Entertainment Weekly's Shelf Life blog recently posted "Who's the most romantic character in literature." I know we talked about romantic heroes this past spring on this blog (and the sexiest literary hero was Mr. Darcy), but I thought it was a good time to bring it up again with this article. According to a British poll in the Daily Telegraph, these are the top ten romantic characters in literature:1. Edward Rochester of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre
2. Richard Sharpe of Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe series.
3. Fitzwilliam Darcy of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice
4. Heathcliff of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights
5. Rhett Butler of Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind
6. Mark Darcy, of Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’ Diary
7. Captain Corelli of Louis de Berniere’s Captain Corelli’s Mandolin
8. Henry DeTamble of Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveler’s Wife
9. Gabriel Oak of Thomas Hardy’s Far From the Madding Crowd
10. Rupert Campbell Black of Jilly Cooper’s The Rutshire Chronicles
Tina Jordan (the Shelf Life author) than adds insult to injury by stating, "And who in their right mind could truly love the unutterable snob Fitzwilliam Darcy?" WHAT!! I couldn't believe this! What do you think?
My thoughts, while I love Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester, Mr. Darcy beats him any day of the week for top romantic hero . . . and so does Captain Wentworth, who did not even make the list. Truthfully the top spot for myself would be a tie between Jamie Fraser of the Outlander series (not even mentioned) and Mr. Darcy. What do you all think? Please comment below. I'm going to add a new poll to my sidebar about this. What other heroes of literature do you find romantic?
Also, I am not sure who Richard Sharpe and Rupert Campbell Black are. Am I missing something? Are they very romantic heroes and are the books they are in a good read?
Word on the street (or at least Entertainment Weekly) is that Juliet did indeed 
die in the season finale of Lost. I for one hope this is not the case as I grew to love Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell) over the last season and I really loved her love story with Sawyer. Since she will be back in some way in a few episodes in the final season, I can only hope that she will still somehow live to have her happy ending. I really wanted her to see her sister again and to have that happy ending with Sawyer.
die in the season finale of Lost. I for one hope this is not the case as I grew to love Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell) over the last season and I really loved her love story with Sawyer. Since she will be back in some way in a few episodes in the final season, I can only hope that she will still somehow live to have her happy ending. I really wanted her to see her sister again and to have that happy ending with Sawyer.Who else is excited about V? Ben and I can't wait, although our local station is not playing it until 1:30 AM!! Good thing we have a DVR!
Lastly, thank-you very much to Monica Fairview, author of The Other Mr. Darcy. She hosted a month long discussion and competition on her site about Pride and Prejudice. I really enjoyed talking about P&P every day and was one of the five lucky winners of The Other Mr. Darcy. I can't wait to read this book!
Heathcliff and Rhett Butler top my list. Mr. Darcy comes in at a close third.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on winning The Other Mr Darcy. Its an excellent read :)
ReplyDeleteI'm a sucker for P&P, Mr Darcy tops my list everytime!
I think that both of the Darcy's would make the top of the list for me. But I must say that after watching Desparate Housewives last week, Lynette's husband Tom just made my heart melt!
ReplyDeleteI"m a huge sucker for Mr. Rochester...Jane Eyre is my all-time favorite book! So he tops my list, but Darcy should definitely have been higher on the list!
ReplyDeleteI'm also excited for V! I loved it as a kid and now I can't wait!
Oh, Rhett Butler is also up there! Scarlet just never deserved him!
I definitely agree about Rhett Butler, I re-read GWTW as part of my book club two years ago. Rhett and his love for Scarlett broke my heart. She didn't deserve him, especially after years of him trying and her cold treatment of him.
ReplyDeletePerhaps I am giving Mr. Rochester too hard a time. I love Jane Eyre - I've read the novel several times (but I'm due for a reread) and have watched all versions of the movies/mini-series. I guess my main beef is that he had a crazy wife locked in the attic!! He certainly loved Jane, but it took him awhile to really understand her!
Jo-Jo - I haven't watched this week's Desperate Housewives yet, I can't wait to see what Tom does!
ReplyDeleteAmanda - Why is Heathcliff one of your favorite romantic heros? Give me your take on him! I reread Wuthering Heights for my book club earlier this year and it made me think, why is Heathcliff considered a romantic hero? He is not a very nice man at all!!
Congrats on winning or earning the book! (I cast my vote for my favorite romantic character secretly in your poll.)
ReplyDeleteJane Eyre is my favorite book of all time, so it's Mr. Rochester for me!!! If Outlander was included in the list, the men would take 3-4 of the spots (Jamie, Ian, Roger, Fergus, and for me Dougal). I love Mr. Darcy, but feel I have been strongly influenced by Colin Firth's portrayal...HE IS Mr. Darcy. Have you read Darcy's Story? It is Pride and Prejudice told from Darcy's perspective...I usually stay away from the Pride and Prejudice spin offs, but took the cob out long enough to enjoy this one.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I'm very passionate about reading and am so glad I stumbled upon your blog. It is excellent, and our tastes seem to be on the whole simpatico.
I'll have to scroll though your authors to see if you've read my three favorite books of the summer: The Gurnsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, The Book Thief, and Sarah's Key. These are a trio of Holocaust related books. Masterpiece Classic is also showing a remake of Anne Frank, so I'm thinking about revisiting that one.
I've read The Gurnsey Literary and Potato Peel Society and loved it. It was in my top ten list of books for 2008. Sadly I have not read The Book Thief or Sarah's Key yet. I really want to read The Book Thief with my book club, but they keep saying they are not in the mood for a holocaust book. I'm giving them a few more months and then I'm going to read it on my own. Then what usually happens is six months later they'll want to read it . . . :-) I'll add Sarah's Key onto my TBR list!
ReplyDeleteOMG Laura, I hope you can guess my answer to my most romantic hero. LOL
ReplyDeleteOf course, hands down, Jamie Fraser!!
As much as I loved Jane Eyre, Mr. Darcy wins over Mr. Rochester!!! Like you, I am not certain about several who were listed.
I have never read Gone With The Wind as it has never appealed to me. What I know about the lead male character is from the movie clips and the actor does nothing for me. Maybe one day I will give this story a read.
I honestly do not foresee any time where Jamie Fraser will not lead this list in my eyes.
Rochester? I love Jane Eyre, but Rochester is really not romantic!
ReplyDeleteLaura, I hope you will read The Book Thief soon. I read it not too long ago, and got another Zusak book, I Am the Messenger in the mail today.
ReplyDeleteAll of the characters mentioned are certainly attractive/romantic in their own ways...but Jamie of Outlander would get my vote. Not only does he love Claire with his heart and soul and body, he understands her and accepts her, flaws and all. (My heart broke for Rhett -- and Jane Eyre is one of my all-time favorites, so I have a soft spot for Mr. Rochester in my heart, too.)
ReplyDeleteMake sure you vote on my side panel after you leave a comment! I can't to wait to see who our overall winner is at the end of the month!
ReplyDeleteAlso - if you check out the link on top for the original blog that I first saw the romantic heroes on, it is interesting to read through the comments. There are quite a few for Jamie Fraser . . . we should all chip in and leave some more! I think since there is no "face" for Jamie (as there is no movie or mini-series), it leaves him at a disadvantage. What do you think?
I had to vote for Jamie, but would also vote for Mr. Darcy, Capt. Wentworth or even Colonel Brandon (after reading Colonel Brandon's Diary by Amanda Grange). Jamie has been edging out the Austen heroes in my mind for a while. :)
ReplyDeleteI vote for Captain Wentworth. That man is so very wonderful... :)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhat an atrocious thing for her to say about Mr. Darcy! LOL! So many of the characters in this poll are romantic, it was tough to choose... even though he is not the most likable character, I voted for Heathcliff as the most romantic hero. He is so driven by his love for Catherine, it prompts all his actions, even his not so sane actions.
ReplyDeleteGood point Meredith! I hadn't thought about it that way.
ReplyDeleteIf Healthcliff wasn't so frightfully over the top half the time, I'd say he'd win my vote, especially with the whole pull your lover out of her grave sort of thing, but Mr. Rochester wins hands down over Darcy for me, because he actually professes his love to the point where he weeps! If that isn't romantic then I don't know what is.
ReplyDeleteJamie is a great hero for this list! And I love Mr. Rochester too, but he's no Darcy!
ReplyDeletei love that you added Henry from Time Traveler's Wife on your poll. i voted for him and Jamie!
ReplyDeletei'm a Lostie too! can't wait for the new eps! i'm planning an island/sea theme in January to celebrate and lead-up to the Lost final season. hope you join me.
and i'm watching V. Elizabeth Mitchell rocks!
I'm glad you have Jamie Fraser on your list. After discovering Outlander through you, he has become my favorite romantic hero. After him, Darcy, Rhett, Capt. Wentworth, Colonel Brandon, and Mr. Rochester follow. I was surprised to see Heathcliff listed in that poll as he seemed more like a villain than a romantic hero to me. I just read Wuthering Heights a couple of months ago. Loved the book, but not Heathcliff. I never felt that the 'love' between him and Catherine ever seemed romantic.
ReplyDeleteI was worried that they might have killed off Juliet at the end of last season. I'm addicted to Lost as well. I also enjoyed her character, her connection with Sawyer, and had hoped she would be reunited with her sister. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what the writers do with her storyline.