The ABCs of Bookish Romance

*I'm totally stealing Gina's title. :)

This post is brought to you by an epic e-mail discussion between with my friends Gina and Rachel, prompted by the discovery of this list: "111 Male Characters Of British Literature, In Order of Bangability."

Besides that article's tacky title, some of the inclusions on that list are positively SHUDDER-inducing, like Casaubon from Middlemarch or Uriah Heep from David Copperfield. I mean, REALLY?

So of course we had to put together our own list, a mix of classic and contemporary heroes that some, or all, of us adore. (I elected to sort this list alphabetically...I've definitely got my idea of a top ten, but I can't bear to try my hand at ranking these guys.)

• Allan Woodcourt, Bleak House by Charles Dickens
• Andrew Stuart, Jane of Lantern Hill by L. M. Montgomery
• Archie Goodwin, Nero Wolfe series by Rex Stout
• Arthur Clennham, Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
• Athos, The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
• Bard the Bowman, The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
• Barney Snaith, The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery
• Benedick, Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
• Captain Peter Blood, Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini
• Captain Wentworth, Persuasion by Jane Austen
• Colonel Brandon, Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
• Colonel Cassius McLinn, The Colonel's Lady by Laura Frantz
• Corlath, The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
• Cyrano de Bergerac, Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand
• Edmond Dantes, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
• Edward Rochester, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
• Enjolras, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
• Eugene Wrayburn, Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
• Fitzwilliam Darcy, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• George Knightley, Emma by Jane Austen
• Gilbert Blythe, the Anne series by L. M. Montgomer
• Grantaire, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
• Henry Higgins, My Fair Lady by George Bernard Shaw
• Henry Tilney, Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
• Herbert Pocket, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
• Inspector Morse, the Inspector Morse series by Colin Dexter
• James Bond, the James Bond series by Ian Fleming
• Jean Valjean, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
• John Carter, John Carter of Mars series by Edgar Rice Burroughs
• John Jarndyce, Bleak House by Charles Dickens
• John Murphy, The Zion Covenant Series by Brock & Bodie Thoene
• John Watson, the Sherlock Holmes series by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• Lord Peter Wimsey, the Peter Wimsey series by Dorothy L. Sayers
• Marcus Valerian, A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers
• Martin Rilke, The Passing Bells by Phillip Rock
• Melrose Plant, the Richard Jury series by Martha Grimes
• Mike Cardinal, Spring Fever by P. G. Wodehouse
• Mortimer Lightwood, Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
• Neil MacNeill, Christy by Catherine Marshall
• Nicholas Brisbane, Lady Julia Grey series by Deanna Raybourn
• Paul Emanuel, Villette by Charlotte Bronte
• Scaramouche, Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini
• Sherlock Holmes, the Sherlock Holmes series by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• Sir Percy Blakeney, The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
• Stephen Maturin, the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brien
• Strider/Aragorn, Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
• Sydney Carton, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
• Tommy Traddles, David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

Now, what's a list like this without some PICTURES?? :) Goodness knows I love "casting" books as I read them. Some of these are expected -- included for pure eye candy purposes -- but other, new choices have been arrived at following LOADS of careful thought and deliberation on the part of yours truly. I'd love to discuss, so chime in with your comments! :) (Also, my friends are CLEARLY more classic-lit minded than myself, aren't they? *wink*)

Michael Fassbender as Colonel Cassius McLinn

Taylor Kitsch as John Carter

David Tennant as Martin Rilke

Errol Flynn as Captain Peter Blood

Ben Whishaw as John Murphy

Luke Evans as Bard the Bowman

Stewart Granger as Scaramouche

Daniel Craig as James Bond - obviously

James Purefoy as Marcus Valerian

Timothy Hutton as Archie Goodwin

Toby Stephens as Nicholas Brisbane

Anthony Andrews as Sir Percy Blakeney

Colin Firth as Fitzwilliam Darcy

Viggo Mortensen as Strider

Shaun Evans as Endeavour Morse

Mads Mikkelsen as Edward Rochester

I was doing my level best not to have any actors play dual roles in the photo section of this post (i.e., Mads playing Rochester instead of Fassbender or Stephens...wouldn't he be an amazing Rochester?! Hollywood, please make that happen someday...), as well as trying to see some actors in new lights. But when someone owns a role -- like Flynn as Peter Blood -- sometimes there is just no getting around that fact. :) I'd love to discuss your ideas for these roles or others I left un-cast from this list! Also, if there is a favorite hero not included, please feel free to add his name in the comments. (Also, and this is VERY important...if anyone has a link to a decent picture of James Purefoy in a toga vs. Roman military attire, let me know. Marcus Valerian was NOT a legionnaire.) :)