Berkeley Square

A modern-day man who becomes obsessed with his ancestor’s diary and the idea of time travel. He slips back to 1784 and must navigate unfamiliar customs while concealing his knowledge of the future. His curiosity and longing for Helen drive much of the plot, even as he fears the consequences of altering history. He experiences a profound dislocation between two eras and ultimately returns to 1933 wiser, but changed.

Helen is the daughter of Lady Ann Pettigrew, torn between family pressure and her own desires. She resists the arranged match to Mr. Throstle and gradually falls for Peter, despite the era’s constraints. Her empathy for Peter deepens as she recognizes his inner conflict and the burden of his knowledge. She ultimately helps him confront the truth about their impossible romance.

Kate is the Pettigrew daughter under pressure to marry for financial security. She initially suspects Peter’s odd behavior and becomes convinced he is possessed when faced with his 18th‑century indiscretions. Her alliance with Helen weakens as Peter’s presence unsettles the household, and she ultimately breaks their engagement. Her actions reflect the era’s anxieties about fortune and status.

Tom is Helen’s brother, part of the financially strained Pettigrew family. He embodies practical, family-focused concerns and helps keep the household afloat. While less central to the romance, his presence reinforces the social pressures surrounding marriage, money, and lineage. He serves as a grounding counterpoint to the more fantastical time-travel elements.

A mother who presses for Kate’s advantageous marriage to a wealthy American. She embodies the social ambition of the era, balancing concern for her daughter’s happiness with the family’s financial survival. Her outlook highlights the pressure to secure status and security through arranged alliances. She is wary of anything that might threaten the social order she upholds.

A wealthy suitor pressed by Lady Ann to secure a match for Kate. He represents the practical, money-driven side of 18th‑century courtship and the pressures of maintaining status. While not deeply developed, his presence emphasizes the transactional nature of marriage for some families of the era.

Peter’s fiancée in 1933, she worries about his sanity due to his fixation on time travel. She functions as a stabilizing presence in the modern timeline, representing contemporary concerns about romance, trust, and rationality. Her concern foregrounds the tension between love and the possibility of losing someone to a fantastical fate.

A diplomat the characters meet during tea, symbolizing the modern world and the outside observer’s perspective on the time-slip. He provides a conversational link between eras and helps frame the story’s broader implications about history and destiny.