The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt

Book Club Extraordinaire Nov/Dec book pick is The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt. Characters abound in this book so I will begin my list so I can keep track of who's who.
Children:
The Boys:
Tom Wellswood- age 13 dark gold hair; looked younger than he was; large dark eyes, soft mouth
Julian Cain - age 15; neither tall nor short, slightly built with a sharp face and a sallow complexion.
Phillip Warren- does Indian rope trick and disappears; hay haired, shaggy and filthy; living in the basement of the museum; in the Russian crypt. The shrine of an old dead saint, where the bones used to be on a stone bed.

The Girls:
Dorothy- oldest daughter
Phyllis- vegetarian
Hedda- age 5, vegetarian; little demon; clever; cannot keep still
Florian- age 3; bashful
Robin- age 1

Adults:
Major Cain- Julian's father; Special Keeper of Precious Metals at the South Kensington Museum
Humphrey Wellswood- Olive's husband, Tom, Dorothy, Phyllis, Hedda, Robin,Florian's father, tall, thin man, with a fox-red beard, neatly trimmed, pale blue eyes and a dark brown velvet jacket; works at the Bank of England and was an active member of the Fabian Society.He tells tales to his family of secret naughtiness amongst the bank clerks.
Olive Wellswood- Tom, Dorothy, Phyllis, Hedda, Florian's mother; vegetarian; author of magical tales; bold, pleasant face, high coloured, eager, firm-mouthed, with wide-set huge dark eyes, like the poopy centres, around 35; moves a little to freely, impuslsivel, fine flesh, fine ankles; authority on British Fairy Lore
Violet Grimwith, Olive's sister, short dark-haired woman in a loose mulberry-coloured dress, vegetarian
Ada - Wellswood's cook
Cathy- young servant