Despite the fact they refer to themselves as people, or as persons when speaking about specific persons rather than people in general, all the characters in my books are guinea pigs. That doesn’t stop them lounging around on chairs or sitting at bars. Think Moley and Ratty in Wind in the Willows.
You can now download a pdf of the Character lists for the first four ebooks (the later ones are included in the book files). The paperbacks include them. Click on the icon to open, or (for PC) right-click and “save link as…” to download to your computer. For Mac do ctrl+right-click and “open link” or “download linked file”.
Book One: The Princelings of the East 
Fred: Princeling of the Castle in the Marsh (also referred to as Castle Marsh by those who don’t adhere to the Old Ways), twin, but older brother of George. Natural Philosopher.
George: Princeling of the Castle in the Marsh, twin brother to Fred, but younger. The Engineer.
Hugo: An itinerant (travelling) salesperson, who is not what he seems.
Victor: Young Barkeep at the Inn of the Seventh Happiness. Son of Argon.
Lupin of Buckmore: Prince of Castle Buckmore. Suave and sophisticated, noble and influential.
Baden: Lupin’s Steward, previously a Princeling of Castle Powell, but left to avoid the Succession Wars.
Mariusz: Lord of Castle Hattan. Very influential in his own sphere and expects to be rich and famous forever. And probably will be. Well travelled.
Saku: professor of all sorts of science things at Castle Hattan. Mad inventor?
Nimrod: Lady of Buckmore. The wise one. Also very noble and influential.
Lord Smallweed: One of the Barons of Vexstein, currently about third in the line of succession. Leading player in the Vex Brewing Industry. Needs watching.
Lord Darcy: another Baron of Vexstein, second in line and a lot less shifty than his closest relative.
Pogo: a minion in the line of succession at Vexstein, but working his way up the corporate ladder at Vex Brewing Industries.
King Cole: King of the Castle in the Marsh and of the Old School, but not too strict with it. Fred & George’s sort-of grandfather. Or maybe great grandfather. It’s complicated.
Prince Vladimir aka Uncle Vlad: Prince of Castle in the Marsh and fraternally placed in the line of succession. Acts as King Cole’s Steward although he doesn’t have that title. Fred and George’s uncle. Definitely.
Book Two: The Princelings and the Pirates
Fred, George, Victor, Lupin, Baden, Vladimir and Lord Smallweed as before.
Bailey: a journeyman at Buckmore, responsible and knowledgeable but not yet fully qualified. Acts as messenger quite often.
Harry Senior: the sommelier (wine expert) at Buckmore
Young Harry: a young person learning the trades of Buckmore, often sent on errands. Harry Senior’s son.
Princess Kira: second daughter of King Helier of Dimerie, and a spunky young lady not afraid of hard work. Not afraid of much at all, in fact.
Princess Nerys: first daughter of King Helier of Dimerie. Kind and helpful, and ready to do her duty.
Miles and Morris: Nerys & Kira’s older brothers, Princes of Dimerie.
Frankie: a pirate on the Golden Guinea, likely to tell people what to do
Captain Starling: Captain of the Golden Guinea. Given to wearing a large hat
Pippin: a small pirate with a handkerchief on his head for stylistic reasons. Helmsman of the Golden Guinea.
Captain ‘Feathers’ McGraw, aka King Ludo of Marsh aka the Pirate King. Says it all, really. Oh, his ship is the Meerschweinchen or the Mare Swine. Wonder why he got a ship with a German name. Maybe it’s Dutch?
Rum: red-headed pirate on the Mare Swine with a black eye patch. Quite helpful really.
Arthur: princeling of Humber with big ideas about himself
Theo: princeling of Wold with a rather clearer view of his status in life
FGP: steward, secretary and general factotum to Uncle Vlad
Sundance: a person of mystery, generally thought to be in the Secret Service
King Lynn, Prince Hunston and Monty: King, Crown Prince and Steward of Castle Wash respectively
Robert: a major in the Western Marches army, in charge of the 25th Rifle Company, among others. Brother of Baden.
Haggis, Neeps, Baker and Chad: half the soldiers of the 25th Rifle Company
Book Three: The Princelings and the Lost City
Fred, George, Princesses Kira and Nerys, Lupin, Nimrod, Baden, Vladimir, Miles, Morris, Victor, Argon, Prince Hunston, Sundance, Robert and Haggis & Co as before.
Various Uncles and Kings at the wedding aren’t important to the story.
Pippin, the helmsman of the Golden Guinea, has given up pirating and is now working for George at Buckmore
Munch: a coach driver in the employ of Castle Buckmore, who is not all he seems.
Eleanor: Queen of Arbor, a female with a problem
Jess: a princess of Arbor, given to using pseudonyms
Rosebud: a princess of Arbor, full of girlish glee.
Maisie: the best friend of Princess Rosebud
Big Sylv: head of Security at Arbor. Members of her security team are not individually listed.
Io: the proprietor of the bar at Arbor.
Jupiter: the proprietor of the bar at Buckmore. (Jupiter and Io take up offers of running bars at different locations later in the series, and may appear in them in short stories)
Book 4 -The Traveler in Black and White
[some of these characters appear above, but the time tunnel adventure is some 8 or so years before The Princelings of the East]
Lord Mariusz – the charismatic narrator, also known as Hugo del Novo. Head of the Wozna Cola empire.
Professor Saku – scientific genius and inventor
Willow – a trusty and reliable operator
Ronnie – a storeman with a good head for business
Squeak and Jimmy – useful staff
Argon – a shrewd barkeeper
Victor – his young son
Gandy – his old assistant
Baden – a young and ambitious princeling anxious to leave Powell to make his fortune at Buckmore
Winston – his princeling friend, who doesn’t last long
Solwith – a shady character, interested in beekeeping
Dr Higgs – another shady character, with a sick aunt
Japp – a detective of sorts
Lady Nimrod – wisdom and elegance personified
Prince Lupin of Buckmore – a shrewd leader who likes to make out he’s a playboy
Pogo – a family member on the way up
Baron Darcy – Lord of Vexstein and head of Vex Breweries
The Hon. Smallweed – an ambitious business person looking for something on the side
Montgomery – a person with special skills who may not be all he seems
Raven – a queen who’s about to become an ex
Gus – bartender at the King’s Head
Robert – Lieutenant in the Lakeland Rifles, brother of Baden
Queen Meg – a lady who’s seen better days
Silv – head of security. Big.
Calliope – bartender; Hugo’s type, when travelling
Princess Eleanor – a queen in training
Book 5 – The Talent Seekers
Humphrey – A lost soul with many talents, but limited experience, travelling west
Hywel – A calming influence, an outcast with a long future
Freya – a red-haired outcast with very little patience
Betty – a kind and caring outcast with excellent craft skills and a secret identity
Glory – a wall-runner who would like to be part of a team
Winston – A valued member of Castle White Horse who can see through walls
Bertie – a refugee from an oppressive regime with the talent to smell out anything
Lord Colman – an avaricious despot who thinks he should run not only Castle Deeping, but his neighbouring castles as well
Prince Kevin – Crown Prince of Castle Deeping who may one day realise that Lord Colman is not his friend. For now, he’s glad Colman’s running things for him
King Benson – new and inexperienced king of Castle White Horse
Lord Diesel – cousin to King Benson, and a great strategist
Prince Colin – brother to King Benson, doing his best in the family business
Willoughby – A Narrator, who travels wherever he desires – and has outstanding ninja skills
Fitzroy – mentor to a talented group recruited after the Narrathon
Lord Duffield – overlord at Castle Forest, and thoroughly under Lord Colman’s thumb
also featuring:
At Castle White Horse: Daph, a clerk and Narrator; Harrison and Crimp, guards
Among the outcasts: Chester, leader of a large group of refugees and his partner Sheldon; Frankie, a pirate reduced to roaming the hillsides with other ex-pirates
Book 6 – Bravo Victor
In the Realms
At the Inn of the Seventh Happiness
Victor, a would-be business guru with responsibility for the inn.
Argon, his father, the innkeeper, but getting frail.
Gandy, their ancient assistant.
Gertrude, a well-meaning market stallholder and general busybody.
Marty, a young person, probably someone’s son, with too much time on his hands.
Van, the official vacuum message system operator, missing…
At Castle Marsh
King Fred, formerly Princeling Fred, king of Castle Marsh and married to…
Queen Kira, formerly a princess of Dimerie, and mother of Jasmine and the twins George Junior and Arthur.
Prince Engineer George, formerly Princeling George, brother of Fred, inventor of the strawberry-juice fuel-cell (now officially branded as the Buckmore Power Cell), and aviation pioneer.
Jupiter, formerly the innkeeper at Castle Buckmore, now resident at Castle Marsh as the tavern keeper. She’s a friend to the ladies of Castle Arbor and willing to look after the Inn of the Seventh Happiness when Victor is away.
Geoffrey, a budding engineer under George’s tutelage.
Haggis, captain of the 25th Rifle Company, which is stationed at Castle Marsh permanently, and mostly occupied with building projects and peace-keeping duties.
At Castle Buckmore
Prince Lupin, king of Castle Buckmore and generally regarded as leader of the Kings’ Council, the governing body of the Realms.
Baden, his steward.
Pippin, engineer, vehicle mechanic and chief pilot to the Prince.
In other parts of the Realms
Sundance, a mysterious secret agent, usually working for the Kings’ Council, at least officially.
Amelia, his companion on this adventure.
King Helier, king of Chateau Dimerie, lord of the vineyard operation at Dimerie-Les-Lands, and father of kings and queens.
King Miles of Castle Fortune, keen flyer, son of King Helier and brother of Queen Kira.
Lord Colman, ruler of Castle Deeping, intent on becoming far more powerful in any way he can manage.
Prince Kevin, formerly heir to Castle Deeping, but probably successfully ousted by Lord Colman, who keeps a close eye on him.
Lord Smallweed, a nasty piece of work, now Lord of Vexstein and of the Vex drinks empire.
Queen Eleanor, Queen of the formerly all female Castle Arbor, attempting to advance the role of women in open society.
Io, innkeeper at Castle Arbor (pronounced eye-oh).
Callisto, talented engineer in wood at Castle Arbor, with a hankering for progress.
Archi and Py, landlords of the Cheeky Parrot at Castle Wash, the Gautorhof Inn at Main, and various other enterprises which shall remain nameless (for now).
In the Rhinelands
Rajah of Nilgiri, an entrepreneur from southern India, also known as Professor Schwarzvogel, a Professor of Natural Philosophy, also known as Blackbird, currently living both at the University of Main and the Castle of Laurel-Eye.
Princess Lili von Ottostein, rumoured to be fabulously wealthy, definitely fabulously beautiful, who is not what she seems.
Robertson, Robin and Alexandre Kurtz, brothers and sister who own and manage the Kurtz Brothers Flying Machine Company BV, based in Kone, and its offshoot developing new flying machines.
Charlie White, an itinerant with some sailing ability, just trying to make a living.
Mariusz of Co-Runner, more correctly known as Lord Mariusz of Castle Hattan; lord of a global cola enterprise, investigating violation of his franchise arrangements and other shady business dealings by the Rajah of Nilgiri aka Blackbird. Known in the Realms as Hugo del Novo, a time-traveller.
Book 7 – Willoughby the Narrator
This is an extensive list, partly because Willoughby travels a lot. Many of the characters are in earlier books, though.
Castle Hattan
Lord Mariusz: leader, controller, or big boss of Castle Hattan, in some foreign place across the Great Western Sea (as seen from the Realms). Rich, famous and well-travelled.
Saku: professor and inventor of many things including the grav-sled and Diet Wozna (a cola-type beverage)
Willoughby: an intelligent young person, training as a ninja and looking for adventure
Raisin, Atticus, and a few other ne-er-do-wells: Willoughby’s cousins and friends, Mariusz’s minions.
Castle White Horse
King Edgar: an elderly and possibly senile king, past his best.
Prince (King) Benson: his successor; keen to get his castle out of the stagnation it has fallen into.
Lord Diesel: Benson’s cousin, chief strategist and Benson’s trusted advisor.
Daph: a ledger clerk who tells a good story in his spare time.
Harrison: captain of the guard.
Humphrey: a shy and retiring but talent member of the team, missing in action
Castle Deeping
Lord Colman: an avaricious despot who thinks he should run not only Castle Deeping, but most other castles as well.
Prince Kevin: an ingenue who’s happy to have his uncle running Castle Deeping as his Regent, while he plays youthful games.
Castle Buckmore
Prince Lupin: actually king, but he thinks the title makes him look old. Tries to hide his intelligence under a playboy exterior.
Lady Nimrod: Lupin’s trusted advisor. The wisest person in the realms, probably. Hides her powers well.
Queen Nerys: Lupin’s wife, and mother to his children. Formerly first Princess of Chateau Dimerie.
Baden: Steward of Buckmore; that’s something like a Chancellor, Secretary and Chief Executive all in one.
Jupiter: runs the bar at Buckmore, although she wouldn’t mind a new challenge at a smaller castle
Io: originally from Arbor, looking for an opportunity to run a bar like Buckmore’s
Pippin: former pirate recruited by George to help with his strawberry juice project, then involved with his flying machines; communications project manager and transport expert. Knows a bit about sailing, too.
Plenty of other minor characters at the most important castle in the Realms.
Castle Marsh
King Fred: originally princeling Fred, became crown prince when he was working at Buckmore, and returned to build up a new and vibrant community once he found his true love
Queen Kira: Fred’s true love, formerly second Princess of Dimerie; probably the rock on which Castle Marsh stands.
Prince Engineer George: originally princeling George, also known as George Marsh. Brilliant engineer and technologist, currently working on advanced flying machines and fuel systems.
Haggis: originally captain of the 25th Rifle Brigade, stationed at Castle Marsh for so long he’s considered part of the family. Head of security at Marsh.
Plenty of minor characters at this castle in the middle of nowhere that is central to the series plot
Castle Vexstein
Lord Smallweed: ambitious, cruel and generally a nasty piece of work who would sell his own grandmother if it would give him more power.
Although Vexstein is huge, everyone else there is relegated to a bit part.
Other castles:
North: Sowerby, rumoured to be infested with vampires; Hallam, centre of the metal-working industry; Palatine, centre of finance; Edin, gateway to the northern wastes
South: Cabot, maritime centre; Powell: closest castle to Buckmore; Chateau Dimerie, wine centre and producer of excellent princes and princesses, including Miles, Caspar, Nerys and Kira; Wash, nearest castle to Marsh, import/export with the continent, run by Crown Prince Hunston.
Other characters
Champion Christopher: a champion wall-runner and promoter of the sport
Fitzroy: an innocuous but nosy travelling announcer from Castle White Horse
Tatum: a young ninja and friend to Willoughby
Victor: busy barkeeper and business guru from the Inn of the Seventh Happiness
Book 8 – The Princelings of the North
At Castle Haunn
Dylan – a headstrong young man looking for adventure
Dougall – his brother, a promising astronomer and scientist, and all-round good influence
Heath – Dylan and Dougall’s uncle, currently Laird of Haunn, and interested in making a name for himself, as well as a better living.
Hamish – another uncle, taking his turn as laird in due course, and altogether more reasonable as a leader.
Donal and Carolyn – uncle and aunt to Dylan and Dougall, and the people Dylan and Dougall look up to most.
Other people on Moreisle
Kevin – formerly Prince Kevin of Castle Deeping, a young man who has finally realised he’s been duped, and seeks revenge. Or his birthright. Or power and glory. He’s a little confused right now.
Bridie, and other people at Castle Craig across the island, all intent on living their own lives as peaceably as possible.
At Castle Edin
King Stuart – an influential king, representing most of the north at the Kings’ Council, since he’s the only one prepared to make the long journeys to the meetings. Generally fair and slightly progressive.
Ruby – a journeyman astronomer learning her business at the Astronomy centre, and always on the look-out for new projects.
Various clerks and officials, most of whom carry out their duties with patience and tact.
At Castle Palatine
Lord Percy – an insightful strategist, who enjoys his position in charge of the finances of the Realms. Likes to maintain standards, but not against progress provided he can see the benefit.
Harrison – chief of security at Palatine, a step up from his old job at Castle White Horse, but he misses the warmer climate at his old home.
Freddie – a busy transportation organiser with more deliveries than he has resources to deliver.
In Wass Forest
Locksley – kicked out of his castle in the east many years ago; made use of his royal training to organise the outcasts into a vibrant community. For him it’s time to stop the source of homelessness, once and for all.
Bob, Maxi, Tatum and others, part of Locksley’s fine and well-organised team.
Ludo – Locksley’s younger brother, who stayed at his castle long enough to inherit the title, but couldn’t give up his double life as a pirate. See The Princelings and the Pirates for his backstory.
At Castle Vexstein
Lord Smallweed – a despotic and cruel leader, whose excesses were exposed to the Kings’ Council in Willoughby the Narrator. Living on borrowed time.
Lord Pogo – his nephew, who wishes he wasn’t, and just wants a quiet life. Good at managing the brewery and seeing stars.
Digby and HB – workers at the brewery who are glad of a steady job outside the castle walls.
At Castle Buckmore
Prince Lupin – king of Buckmore, married to Nerys, and with Lady Nimrod as his advisor. A powerful king with plenty of power behind the throne.
Baden – the exemplary steward of Buckmore.
At Castle Deeping
Captains Rupert, Daniel and Zack of the castle guard, ready to support a better king than the one who has moved in recently.
Bill, Kate and their daughters – long-term residents of Castle Deeping, recently resorting to homelessness, and hoping for better things.
Book 9 – Chronicles of Marsh
As you might expect, we have a great many residents of Castle Marsh taking speaking or at least named parts in this book. I’ll try to name them all, but it’ll be a big list!
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