Isabelle Eberhardt
Eberhardt is a spunky, resourceful young woman. Educated at home in Switzerland by her dad, she received a leg up on the competition. Restless and curious, she travels to Africa which becomes her life's mission. There she takes as much pleasure in having adventures as in writing them down. Her ambition and ability to ingratiate herself in foreign cultures earns her a position as media advisor in Africa for the European press. This position utilized Eberhardt's insider status in the country as well as allowing her to continue to travel.
Si Mahmoud Saadi
This is Eberhardt's alias while in Africa. She disguises herself as a man in order to participate in a host of freedoms which otherwise would have been denied her. As Saadi, Eberhardt converts to Islam and lives as a bedouin. She essentially abandons her European status in order to become one and the same with the Algerians. As her persona become compromised, however, Eberhardt managed to make a handful of significant enemies who disapproved both of her lifestyle and of the deception.
Slimane Ehnni
He is an Algerian soldier who makes Eberhardt's acquaintance as Si Mahmoud Saadi. They work side by side in some humanitarian causes for sometime. After her true identity is revealed, she is forced to leave Algeria. Ehnni proposes to her, and shortly after she returns to marry him.
Fyodor Dostoevsky
He is Eberhardt's favorite author, highly influential in her worldview. He was a Russian author famous for his exploration of the human psychology under duress, especially the darker capabilities of mankind. Some important novels of his include The Brothers Karmazov and Crime and Punishment.
