Example Characters​​​
Her Grace, Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of York, wife of the Duke of York.
Name: Georgiana Cavendish
Character type: Bad Blood
Role in Family: Family Head
Family: Cavendish
Are you married? Yes, to the Duke of York.
Do you have children? Yes, one daughter Harriet
Title: Duchess of York, wife of the Duke of York
Heir: Inherited wealth but no title from my parents, who are both dead.
Personal wealth? £40,000 debt
Inherited wealth? £30,000 direct, £10,000 dowry
Scandals? Heir born out of wedlock; no heir to her husband.
Gossip? Recently made a bet with her husband that she could get Bess to publically declare she prefers Georgiana to her husband in bed.
Thoughts on marriage and love: They are two different things. Marriage is how one eats; Love is a pleasant diversion on the side.
Do you prefer dancing, gambling or conversation: Gambling
Background:
A leading member of late Georgian society, famous for her extrovert personality, her extravagant fashions and her championing of the Whig party. An heiress with a large fortune, she was the toast of the town during her coming out and was almost immediately engaged to the highly titled Duke of York. However their marriage has been an unhappy one - his introverted personality continually clashes with her flamboyance.
She has enormous debts and is addicted to gambling. Her husband has publically refused to cover any costs until she gives him an heir, forcing her to sell her jewellery to cover her costs. it is well-known in society that Harriet, her only child, is the daughter of one her lovers, Charles Grey.
Georgiana and Elizabeth are madly in love and trust each other totally. Neither has noticed the intense rivalry developing between their children, whom they presume to be the closest of friends. Elizabeth desires, above all else, to see her daughter make a spectacular marriage. Ideally with enough money coming her way to cover her gaming debts….
Lady Elizabeth “Bess” Foster a la Cavendish, Baronet of Bristol
Name: Elizabeth Foster
Character type: Nobel Rogue
Role in Family: Chaperone
Family: Cavendish
Are you married? Yes, to John Foster.
Do you have children? Yes, 5 children. Two with John Foster, and three with the Duke of York. The youngest is Spencer Foster.
Title: Baronet of Bristol
Heir: Heir to the Earl of Bristol, and a small dowry from her other father.
Personal wealth? Moderate, about £2,000. She would be unable to afford to live in high society, but the Duke covers the majority of her expenses.
Inherited wealth? Heir to an entail of £5,000. In possession of Dowry of £1,000.
Scandals? She left her husband’s household and lives instead with her two lovers. However, since they already both had heirs this is only a moderate scandal. It is known by everyone, but is over 20 years old and no longer a hot topic of gossip.
Gossip? It is rumoured that Bess has painted a series of nude portraits of the Duke and Duchess of York.
Thoughts on marriage and love: You can always find love outside of marriage. Her children by the Duke deserve partners of the highest quality and she is angry that all the offers have been insufficient.
Do you prefer dancing, gambling or conversation: Dancing
Background:
Daughter and heir of the Earl of Bristol, Elizabeth was married to John Foster, an Irish MP, but left their household after bearing two sons and was formally adopted by the Cavendish family. She is well-known to be the lover of both the Duchess and the Duke, delicately balancing out their constant fights and disagreements. Her youngest three children are rumoured to be fathered by the Duke and were brought up in the Cavendish household, but nothing had ever been officially confirmed. All three were officially repudiated by John Foster, and with the Queen’s permission, cut off from inheriting anything from him.
Elizabeth expects that the Duke will eventually recognise Spencer as his child, albeit after he selects a suitable heir. However, she expects to get proposals suitable for the younger child of the Duke, with a substantial dowry-share and is quite angry that none have been forthcoming.
Georgiana and Elizabeth are madly in love and trust each other totally. Neither has noticed the intense rivalry developed between their children.
She is angry with the Beaublock family for attempting to seduce her child into marrying their eldest daughter and intends to give them the cut direct if they attempt to talk to her.
The Honorable Miss Harriet “Harryo” Cavendish
Name: Harriet Cavendish
Character type: The Outsider
Role in Family: Debutant
Family: Cavendish
Are you married? No
Do you have children? No
Title: Honorable
Heir: She is heir to her mother, the Duchess of York, but as this is a courtesy title from her mother’s marriage, she will inherit no title.
Personal wealth? None
Inherited wealth? None from her mother. She should get a share of her “father”’s dowry, which is nearly £20,000. Currently, there are no other children to share it.
Scandals? Harriet is the natural daughter of Charles Grey, not her mother’s husband, although the Duke has never officially repudiated her. This is a massive scandal, and well known, but 20 years old. Her entrance in society has stirred the old gossip backup, but with the Duke’s backing and Harriet’s own impeccable behaviour, it is rather old news.
Gossip? In revenge for a snub, Harryo snuck into the dressing room of an acquaintance, the Honourable Miss Lucy Barking, before the first ball of the season and dumped black ink down all her white gowns.
Thoughts on marriage and love: Harriet believes that true love is the foundation of a lasting marriage, and thinks marrying for money or position leads to unhappiness (as evidenced by all the adults in her family).
Do you prefer dancing, gambling or conversation: Conversation
Background:
It is well-known in society that Harriet is the daughter her mother’s lover, Charles Grey, rather than the Duke. The Duke has declined to repudiate the child, although he was offered an opportunity to do so by the Queen herself. Harriet remains both her mother’s heir and entitled to a share of the Duke’s dower fortune - which is known to be rather large. However, if the Duke chooses to acknowledge any bastards, such as Spencer, the dower would drop proportionally. Alternatively, if the Duke were to repudiate her, she would have no inheritance or title whatsoever.
She is terrified of losing her place in society and has been schooled by her mother that she must behave impeccably at all times or she will lose her father’s love and protection. Despite this, she often finds ways to belittle or sneer at Spencer behind the chaperone’s back.
Those wishing to insult Harriet refer to her as “Miss Harriet Grey” and treat her as though she were an illegitimate child of the peerage.
Mx Spencer Foster a la Cavendish
Name: Spencer Foster
Character type: Blue Blood
Role in Family: Debutant
Family: Cavendish
Are you married? No
Do you have children? No
Title: Illegitimate child of a Peer. They would be a Baronet if the Duke officially recognised them as heir; or Honorable if the Duke formally adopted them as his child after designating another heir.
Heir: Not currently
Personal wealth? The Duke gave them some spending money for the season - £1000
Inherited wealth? Will inherit a dowry of £200 from Elizabeth Foster.
Scandals? Yes - they are illegitimate (old news; well known). Known only to Tarrice Beaublock - they snuck out one night and took a room at a coaching inn, intending to make for Gretna Green. They lacked the funds for the trip, however, and decided the marriage was imprudent without a source of income. Both snuck back home without anyone noticing.
Gossip? At Lady Groveby's ball, Spencer stood every dance with Tarrice and would not even look at another partner.
Thoughts on marriage and love: They had love, and have had it stolen from them - all that is left to them now is to make a glittering marriage.
Do you prefer dancing, gambling or conversation: Dancing
Background:
While Spencer is not their mother’s heir, considerable speculation surrounds them as to the exact nature of their future title. They are well known to be the child of the Duke of York, who lacks an heir. There is a chance their father would choose to acknowledge them, which would substantially change their rank and their fortune!
This ambiguity has harmed rather than helped their chances on the marriage market - those who make an offer suitable to their current standing in society are rejected by their mother, those of rank and wealth suitable to their speculative standing have, thus far, been unwilling to gamble.
Spencer is considerably jealous of Harriet, whose wealth and place in society technically outrank their own. They want to make a better match than Harriet - and are willing to sabotage her to get it.
They are in love with Tarrice Beaublock, a young heiress of moderate fortune but gentile family. Tarrice proposed earlier in the season, Spencer accepted and her father, a kind clergyman, immediately gave his blessing. But their mother objected; accused Tarrice of being a social climbing gold digger and had her preemptively banned from any function Spencer was attending. Their post has been carefully monitored so they couldn’t even sneak a note to her!