 All of the characters are said to be recognizable portraits of actual historical people.Most are not readily identifiable, but the character of Andreas Heyde is clearly based on J. C. Svabo, who did, in fact, as is noted in Jacobsen's first work, "", undertake a study of the Faroese economy in the late eighteenth century, only slightly later than the setting for this novel.The principal character in the novel, Barbara, is based upon Jacobsen's lover, Estrid Bannister (later Estrid Bannister Good), who was also the translator of the first English version of the book.