Edna (played by Christine White)

...the parlor maid of Arthur and Sybil Birling, was born in St. Mary's Hospital in Bristol in 1880, the illegitimate daughter of Ellen Donnelly, a scullery maid at the home of a wealthy landed family there. For the first seven years of her life, Edna lived in the Ashley Down Orphanage of Bristol. There, she was generally mistreated and developed into an angry child. However, in 1887, her mother suddenly retrieved her from the orphanage and took her to Reading, having obtained employment as a parlor maid in the home of the elderly couple, Thomas and Grace Preston, along with the permission for her daughter to reside in the home, provided that Edna would "earn her keep". Edna lived with her mother downstairs at the Preston home, assisting in the kitchen, with scullery and other menial duties. After the Prestons died, their grand-daughter Agnes D'Orsay, unmarried, childless (and relatively joyless) moved into and took over the role of mistress of the family home. Shortly thereafter in 1892, Edna's mother and a footman at the home became romantically involved and abandoned Edna when they suddenly, surreptitiously left the home and service and emigrated to America. Agnes was not thrilled by the sudden disappearance of Edna's mother, but agreed that the girl could remain in her house, provided she continued to work hard and did not follow her mother's example. Edna worked hard, motivated mainly by anger and resentment.

In 1902, when Sheila Birling, the niece of Agnes D'Orsay came to reside at the family home, Edna essentially became Sheila's maid, with responsibility for looking after her clothing, hair, appearance, and related personal duties. Although a bit of a vain young girl, Sheila treated Edna better than she'd ever been treated, and Edna responded by mellowing slightly, at least toward Sheila. Sheila shared with Edna some of her feelings - about an army captain with whom she was infatuated, about her strained relationship with her mother, and about her sudden, new-found awareness of certain "women's rights". When Sheila and Agnes traveled to Europe in 1905, Sheila asked that Edna accompany her, again to act primarily as Sheila's maid. However, when they were suddenly called back to England and Sheila went to Brumley because of the illness of her father, Edna returned to the home in Reading and somewhat resentfully assumed the duties of a parlor maid for Agnes. While she did not particularly mind the work, she resented Agnes's coldness and rather missed the association with Sheila Birling. In 1909, as Agnes's resources began to dwindle, she became concerned about maintaining the size of her staff of servants. Morosely certain that she was going to be summarily released from service, Edna was surprised and excited to learn that she would be sent to work for the Birlings in Brumley, their financial situation having recently returned to good health. Agnes arranged with her sister Sybil for Edna to move to Brumley to assume the role of parlor maid for the Birlings. Although Edna was quite happy to be reunited with Sheila, she was surprised to find that the mistress of the house, Sybil Birling was far worse than her younger sister Agnes, and rather ruled the home with what amounted to haughty disdain for the help (and even for much of her own family).