Character guide

Elfrida Arden

major

Also known as Miss Elfrida Arden, the dusty Elfrida, the 1605 Elfrida, Miss Elfrida

An Arden girl who feels the century in her bones, Elfrida drags her brother into the family's buried past to hunt a lost treasure.

Edred Arden

major

Also known as Lord Arden, Edred, Mr. Edred, Master Edred

The new young Lord Arden, whose trembling first adventure begins when pigeon noises dress him in another age's clothes.

The Mouldiwarp

major

Also known as White Mouldiwarp, Mouldiwarp, Dear Mouldiwarp, the white Mouldiwarp

A white mole of strange powers who answers Arden wishes and sends two children sliding backward through their family's centuries.

Cousin Richard

supporting

Also known as Richard, Dear Cousin Richard

A kind older cousin whose steady presence gives the young Ardens a grown ally in their search for what the family lost.

Aunt Edith

supporting

Also known as Edith, Auntie Edith

The aunt who keeps Arden House running, offering the orphans a home while their strange inheritance pulls them elsewhere.

Mrs. Honeysett

supporting

The Arden housekeeper whose watchful care over two motherless children makes the old house feel like a home.

Eliza

supporting

Also known as Cousin Bet, Cousin Betty, Betty, Bet

Eliza moves through the Arden household with a gentle, patient warmth, quick to smile at the children she treats as rightful kin. Yet her sweetness sits alongside a quiet, watchful presence — she notices things, and her welcome carries the weight of someone who knows more about the family's tangled history than she lets on. For Edred and Elfrida, she becomes both comfort and clue, a familiar face in unfamiliar centuries.

Sir Walter Raleigh

supporting

Also known as Raleigh, Walter Raleigh, Sir Walter, the great Sir Walter Raleigh

To Edred and Elfrida, Sir Walter Raleigh is history made flesh — the great adventurer whose name they know from schoolbooks, now standing before them in the Arden world. His presence turns the castle's past into something immediate and risky, a reminder that greatness and downfall often share the same court. He matters because he shows the children that their family's story is tangled with the grand, perilous currents of English history.

Master Richard Arden

supporting

Also known as Richard Arden, Mr. Arden, Mr. Richard, Master Richard, Arden

Master Richard Arden belongs to an era when being an Arden meant navigating suspicion, divided loyalties, and the constant threat of political danger. He is a link in the long chain of boy-and-girl Ardens the children keep encountering, and his world feels darker and more precarious than their own. Through him, the siblings glimpse how much their ancestors risked — and how much of the family's fortune was shaped by choices made under pressure.

Cousin Dick

supporting

Also known as Dick

Cousin Dick brings a spark of trouble to the Arden chronicle — he is the kind of relative who acts first and explains later, and his high spirits cut against the solemnity of the historical settings. Yet his recklessness also makes him useful, and his loyalty to the Arden name runs deeper than his pranks suggest. He matters because he shows Edred and Elfrida that not every ancestor was noble or careful, and that the family's survival sometimes depended on boldness.

Old Betty Lovell

minor

Also known as old Betty, Bet, Betty Lovell, Betty

An elderly woman from the village with knowledge of Arden history.

Old Beale

minor

Also known as Beale

The gardener at Arden House who assists the children.

Lady Arden

minor

Also known as old Lady Arden

An elderly ancestor of the children who appears in their time travels.

Mr. Parados

minor

Also known as old Parados, Master Parados

A mysterious figure who may be connected to the Arden family secrets.

Uncle Jim

minor

Also known as James, Jim

The children's uncle who is mentioned but rarely seen.

Sir Edward Talbot

minor

Also known as Talbot, Edward Talbot

A historical figure who appears in the children's adventures.

King James I

minor

Also known as James the First, King James, James I, His Most Christian Majesty King James I

The Stuart king who appears as a character in the children's adventures.

Guy Fawkes

minor

The infamous Gunpowder Plot conspirator encountered by the children.

Lady Nithsdale

minor

Also known as Nithsdale

A historical figure who helps the children during their time travels.

Mr. Frewin

minor

A local man who assists the Arden children.

The Tallow King

minor

A wealthy merchant encountered during the children's time travels.

King Henry VIII

minor

Also known as King Henry, King Harry, King Henry the Eighth

The Tudor king who appears briefly in the children's adventures.

Oliver Cromwell

minor

Also known as Cromwell

The Lord Protector who appears as a historical figure in the story.

Bonnie Prince Charlie

minor

Also known as Prince Charlie, Bonny

The Jacobite pretender encountered during the children's travels.