CHARLIE:
The readers met Charlie when he was 5 years
old. He is now nine. He is an inquisitive, talkative,
friendly lad, with a 'talent' for pulling faces
and getting his words mixed up. The world - the
entire planetary system - fascinates Charlie. His
catch phrase is 'tremendously excellent!' He is
a sturdy lad with chestnut-coloured hair and greeny-blue
eyes. And is a competent young artist.
CHARLIE'S FAMILY
BETH AND GEORGIA: Charlie's
sisters. Identical twins: red hair and bright green
eyes. Aged 4. Although identical to look at, their
temperaments are opposite; Georgia being the more
volatile of the pair. Beth, however, can stand her
ground. The twins spend much of their time disagreeing
and insulting one another. But, if anyone comes
between them, a united front goes up.
SAM: Charlie's toddler
brother. Resembles Charlie in most ways: visually,
cheerful, talkative and easy-going.
MARTIN AND TESSA HARPER:
Charlie's parents. Mid/late 30s. They enjoy their
children. Martin works - Tessa stays at home, although
she is involved with various school activities.
The couple value their friendships and have passed
this trait on to their offspring. Both parents agree
that talking things through with the youngsters
is preferable to any other kinds of discipline.
GUTSY: The family pet
dog. From a canine rescue centre. Gutsy's name was
the result of one of Charlie's howlers. He wanted
to call his new pet after a lady, who he considered
to be very very kind and who did 'tremendously excellent
kind things for other people'. By the time his puzzled
mother found out the woman's real first name - Dulcie
- the timid puppy was cheerfully responding to the
first version.
SHEILA AND JIM HARPER:
Martin's parents. Retired. Moved to Eddingfield
(Charlie's fictional home town) some years back,
to be nearer their only grandchildren.
MARY AND GORDON ALLEN
: Tessa's parents. Living locally. Retired. Mary
is, according to Charlie, 'a great cooker!' Friendly
with Sheila and Jim - all four always happy to help
out with the youngsters.
RAY AND KATHERINE ALLEN
: Tessa's brother and sister-in-law. Artists, living
in St Ives, Cornwall, where Charlie and his friends
spend many happy times and adventures.
ANNABELLE ALLEN: toddler
daughter of Ray and Katherine.
CHARLIE'S CIRCLE OF FRIENDS
DAISY POLLOCK: Daisy
is Charlie's darling. The nine year olds plan to
marry when they are 25, buy a big house in the country,
keep chickens and horses and have several children.
Daisy is plump and pretty, with wildly curly hair.
She wears glasses, is comically outspoken, and hails,
originally, from Gateshead. Daisy has a talent for
singing. Her parents are Susie and Steve and she
has a baby sister, Emily.
CHLOE YOUNG: Chloe
is the daughter of Charlie's mum's oldest friend,
Molly. A slender blonde, with expressive bright
blue eyes, Chloe studies dancing. She also has a
talent for over-reacting and being dramatic, which
leads to rows with her 'best' friend, Daisy, but
the rows are over very quickly. Chloe's Dad is Adam
and her younger brother is Jake.
LI CHANG: Gentle Li's
parents run the local Chinese restaurant. A quiet
and thoughtful lad, with glossy black hair and dark
eyes, Li gets on with everyone.
TOM SHARPE: Tom is
Daisy's cousin and Chloe's off and on boyfriend.
He moved down south from the north of England a
year ago, along with his parents, Jeannie and Alex,
and his elder sisters - Mel and Linzi. Spiky-haired,
vegetarian Tom is into ecology and making unusual
jewellery using what he calls 'the fruits of the
earth' and which includes dead bugs...
TRISTAN WARREN-SMITH:
Older than his nine year old friends, by a couple
of years, articulate Tristan is already worldly-wise.
Tall and gangly, fair-haired Tristan has already
proven his skills as a born-organiser. He has two
younger siblings - Sacha ( a bit of a brat) and
four year old Piers - and lives in the house next
door to Charlie. The house which once belong to
the late Hector Smythe.
HECTOR SMYTHE: Although
deceased, Hector still figures very much in the
life of Charlie and his friends. Endlessly patient,
the elderly bachelor taught the youngsters so much
about so many things. So much so, that they often
visit his grave, taking along with them some very
unusual gifts. But none greater than the gift which
Hector left behind a legacy to the four Harper children,
which will give them the best possible start when
they each reach the age of 25.
MATTHEW GUNN: Homeless
Matthew was a Big Issue seller who Charlie befriended.
Eventually, the rest of Charlies friends became
involved in helping Matthew to a new life.
