For Antha, Abigail, and Susan (because I know little/nothing about them): Are they any kind of nerdy or geeky, and if so, what is their nerdery/geekery of choice?
Antha is definitely a subscriber to the botanical fads of the era. Her father is a professor of botany at Erstham and she’s the only one of the children who has taken interest– though she has done so with gusto– in his work. She and Jon are often found either at work in their garden or setting up indoor planters, or, during the colder months, pouring over catalogs and discussing their plans for the spring. She’s very young in the story (follows her probably up to age 8) so she may have other pursuits as she gets older, but for now this is her main passionate obsession. (She is also fond of adventure novels, but will not rattle on about them for hours nonstop in quite the same way.)
Abigail, Antha’s older sister and twin to Julius, would probably never describe herself as a geek or a nerd if she knew what that all was about. However, I will say that she is rather devoted to her music and if I were to plop her into a modern setting she’d probably be seen as something of a music nerd. She plays three instruments (piano, violin, and eventually cello) and can sing… passably. (This frustrates her to no end, for her rival has perfect pitch.) She and her twin both have an absolute mania for croquet and host tournaments with the other neighborhood children on the regular. She is quite obsessed with it and very competitive, though I believe this is one of those “passing fads of childhood” and may not stick with her to adulthood. (The story, book two for her and Antha, follows her to about age 14.)
Susan is a character I have trouble describing as a nerd at all, because I was raised on John Hughes films and she’s “An Athlete.” However, in my heart of hearts I know sports are nerdy as heck. The level of enthusiasm, devotion, and insanity involved are exactly the same. She is the Captain of the Erstham Ladies Rifling Team and on her weekends she can be found riding her horse, Peter, a thoroughbred. I believe she also bets on horse races and probably fancies herself a good judge of horseflesh.