It is a massive book, well over 1000 pages, with dozens of characters and numerous intermingling plot lines. It was made into a Miniseries in 1988 starring Pierce Brosnan .
''The Noble House'' also is a nickname of Struan's , the trading company featured prominently in most of Clavell's novels.
''Noble House'' is set in 1963 . The Tai-pan , Ian Dunross, struggles to rescue Struan's from the precarious financial position left over from his predecessor. To do this, he seeks partnership with an American millionaire, while trying to ward off Quillan Gornt, who seeks to destroy Struan's once and for all. Meanwhile, Chinese communists, Taiwanese nationalists, and Soviet spies illegally vie for influence in Hong Kong while the British government seeks to prevent this. And nobody, it seems, can get anything done without enlisting the aid of Hong Kong's criminal underworld.
A major difference between the original novel and the later miniseries adaptation is the television version changes the setting from 1963 to the late 1980s, and updates visible technology accordingly.
- Geoffrey Allison - Governor of Hong Kong.
- Vincenzo Banastasio - American mafioso with ties to Asian smuggling.
- Dunston Barre - Business executive.
- Luis Basilio - Head of the stock exchange.
- Charles Biltzmann - Vice-president of American Superfoods.
- Barbara Chen - John Chen's overbearing wife.
- Claudia Chen - Executive secretary to the tai-pan, distant cousin to Phillip Chen.
- Dianne Chen - Dianne Mai-wai T'Chung, wife of Phillip Chen, descendant of Dirk Struan.
- John Chen - Son of Phillip Chen; director of Struan's, secretly colluding with Lincoln Bartlett.
- Pun Po Chen - Member of Werewolves criminal gang and distant cousin of John Chen.
- Sarah Chen - Phillip Chen's aunt.
- Smiler Ching - Banker, drug runner.
- Paul Choy - Wu Fang Choi, secret son of Four Finger Wu.
- Lim Chu - Alastair Struan's personal servant.
- Tom Connichie - CIA Agent.
- Jacques DeVille - Member of Struan's inner court.
- Susanne DeVille - Wife of Jacques deVille.
- Adryon Dunross - Daughter of Ian and Penelope Dunross.
- Duncan Dunross - Son of Ian and Penelope Dunross.
- Glenna Dunross - Daughter of Ian and Penelope Dunross.
- Penelope Dunross - Wife of Ian Dunross.
- Sam And Molly Finn - Known communist sympathizers.
- Bill Foster - Struan agent in Australia.
- Henry Foxwell - Senior Superintendent of Traffic.
- Ginny Fu - Gregor Suslev's mistress.
- Andrew Gavallan - Member of Struan's inner court.
- Kathren Gavallan - Sister of Ian Dunross.
- Alan Medford Grant - associate of the Institute for Strategic Planning in London, and an informant for Struan's.
- Martin Haply - Muckraking journalist from Canada.
- Paul Havergill - Deputy chief manager of Victoria Bank, secret ally of Quillan Gornt.
- Alan Holdbrook - Struan's stockbroker.
- Captain Janelli - Lincoln Bartlett's pilot.
- Tang-wa Jen - Nationalist General, chief of illegal Kuomintang secret police.
- Wei-wei Jen - Lady friend of Ian Dunross, niece of Tang-wa Jen.
- Bruce Johnjohn - Banker at Victoria's Bank.
- Kin Min-ta - Head of Werewolves criminal gang.
- Kin Sop-ming - Member of Werewolves criminal gang.
- Koronski - Soviet chemical interrogations expert.
- Richard Kwang - Head of Ho-Pak bank, nephew of Four Finger Wu.
- Mona Leung - Quillan Gornt's mistress.
- Tom Leung - Dunross' chief jockey.
- Duncan MacIver - Helicoptor pilot.
- David MacStruan - Distant cousin of Dunross, head of Struan's Canadian operations.
- Mary Li
- Ming-Li - John Chen's mistress.
- Fleur Marlowe - Wife of Peter Marlowe.
- Peter Marlowe - Novelist, based on Clavell himself. Featured prominently in Clavell's previous book, King Rat .
- Lando Mata - Macao's gambling and gold syndicate boss.
- Donald McBride - Steward of the Turf Club.
- Dr. Meng - Forensic pathologist and communist sympathizer.
- Dimitri Metkin - Russian sailor and spy.
- John Mishauer - U.S. Navy intelligence officer.
- Bill O'Rourke - Lincoln Bartlett's co-pilot.
- Manuel Perriera - Librarian.
- Jason Plumm - Tai-pan of Asian Properties, descendant of Tyler Brock.
- Afternoon Pok - Waiter at Victoria and Albert Hotel.
- Jenny Pollard - Lincoln Bartlett's air hostess.
- Goodweather Poon - Smuggler.
- Venus Poon - Actress and Richard Kwang's mistress.
- Marty Povits - CIA agent.
- Richard Hamilton Pugmire - Tai-pan of H.K. General Stores.
- Orlanda Ramos - Former mistress, assistant to Quillan Gornt.
- Stanley Rosemont - CIA officer.
- Edward Sinders - Head of MI-6.
- Donald C.C. Smyth - Corrupt police inspector.
- Ishwar Soorjani - Indian moneylender and stockbroker.
- Joseph Stern - Quillan Gornt's Stockbroker.
- Alastair Struan - Ninth tai-pan, born 1900.
- Linbar Struan - Member of Struan's inner court.
- Gregor Suslev - Captain of Soviet spy ship, KGB Colonel.
- Sven Svensen - Lincoln Bartlett's plane steward.
- Ah Tam - Old refugee woman who works with street criminals.
- Pockmark Tang - Smuggler.
- Tang-po - Police sergeant, Dragon of triad controlling street gambling.
- Shitee T'Chung - Business leader, descendant of Dirk Struan through May-may.
- Hiro Toda - Japanese shipping magnate.
- Tok-toh Tip - Chinese presumed to work for Bank of China.
- Alexi Travkin - Russian noble in exile, Dunross' trainer.
- Tsu-yun - Chinese businessman, thorium smuggler.
- Zeppelin Tung - Son of Tightfist Tung.
- Igor Voranski - Russian sailor, actually Major Yuri Bakyan of the KGB.
- P.B. White - Mysterious bank executive and Struan ally.
- Sandra Yi - Ian Dunross' personal secretary.
- Mary Yok - Richard Kwang's niece and secretary.
- Sam Ackroyd
- Mary Armstrong - Wife of Robert Armstrong.
- Luis Basilio
- Morgan Brock - Son of Tyler Brock.
- Tyler Brock - rival to Dirk Struan.
- Gordon Chen - Grandfather of Phillip Chen, son of Dirk Struan.
- Sarah Chen - Aunt of Phillip Chen, daughter of Gordon Chen and Karen Yuan.
- Sheng Chen - Father of Gordon Chen; first compradore of Struan's.
- Jeff Cooper - American trader in early Hong Kong.
- Anne DeVille - Daughter of Agnes Dunross, wife of Gaston deVille.
- Gaston DeVille - Father of Jacques deVille.
- Agnes Dunross - ne Struan, wife of Dirk Dunross, grandmother of Ian Dunross.
- Colin Dunross - Father of Ian Dunross, eighth tai-pan.
- Dirk Dunross - Dirk McCloud Dunross, fourth tai-pan, born 1852, died 1894, grandfather of Ian Dunross.
- Winifred Dunross - Daughter of Dirk Struan, mother of Dirk Dunross.
- Peter Gavallan - Married Kate T'Chung.
- Edward Gornt - Great-grandfather of Quillan Gornt.
- Emelda Gornt - Deceased wife of Quillan Gornt.
- Kristian Gornt - Mother of Edward Gornt by Morgan Brock.
- William Gornt - Father of Quillan Gornt.
- Jin-qua - Jin-Arn Chen-tse, Chinese secret partner of Struan's.
- Kai-sung - Daughter of Jin-qua, mistress of Dirk Struan, mother of Gordon Chen by Struan.
- Ed Langan - FBI officer in Hong Kong
- Sean MacStruan
- Captain Moffatt - Struan ship captain of ''Lasting Cloud''
- Vee Cee Ng - Photographer Ng, smuggles thorium for China's atomic program.
- Donald Nikklin
- Tom Nikklin - Descendant of Tyler Brock.
- Kelly O'Gorman - Grandson of Hag Struan through her daughter Rose.
- Stride Orlov - Chief captain under Dirk Struan.
- Aristotle Quance - painter, resident of early Hong Kong.
- Yau Ming Soo - Mistress of Robb Struan, mother of Isabel Yuan.
- Culum Struan - Son of Dirk, second Tai-Pan.
- Dirk Struan - Founder of Struan's, featured in Tai-Pan .
- Lochlin Struan - Third tai-pan, broke Brock and Sons, born 1841, died 1915.
- Ross Struan - Father of Alastair Struan, seventh tai-pan.
- Ross Lechie Struan - Sixth tai-pan, born 1887, died 1915 at Ypres.
- Robb Struan - Dirk Struan's brother and partner.
- Tess Struan - "The Hag", wife of Culum Struan, daughter of Tyler Brock.
- Hummingbird Sung - Shainghainese shipping magnate.
- Duncah T'Chung - son of Dirk Struan and May-may.
- Jin 'May-may' T'Chung - Mistress of Dirk Struan, granddaughter of Jin-qua.
- Kate T'Chung - daughter of Dirk Struan and May-may, married Peter Gavallan.
- Wilf Tillman - U.S. Senator.
- George Toffer - American businessman broken my Lincoln Bartlett.
- Tightfist Tung - Syndicate man in Macao.
- Wu Fang Choi - Chinese warlord in 1840s.
- Wu Kwok - Son of Wu Fang Choi.
- Isabel Yau - Secret daughter of Robb Struan, mistress of Jeff Cooper, great-grandmother of Phillip Chen.
- John Yuan - Son of Jeff Cooper and Isabel Yua.
- Isabel Yuan - Wife of John Yuan.
- Karen Yuan - Granddaughter of Robb Struan, second wife of Gordon Chen.
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