Through the Storm - Characters

 SPOILERS!!!

These are the characters in this book for further reference:

• Kitty Quigley (27) is a main character in this novel. Kitty is a good friend to Sheila and Brenda as they went to school together. Kitty dreamt of getting married, but when her father had an accident in the docks and became disabled, he had to look after him. Things change when she gets a letter, urging her to work for the war effort, and Kitty starts working in a hospital. Kitty meets an American GI and they fall in love. However, he is hurt when she discovers that he is already married. She is heartbroken. At the end of the book she decides to join the merchant navy as a nurse. 
• Jimmy Quigley (50) is Kitty's father. He is a selfish man who forced his daughter to give up on her life to look after him. In reality, Jimmy is not sick at all. When Kitty goes to work, he has to make the effort to leave the house. Then he meets Theresa, a widow with two young children, and they marry. Jimmy realises that Theresa is a mistake, but it is too late. Theresa gets pregnant, and he has to return to work after he is found out. Jimmy grows closer to his stepsons, who have been repressed by their mother's strict rules, and he helps them come out of their shell. 
• Jessica Fleming (46) returns to Pearl Street to live after living in the Lake District where her husband was a curator. She is bored and leaves Arthur. In Pearl Street she resumes her affair with Jack because she wants to get pregnant again. She also starts a business in a garage, but that ends when the place is blown by his owner. Jessica meets Major Henningsen, and they get married at the end of the book. 
• Theresa is the woman who Jimmy marries. She is cold and aloof, and threats her two sons unfairly. She doesn't let them play outside or leave their room. 
• Billy (6) and Georgie (8) Beamish are Theresa's sons.
• Arthur Fleming was Jessica’s husband. After Jessica leaves him, he joins the war and he is killed in action.
• Penny Fleming is Jessica’s baby daughter. She is also Jack's daughter. Jack realises that she is his daughter, but he only tells Jess. Nobody knows. 
• Sheila Reilly (27) is Eileen’s sister. She is married to Callum and they have six children.Now he is expecting her seventh child. 
• Jack Doyle (53) is Eileen, Sheila and Sean’s father. Eileen felt that her father loved her sister better than her. Yet, he helped her when he discovered what kind of man Francis was. Jack has a passionate night with Jessica Fleming, and she got pregnant, but she never told him about the baby.
• Eileen Stephen swas married to Francis and they had a child, Tony. Eileen didn't love her husband. The reason she married him was because her father thought he was good for her. Francis was a brute who abused her, and when he left for the war, Eileen realised that she didn't want him back. Her conviction strengthened when she met Nick Stephens and fell in love. Eileen tried to get a divorce and with the help of her father, they reached an agreement with Francis, who was in Egypt. He would agree for a divorce on the grounds of her adultery, and in exchange Jack would support him as a possible candidate as MP. Eileen planned to live with Nick in his cottage, but then Francis returned injured, and her plans were frustrated. Eileen lost Tony when Francis took him to a gambling house, which was bombed. After that, Eileen joined  the land army in Norfolk, which was where she discovered she was expecting a baby. Then she returned to Bootle, and when Nick was on leave, they got married and Eileen gave birth to her new son, Nick Jr. Now she lives in the cottage, adn when Nick returns disabled, she has to put up with his depression.
• Nick Stephens (25) is Eileen Stephens..  Nick is a scientist and was hired to make booby traps. He then joined the war as a pilot. In this book he returns injured after his plane was hit and he lost an arm. He is depressed and has little interest in anything. Things perk up when he is offered a job in London. 
• Nicky Stephens is Eileen and Nick's son. 
• Callum Reilly is Sheila’s husband. He is in the merchant navy and shortly after the beginning of the war, his ship was taken prisoner. Thankfully, Callum was not dead but a prisoner, and he was eventually set free. Callum spends many months sailing and Sheila is worried all the time.
• Sergeant Dale Tooley is the American GI who falls for Kitty. Kitty loves him, and they are happy together. However, the day before he has to leave Liverpool, he confesses that he is married and has two daughters, so Kitty dumps him. 
• Major Gus Henningsen is the American officer who Jess eventually marries. He is a widower and has a son, Martin, who is reported missing, presumably dead. Thankfully, Martin didn't die and is found in Australia
• Glyn Thomas is a soldier that falls for Kitty and even proposes to her, but Kitty doesn't love him. 
• Vera Dodds is the postwoman who Dai Evans has an affair with. 
• Miss Kate Thomas was Eileen’s boss at the factory. She helped Eileen when she discovered that Eileen was an abused wife like her. Kate helped Eileen when she wantde to join the land army, and she also helped her and Ruth to find a place for Dilys to live in when her mother threw her out. In the last book Kate became reacquainted with her daughter after years not speaking because of her ex-husband's interference. Kate is now friends with Jack Doyle, and they sometimes meet to go to concerts and conferences. It seems that Kate is in love with him. 
• Rita Mott is the woman who lets out the garage of her husband for Jessica. During her husband's absence she enjoys going out with men, and when Americans arrive, she gives parties every night. When her husband appears, he is so furious that he gives her a beating and blows up the garage and the flat. Rita feels she deserves her husband's wrath, and when she discovers he is in prison, she writes to him and he is willing to get back to her.
• Ryan Reilly (3) is Sheila’s son.
• Dominic Reilly (8) is Sheila’s son. He plays football at school, and he is the star of the team. Actually, his school team win a championship thanks to him. 
• Niall Reilly (7) is Sheila’s son
• Caitlin Reilly is Sheila’s daughter.
• Siobhan Reilly is Sheila’s daughter
• Mary Reilly (2) is Sheila’s baby daughter.
• Sean Doyle (19) is Eileen’s brother. He is an attractive boy who is said to have gone out with every girl in Bootle.  Sean fell in love with Alice Scully and they get married. Then Alice falls pregnant and has a baby boy.
• Alice Doyle is Sean's wife. She rented Eileen’s house while Eileen was away because her house had been damaged. Alice has a big responsibility because she has to look after  her four young siblings. Alice is very strict with her brothers and sisters, and Sheila doesn’t like her. Jack Doyle also thinks she is not the best match for Sean because marrying Alice means  taking too many responsibilities. Alice and Sean gets married, and they have a baby son. 
• Edward Doyle is Sean and Alice's baby son.
• Brenda Mahon (27) is Sheila’s best friend. She is a seamstress and is married to Xavier and they have two daughters. Brenda discovered that her husband was a cheat when a woman turned up at her door, saying that she was Xavier’s wife and her son is his. 
• Xavier Mahon is Brenda’s handsome husband. He cheated on her by getting another woman pregnant and marrying him. When he returned and found Brenda and Carrie together, he almost had a heart attack. Xavier tried to ingratiate himself on Brenda, but he tried to keep Carrie happy too. In the end Brenda didn't  take him back.
• Muriel and Monica Mahon are Brenda’s daughters.
• Tommy and Colette Scully are two of Alice’s siblings.
• Ellis Evans lives in Pearl Street. She and her husband have terrible fights, and she is terribly hard on her daughter. When she found out that Dilys was pregnant, she threw her out of her home. Ellis discovers that her husband cheated on her with Vera, the postwoman, so she kicks him out of the house, and then she returns to Wales with her other daughter Myfanwy.
• Dai Evans is Ellis’s husband. He cheats on Ellis with Vera, and Ellis kicks her out of the hyouse
• Myfanwy Evans is another daughter of Dai and Ellis Evans
• Agnes (Aggie) Donovan (74) is a neighbour in Pearl Street and she tends to be a gossip and critical of how other women keep their homes.
• Paddy O’Hara lives in Pearl Street. He is blind and a kind man. 
• Nan Wright (72) is an old neighbour who Kitty helps. She dies in this book. 
• Harriet Mansell is another auxiliary alongside Kitty. She and Kitty become friends, and Kitty discovers that she used to be a doctor. Yet, she lost her licence when she performed an abortion. Harriet decides to leave for America to practise medicine.
• Lucy Peterson is another auxiliary. She lives with her father and siblings, and she often is ill-treated by her father. 
• Martin McCabe (Geordie) is the injured soldier that Kitty befriends. He is covered in bandages, and Kitty enjoys talking to him. He is so smitten with Kitty that he gives her a ring, which causes a problem for Kitty, and she almost loses her job. Geordie eventually dies of his injuries.
• Nurse Bellamy is Kitty's boss in the hospital. 
• Mack owns the pub in Pearl Street.
• Veronica owns a lingerie shop in the area, and Jessica worked for her for a while. T
• May Kelly live in Pearl Street. She and his brothers sell stuff from the black market. 
• Finlan Kelly (41) and Finlay Kelly (42) are May's brothers. Finlay is called up, which is a total shock for the family

Characters in previous booka:

• Tony Costello  was Eileen’s son, who died in the Blitz.  
• Francis Costello was Eileen’s husband. Francis died when the gambling house he was in is bombed.
• Jacob Singerman (80) used to be a tailor. He played the piano and when he met Jessica Fleming and heard her sing, they started performing together. His daughter moved to Austria years ago, where she married and had her children. Ruth returned to him. Jacob died during the blitz when a spooked horse ran him over.
• Ruth Singermann (41) is Jacob’s daughter. She returned to Bootle after her husband killed himself and her children left supposedly for America. Ruth helped Dilys Evans when she discovered the girl was pregnant, and when Dilys went away, leaving the baby behind, Ruth decided to raise him as her own. As a way to protect herself and the boy, she agreed to marry Matt Smith, a German communist. Then Dilys ca,me for the baby and Ruth hads to give the baby back despite her own feelings. She and Matt remained friends and planned to go to America to find Ruth’s children.
• Matt Smith (32) is a German refugee and he and Ruth married out of convenience. Ruth deluded herself into thinking she was in love with him, a but in the end they realised that he and Ruth were just friends.
• Carrie Banks (19) is the woman who Xavier got pregnant and married.
• Sonny is Carrie’s son.
• Dilys Harvey (15) is the Evans’s daughter. Her mother threw her out when she fell pregnant after a guest came to her bed and she couldn’t bring herself to say no. Ruth Singermann helped her, and when Dilys had the baby, she ran away, leaving him with Ruth. Some months later she returned, married and demanding her baby back, so Ruth couldn't do anything but agree.
• Reg Harvey is the man Dilys marries.
• Michael is the baby boy Dilys had and Ruth wanted to adopt.
• Annie Poulson/Parker(38) is Eileen’s best friend. She is a widow and her two sons are in the front. Annie met Chris Parker and married him, so she moved out of Pearl Street.
• Chris Parker is the man who Annie married at the end of the first book. He is a widower and used to be a fireman.
• Terry and Joe Poulson are Annie’s sons. They are away in the front.
• Vince McLoughlin was the bus conductor who Brenda befriended. Vince seemde to want a relationship with Brenda, but she wasn't interested.
• Conor Kinnear was a friend of Kate's, and ownde the stately home in Norfolk where Eileen worked as land girl
• Laura Kinnear is Conor’s wife.
• Ted Wright was the owner of the farm where Eileen workedas part of the land army. He was married to Edna, but  the man was a cheat and had a lover who he had ten children with.
• Edna Wright was Ted’s wife, and she was morose and horrible to Eileen and Peggy. 
• Peggy Wilson was the other land girl who works for the Wrights.
• Doris (19) worked in the factory Eileen worked in
• Pauline (19) workde in the factory Eileen worked in
• Carnel (50) worked in the factory Eileen worked in
• Lil worked in the factory Eileen worked in
• Theresa worked in the factory. She died during the Blitz.
• Alfie Robinson was the foreman in the factory where Eileen started to work.
• Hilda Barrett worked with Eileen in the WVS.
• Donnie Kennedy (18) used to go to school with Sean.  Donnie diee in the front.
• Phoebe Crean is another neighbour in Pearl Street. Her two sons have Down syndrome.
• Harry and Owen Crean are Phoebe’s sons.
• Benjamin Hildesheimer was Ruth’s husband. He committed suicide when he couldn’t put up with the situation in Austria.
• Simon and Leah Hildesheimer are Ruth’s children. They are supposed to have gone to America.
• Gladys Tutty lives in Pearl Street. She is a drunkard and neglects her children. However, her daughter Freda learns that this is not the way to live when she is evacuated to Southport. At the end of the book Gladys seems to have cut down on the drink. In this book she doesn’t appear.
• Freda Tutty (10) is Glady’s daughter. She discovers that life can be different to what she was living with her mother when she meets Vivien, her host mother, when she was evacuated. When Gladys demanded her back, Freda decided to change life in Bootle thanks to the money that Vivien’s husband gave her. She cleaned the house with the help of some of the neighbours and refurnished the place. She also studied hard at school, and at the end of the book she wins a scholarship for secondary school.
• Dicky Tutty (7) is Freda’s brother.
• Vivien Waterford was the woman who looked after Freda and Dicky when they were evacuated. Vivien took a liking to Freda. When Freda was forced to return home, she got upset, had a heart attack and died.
• Clive Waterford was Vivien’s husband. He didn’t care much for the children, but he was happy that Vivien enjoyed having them there. When Vivien died, he decided to do what Vivien would have liked, so he went to Bootle to reach an agreement with Gladys.
• Helen Brazier (34) lived in Pearl Street. She used to be very shy, but during blackout she met Lou, who seduced her and made her discover the pleasures of sex. When she discovered that he was married and had three children, she started with Paddy O’Hara. Paddy got tired of her, and she turned her affections to her boss in the coop, and when he proposed, she realised that she wanted more from life, and she decided to join the ATS.
• Mary Flaherty lived in Pearl Street, but she and her family decided to move to Canada. The neighbours threw a street party to bid them goodbye. On the way to Canada the ship was torpedoed and Mary died.
• Rosie Gregson lived in Pearl Street. Her husband was in the front and died, and she gave birth to their baby. The baby couldn’t reach the proper weight and Rosie found him dead in his cot.
• Joey Flaherty was Mary’s husband.
• Rodney Smith was Francis’s drinking buddy.