My Top Ten Literary Heroes
In the interests of gender equality, I felt that I should write an article featuring my top ten literary heroes, after publishing the blog 'My Top Ten Literary Heroines' here. In no particular order, here they are…
1. Rincewind from the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett
The timid wizard who finds himself in the middle of adventures despite himself. I love his aversion to any form of risk – a confirmed coward myself, I've always found the lantern-jawed sort of hero rather offputting. I also hugely envy Rincewind his Luggage, a chest made of sapient pearwood that will swallow any amount of clothing – along with particularly aggressive characters Rincewood regularly encounters on his travels.
2. Leo Colston from The Go-Between by L.P. Hartley
I first read this book as a teenager, cried at the end – and it somehow wormed its way under my skin and never really left me. Leo's bitter-sweet recollection of a particular summer holiday that altered his life when he was thirteen leaps off the page and deserves to be far better known for more than its marvellous opening sentence.
3. Peter Pan from the play by J.M. Barrie
I fell hook, line and sinker for the beautiful, cocky little boy when I read the story of the play aged eight. And at intervals in my life, there have been other adorable, cocky little boys full of vinegar and spirit, who light up my existence…
4. Miles Vorkosigan from the series by Lois McMaster Bujold
Miles is a remarkable creation – chockful of testosterone and driven with a desire to prove himself in a series of wonderful science fiction, space opera adventures. He would be unbearable if he wasn't also battling the congenital defects that he has to deal with due to an attack on him before he was born. As it is, his foolhardy bravery is awesome and admirable.
5. Lord Peter Wimsey from the series by Dorothy L. Sayers
Forget about Jane Marple or Hercule Poirot – the detective I've always loved is the shell-shocked, younger son of a noble family. He often affects the idiot, while being in possession of a keen intellect and a drive to see justice done. Dorothy Sayers confessed that she was in love with Wimsey – and I can see why.
6. Claudius from I, Claudius and Claudius the God by Robert Graves
Again, a series I read as a teenager and fell in love with this complicated, damaged man who manages to survive by sheltering behind his physical disabilities most of his life. Derek Jacobi managed to bring a marvellous incarnation of the character to life in the acclaimed TV series.
7. Kvothe from The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss
Rothfuss took the Fantasy genre by the scruff of the neck and gave it a very good shake in The Name of the Wind. I love the character in all his driven complexity and secrecy – and am very much looking forward to reading The Doors of Stone when it comes out.
8. Gabriel Oak from Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
He has always been my ideal male – brave, physically strong, with an inbuilt instinct for doing the right thing and loyal right down his marrow… Bathsheba Everdeen is an idiot for refusing to marry him the first time around and I just hope she pulls herself together and is the wife he deserves.
9. Thomas Cromwell from Wolf Hall & Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel
Henry VIII's bullying fixer is so much more in this remarkable portrayal. I love the way Mantel's writing manages to get right inside the character – a man of extreme contradictions, but fascinating, driven, formidably intelligent and physically energetic… Yep. I'm smitten.
10. Mark Watney from The Martian by Andy Weir
Did I mention that I was an inveterate coward? The one exception is that I've always longed to go into Space – indeed, as a little girl I was firmly convinced that I'd end up there. I picked up this book, hoping it would be a story of brave derring-do survival and I wasn't disappointed. And yes… as a girl I read Robinson Crusoe and Swiss Family Robinson and spent hours playing versions of being castaway on a desert island…
Those are my offerings. The near misses include Hagrid from the Harry Potter series – I've always loved Hagrid's sheer stubborn good-heartedness and his bluff inability to keep secrets. If only perfidious Dumbledore had half of Hagrid's intrinsic integrity… Shakespeare's Macbeth – yes, I know he turns into a murdering monster. But at the start of the play he's a brave warrior in love with his wife who wants to do the right thing. For me, he has always epitomised the doomed anti-hero who could have been someone even more extraordinary, if only events and the people closest to him hadn't stacked up against him. Hiccup from the How To Train Your Dragon series. No, not the magnolia hero of the animated film series – but the skinny, unsure and permanently anxious version Cressida Cowell brings to life in her outstanding humorous adventure series. Cade Silversun from Melanie Rawn's intriguing and original Glass Thorns series about a magical theatre troupe. In addition to writing their plays, Cade is afflicted with prescient visions – and is one of the most interesting, layered characters in modern fantasy. Matthew Shardlake from C.J. Sansom's Tudor crime series. A spinal abnormality has prevented Matthew inheriting the family farm, so he travels to London to seek his fortune practising the law and gets embroiled in a number of murder mysteries.
So that's a roundup of my top literary heroes to date. Who are yours? I'd love to hear who are your favourites and why…
Filed under anti-hero, Children's literature, crime, Discussion of book, dragons, epic fantasy, family relationships, fantasy, heroes in speculative fiction, historical, humour, literary, London setting, magic, Mars adventure, murder mystery, romance, science fiction, space opera, thriller, troubled hero, upper class mayhem and tagged Andy Weir, Claudiius, Discworld series, Dorothy L. Sayers, Gabriel Oak, Hilary Mantel, J.M. Barrie, L.P. Hartley, Lois McMaster Bujold, Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries, Mark Watney, Miles Vorkosigan, Patrick Rothfuss, Peter Pan, Robert Graves, Terry Pratchett, The Go-Between, The Kingkiller Chronicles, Thomas Cromwell, Thomas Hardy |	7 Comments
realthog on May 31, 2015 at 1:14 am said:
Gotta disagree about Wimsey — go get yourself some Campion!
Oh I have read Campion – and while I enjoyed it, Wimsey still edged it for me:) What about you – who are your literary heroes?
Michael D. Griffiths on May 31, 2015 at 5:56 pm said:
Thanks SJ. You gave me some great new ideas fr future reading fun.
Michael D. Griffiths on May 31, 2015 at 10:43 pm said:
Reblogged this on Michaeldgriffiths's Blog and commented:
SJ Higbee and I have been writing partners for over six years now. This is where she gets some of her inspiration. You'd have to ask real nicely to get mine.
saraletourneau on June 1, 2015 at 12:24 pm said:
I love Peter Pan! Though I confess I've never read the book, but I've seen the movies time and time again, and when I was little I couldn't help but agree that I never wanted to grow up. Funny thing is, I've grown up in some ways since then, and in other ways I haven't. 😉
And what a coincidence, because I've been meaning to work on my own list of literary heroes! I'm hoping to get to that this month.
sjhigbee on June 1, 2015 at 2:38 pm said:
Thank you for taking the time to comment, Sara:) The story is fairly close to the movies – perhaps a little more savage in some ways… But I fell in love with his sheer bravura and had a little boy with the same blazing energy and self-belief, and now have a small grandson, who is also quite like Peter Pan:) It's wonderful!
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