump and bald when they reach old age.
Helena Cuthbertson - Helena is a rather jealous and petty person. She is described as being plump and blue-eyed. Helena was widowed in 1916 when her husband Anthony was killed in the Great War. In 1929, she married Richard who had lost a leg and been gassed in the war. Their marriage was largely unhappy as Richard was not attracted to her although he claimed to love her. Helena was left well-off by Anthony and used his money to support herself and her second husband. She purchases a large house on the coast of Cornwall in a village near Penzance and plants the titular "Camomile Lawn" in the front. When her husband's half sister dies and leaves a daughter (Sophy), Helena takes care of her although she secretly resents her. Helena doesn't like to keep house or cook and relies on her servants for everything. She does however make an effort to fit into Richard's family. Each summer she hosts his nieces and nephews at her Cornwall home and she becomes close with his sister Sarah. Her dull life is irrevocably changed by the war. She meets the dashing Austrian violinist Max Ertsweiler and begins a passionate affair. She enters his glamourous world of concerts and culture, even buying adjacent houses in Enderly Street so she can discreetly live with him. Richard doesn't seem to mind the affair and Helena continues living with Max until some time after the war. Although Max is unfaithful with many women, Helena claims that she never cares until she accidentally discovers that he is sleeping with Sophy. Helena can be a very needy person, but she is also efficient and practical when the occasion demands it. At first she resents the intrusion of Max's wife Monika into Cornwall life, but later they become good friends. Helena takes up drinking for the duration of the war. She is tone deaf and when attending Max's practices and concerts will often simply read a book or drink from her special flask. She ends up outliving both her husband Richard and her lover Max. During Max's funeral she reveals several family secrets to members of the next generation. She makes Sophy promise that she will bury her ashes in Max and Monika's graves in Cornwall. In the end, she is supportive of Oliver and Sophy as a couple.
Richard Cuthbertson - Richard is a World War I veteran, a former major. He lost his leg and was gassed in Flanders, a fact which he never lets his family forget. Richard suffers from a very bad case of halitosis and is the object of much derision from various family members. Like Helena, Richard was married previously to a dog lover named Diana. Like his first spouse, he is fond of dogs, but a little too fond of children. At one point he confesses to Calypso that he has rarely been attracted to adult women. Richard's closest friend is his neighbor General Peachum. After Helena moves to London to live with Max, Richard had an affair with Max's wife Monika. Monika brightens up his life considerably and even procures a new prosthesis for him. Despite Max's relationship with Helena, Richard is good friends with him and, as a music lover, often helps him with the business side of his music. When Max and Monika are interred as enemy aliens, Richard lobbies to have them released. Richard dies unexpectedly of pneumonia during the middle of the war. He is buried with his beloved dachshund Ducks.
Max Erstweiler - Max is an attractive and charismatic violinist from Austria. He is described as being tall and thin with black eyes and a predilection for champagne and violets. Of Jewish origin, Max was forced to flee the Nazis with his wife Monika. He is a consummate womanizer, sleeping with whatever female happens to be nearest. When he arrives in England, Max is given shelter by the Reverend Floyer, the twins' father. His son Pauli, who is left behind in Austria, is sent to a concentration camp and Max and Monika spend much of the war worrying over his fate. They themselves are sent to an interment camp in England as they are considered enemy aliens. Richard pulls some strings and has them released; they come to live at his house in Cornwall. Max is popular wherever he goes and as he is a distinguished violinist he soon begins to make a living from playing concerts. He starts a long affair with Helena and moves in with her when she buys a pair of London houses and puts in a hidden door to connect them. Their precautions don't prevent everyone else in the family from finding out about the affair. Max is extremely popular with women and has a voracious sexual appetite. He ends up sleeping with Calypso, Polly and Sophy over the course of the war, although Helena is his permanent mistress. After the war, Helena sells Max the house in Cornwall and he lives there until his death in the 1980s. His funeral provides the catalyst that brings the family together again to settle old scores and heal old wounds.
Monika Erstweiler - Monika is the beautiful wife of Max Erstweiler. Unlike Helena, she is nurturing and motherly, enjoying cooking and cleaning. She also plays piano accompaniment for her husband. After the Anschluss, Monika flees Austria with Max. She arranges for one of her friends to help her son Pauli leave the country as well, but he is caught and both are sent to a concentration camp. Monika is given a temporary home at the Rectory in Cornwall. After the declaration of war, she and Max are sent to an enemy interment camp. Richard and Hector soon secure the couple's release. She then moves to Richard's home as the Rectory is full of evacuees from the Blitz. She transforms the Cornwall house, rearranging the furniture and finding new foodstuffs to tempt palates dulled by wartime rations. Monika tolerates her husband's affairs, simply accepting them as a byproduct of his creative genius. During the early part of the war, Monika herself has an affair with Richard. She is very nurturing and takes care of Sophy and Richard when they are sick. Monika is very agitated over the unknown fate of her son and at one point, overcome with worry, she tries to jump over a cliff, but luckily falls to safety on a rock ledge. She spends much of the war fretting over Pauli only to hear later that he has died. After the war, Max buys the Cornwall house and she lives there until her death, serving as his "country wife" while Helena takes the role of his "town wife".
Minor characters
General Peachum - The Cuthbertson's neighbor in Cornwall, the General is a suspicious and xenophobic man who is likely responsible for the interment of Max and Monica at the beginning of the war. He is somewhat gullible and believes at the start of the war that the Nazis are doing a lot of good in Germany. He serves as master of the hounds for the community and is greatly attached to his collection of fine wines which is destroyed in a German air raid. He is also fond of women and inappropriately tries to grab them, not noticing their annoyed rebuffs. He is tolerated because he is a friend of Richard's. He almost drives Monika to suicide when he berates her after discovering that the delicious meat she has been feeding him is in fact guinea pig. Despite their uneasy relationship, Monika moves in with the General for a time in order to punish him for tormenting her.
Sarah Anstey - Oliver's mother and older sister of Richard, Sarah is happily married to George Anstey a civil servant who later goes to work for the Admiralty during the war. Once the Blitz starts, Sarah and George move to Bath where she is deeply involved with the Women's Voluntary Service. Sarah is a friend and confidant of Helena.
Hector Grant - A tall, handsome and wealthy Conservative MP from Scotland, Hector meets and marries Calypso during the Phony War. He is a lapsed Catholic, so Calypso converts to Catholicism to annoy him. The two have an arrangement that Calypso will provide Hector with an heir in exchange for her comfortable life with full access to his money. Hector was married earlier to Daphne who was unable to have children. He has an enormous estate in Scotland and a nice house in Westminster. His most treasured possession is his luxury car. Hector uses his influence to help Monika and Max get out of the interment camp. However, he becomes abusive when he drinks and he has to convince Calypso not to leave him after he hits her. Hector assists in the evacuation of French forces at Dunkirk and Cherbourg. Growing bored while other men are gone to war, despite his 44 years, Hector uses his influence to get a commission with the Scots Guards. He is posted to a desk job in Africa, but talks his way into a secret mission and is captured by German forces. He is reported dead, although Calypso later finds out he is in a POW camp. He escapes the camp and returns to Allied lines. He has one son with Calypso, Hamish. Although she never explicitly tells him, Calypso loves her husband. He is very good in bed according to Calypso. After the war, Hamish switches allegiances to the Labour Party and becomes interested in forestry. He dies sometime in the 1950's.
Tony Wood - A good natured fireman with the National Fire Service who has a fling with Polly early in the war. After Polly unabashedly admits that she only used him to gain sexual experience, he moves on to Calypso. He later finds himself attracted to a teenaged Sophy, but restrains himself from acting on his feelings. He remains friends with the cousins throughout their lives. Later, he acquires a life partner Peter and opens an antique shop with him in Brighton.
Hamish Grant - Hamish looks very like his father. He was born when German bombs destroyed his parents' house in Westminster, sending his mother into premature labour. He is delivered by Sophy while workers try to dig out the trapped residents. He is raised by Catherine, the daughter of Hector's ghillie in Scotland. In contrast to Hector, he is a staunch Catholic and often has a judgmental view of others. During his teenage years he falls deeply in love with the older Sophy, but she refuses to marry him. Hamish never marries. He is haunted by the knowledge that his parents hate each other until Helena and Calypso finally tell him otherwise at Max's funeral.
Pauli Erstweiler - Pauli is the only son of Max and Monika. A pianist, he is left behind in Austria and is sent to Auschwitz. The guards at the camp crush his hands, leaving him unable to play the piano properly for the rest of his life. False rumors of his demise reach his parents' ears and they believe that he is dead. It is Pauli that gives the Floyer twins and Walter a desire to fight in the war. They see him as the embodiment of the Jewish population of Europe who they feel they will be helping by fighting against Germany. Pauli and his parents are reunited after the war, but Pauli is a cold, bitter man whose only interest is in making money. He has a brief affair with Sophy, which comes to nothing as she finds him incapable of love. In his later life he becomes a prosperous businessman, making millions as an arms merchant. After Max's death he inherits the Cornwall house, but decides to dig up the camomile lawn and sell it immediately as a hotel. He is disliked by everybody, especially Helena.
Iris Cuthbertson - Polly's daughter, Iris is the daughter of one of the Floyer twins, but no one is sure which one. Out of all the children she is happiest. She is married and has two children of her own. She is good-natured and serves as a peacemaker between her more contentious brother James and Hamish who don't always get along.
James Cuthbertson - The son of Polly and one of the Floyer twins, James is known for his lack of tact. He has an uneasy relationship with his cousin Hamish.
Reverend Floyer - The reverend is the local Rector in Cornwall and the father of the Floyer twins. He is a High Church Anglican. He was a conscientious objector during the Great War, although he served as a stretcher bearer. He is a generous man, giving Max and Monika shelter when they escape from Austria. He also houses a large number of evacuees from the Blitz during the war. His tolerance of Polly's unconventional relationship with his sons leads to a general acceptance of their unusual relationship in the village.
Mildred Floyer - Wife of the Reverend Floyer and mother of the twins, Mildred is a motherly sort and tends to a a large number of evacuated children during the Blitz.
Brian Portmadoc - Brian meets the Cuthbertsons when he is put in charge of the anti-aircraft gun that the Royal Army sets up near the Cornwall house. He falls for Calypso when she flirts with him in an attempt to have the gun moved. Later Brian marries Elizabeth, Walter's former girlfriend. The couple attend Max's funeral at the end of the book.
