Sailor
- 'Strong broad-shouldered old tyrant of 70'
- 'Walks with a limp"
- 'White hair hangs to below his shoulders'
- 'Has a long drooping moustache"
- 'Is the most barbarous yet least savage of the group"
Rachel
- 'A tall handsome termagant (harsh-tempered or overbearing woman) aged about 40'
- 'Very long hair worn loose'
- Alarming tigerish laugh'
- Arrogant and harsh-voiced'
Rosie
- 'In her early 20s'
- 'Short and stocky and apparently sullen'
- 'Put in the shadow [...] by Rachel'
- 'Has a basic sense of satire and true depth of passion.
- 'Very weary'
Col
- 'Is a loutish (uncouth and aggressive; thuggish) youth of 18/19'
- 'A rather more urbanised approach to life than the others'
- 'Stops very far short of being a genuine Teddy-boy. His clothes do have a certain hint in that direction, but no more'
- 'Given to uncouth noises to supplement his speech.
- 'Swift and violent mannerisms'
Sally
- 'A wicked little-ten-year old girl'
- 'Woolworth spectacles'
- 'A great capacity for loud excitement'
- 'Idolises Col'
Blackmouth
- 'Half-gypsy and looks it'
- '28 years old, lean and sexy'
- 'Both insolent and obsequious'
- 'Can put on a kind of false joviality that does not take many people in'
- 'Gives clear indications of underlying mental unbalance'
Old Croaker
- 'Has a voice from which her name clearly derives'
- 'A batty old hag, alternately skittish and comatose'
- 'Her voluminous rags make her look like an outlandish bird'
- 'When scared, can be very self-effacing'
Daffodil
- 'Aged about 17'
- 'Has an old, old face like that of a malicious fairy'
- 'Her sideways smile is caused by a white scar that runs up from chin to cheekbone'
- 'Has some of her mother's mannerisms'
- 'Sly juvenile lechery (excessive or offensive sexual desire) which is all her own'