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 Memorable CharactersPosted by Kate Parker Dec 13 2011, 1:10 am While in Denmark recently, my husband was flipping through the TV channels while I worked on dinner. When I heard my husband go, “Oh, my” I ran in from the kitchen, leaping over thresholds (more on that in a moment), to discover him watching what would never appear on TV in the US at dinner time. Especially not on a channel that wasn’t specifically paid for. I think his “oh, my” was for the naked actress, but I never noticed her. What I noticed was Sheriff Hugh Beringar of the Brother Cadfael mysteries wearing nothing but a sock and a smile. Being American, my idea of scandalous dress on dinnertime TV is a politician or financier wearing handcuffs. Seeing Hugh Beringar essentially naked left me incoherent enough that it took me three tries to explain to my husband that the actor was Sean Pertwee, who played the sheriff and Brother Cadfael’s ally in the British TV adaptations of Ellis Peters’ novels. Or perhaps it took my husband three tries to hear me, since there was a naked actress on the screen. The British TV series is nearly twenty years old, and Ellis Peters’ first Brother Cadfael novel came out in the 1970′s. Why did I recognize the actor’s face after all that time when there was so much more to look at? Because Brother Cadfael and Sheriff Hugh Beringar, with their twelfth century abilities to find the murderer and help young lovers escape for their HEA, are burned into my brain. Many of Peters’ novels are on my keeper shelves. And that brings me to my thought about memorable characters. It’s not the shock value of naked actors on dinnertime TV, although that doesn’t hurt, but their relationship with other characters that makes them stand out. Former soldier Cadfael was able to keep up with, and occasionally surprise, the knight Beringar, making them partners. As a monk, Cadfael should have related more with his fellow monks, but his background and view of life stood too far apart from theirs. He never went against his monastic rules or the wishes of his abbot, which created tension within the character. Darynda Jones’ Charley Davidson is memorable in part because of her relationship with Reyes. Of course, her relationship with all sorts of dead people doesn’t hurt. Madeline Hunter’s Duke of Castleford’s relationship with every woman ever born, sobriety, and swords made him memorable before he met Daphne Joyes. His efforts to convince her to fall in love with him are the stuff that books on keeper shelves are made of. What memorable characters have you found, and what are their relationships that make them stick in your mind? And thresholds? In Denmark, at least in older apartment buildings, there are no wide open multi-purpose rooms. Each room has a doorway off the central hall, and each doorway has a door. Each doorway also has a two inch high threshold to cut down on drafts when the door is shut before robust central heating and triple glazed windows. Nowadays, those thresholds are mostly employed to stub toes and trip the unwary. 38 Responses to “Memorable Characters”Leave a Reply |
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Steve Morgan in Rosemary Rogers’s Dark Fires will always be my most memorable because it was the first HOT romance I ever read. He left my young heart going pitter-patter.
Ah, yes. There’s something about soulful looks that grabs the heart of sweet young things. Could that be the secret to the success of the Twilight Series with today’s young ladies? Thanks for stopping by, Laurie.
Ooo la la, Steve. The ultimate bad boy. And Ginny saying, “I don’t want to be a virgin anymore.” How many times did I read that book as a teen, lol. These days, I’d probably kill off Steve and tell Ginny to get over herself, but back then…
Amelia Peabody and Radcliffe Emerson. When their son and daughter in law finally had kids I told my husband, “Watch out! Their children will be as precocious as they were!”
His response: “They are not real.”
I told him to hush.
As each new story unfolds, we get to revisit them the way we would old friends. So in a way, they are real. I agree. Your husband should hush. Amelia is one of my favorite heroines. She could stand up to anybody.
Anne Perry’s WIlliam Monk and Hester Latterly had that same sort of push-pull partnership in solving crimes with the added spice of being very much awkwardly in love with each other. There’s just something about people who are all wrong for each other, but give into love anyway, that just warms my heart.
And thanks so much for reminding me how much I loved the Cadfael series. I’m going to have to re-read that whole series again.
Thank you for reminding me of Monk and Hester. Two characters awkwardly at odds with their time and station in life, and so awkward around each other.
I can only imagine how black and blue I’d be in Denmark with those thresholds! I am a klutz on my best of days. Memorable characters, none beat Scarlett, even now…however many years later. (not good at math either)
I’ve been told that those thresholds tripped up American spies (don’t know if this story was WWII or the Cold War) in more ways than one. It’s the little things in life.
Any characters from Judith McNaught’s books, but especially Zach Benedict and Julie Matheson from PERFECT and Jason Fielding and Victoria Seaton from ONCE AND ALWAYS.
Judith McNaught’s on a lot of people’s keeper shelves. She writes some strong characters.
Eve and Roarke, 4 EVAH. Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb’s “In Death” series is one of the rare ones that shows us how a romantic relationship evolves and changes AFTER the HEA. That takes some writerly gonads.
I wholeheartedly agree. It’s nice to see relationships that last. And like you say evolve.
LaNora’s been able to write past the limits of romance fiction in that series, breaking new ground. And her characters are always memorable.
Nora’s all, “Who says the story ends at the HEA? I wanna write the actual…after!”
Love those two characters too!!
I’m fond of Kinsey Millhone in the Sue Grafton books. She’s not one for romantic flights of fancy, but sometimes she wants sex in between chasing bad guys and solving murders.
She’s a character who’s grown over the course of a large number of books. Sue Grafton’s been very successful with her.
I love Kinsey Millhone too. The V book is out now (hint, hint, DH, if you’re reading this.)
I frequently wonder what Lee Child’s Jack Reacher is up to. Sunder Brown had a book out a couple of years ago Rainwater. For some reason I thought about those characters long after I’d finished the book. In fact I still think about them. It’s funny what slips are little switches.
It takes some strong characterization to make us remember those characters long after we’ve read the book. This is something I strive for. I hope some day to achieve this type of character at least once.
What a fantastic post, Kate, and thanks for the shout out! I have to say that JR Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series is phenomenal in large part to the relationships between the brothers. They are so dynamic and fierce and I think about them long after I’ve finished a book.
I think you have hit on something that not a lot of authors talk about. We always think of characters and their individual arcs and of course the arcs of the main characters’ relationships, the hero and heroine, but what about the relationships our characters have with others? It’s such a fantastic tool to create depth in our stories and show who our characters are deep down inside.
Thanks, Darynda. Let’s make it a mantra that “no character should exist in a vacuum without others to shock, love, murder, and deal with in other ways.”
LOL! Absolutely!
Kate, I had to smile at how casually you wrote “While in Denmark recently…” Sigh. I’m jealous!
One of my favorite couples (along with Amelia Peabody and Radcliffe Emerson–yay, Gillian!) is Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane. Talk about romantic suspense!
Thank you for the fun post!
I’ve read that Dorothy Sayers was in love with Lord Peter Wimsey. While I don’t recommend falling in love with our characters to that extent, I know I had a crush on Lord Peter when I was much, much younger.
Nalini Singh’s Psi-Changeling series is FILLED with memorable characters for me. Also, every book ever written by Jennifer Cruise & Victoria Dahl. And Julia Quinn’s Bridgertons. Absolutely unforgettable.
Vivi, if you move, I’m not carrying your keeper shelf for you! But isn’t it great to find unforgettable characters.
I have a keeper bookcase, actually. How can anyone fit all the books they love on one tiny little shelf?
I thought so, with all those favorite books. I’m the same way, which means I don’t want to move any time this century.
Houston Leigh from Lorraine Heath’s Texas Destiny will always be one of my favorite heroes, probably because he was the first non-perfect romance hero I’d ever encountered. Wounded in the Civil War, Houston’s hearing is gone in one ear and one side of his face is disfigured so much he has to pay extra at the town brothel. Yet he finds true love because of the hero inside him, even if an inner hero is difficult to potray on the cover of a romance novel. Heroes like Houston, while not the norm in romance novels, warm my heart because they remind me of real men and real life, and also that romance doesn’t just exist between the covers of a book.
…difficult to PORTRAY…
(I’ve grown WAY to dependent on spell check.)
…TOO dependent…
(Slinking away now. I’d blame my kids, but they’re not even home.)
Not a problem, Heidi. Yes, I agree that the physically wounded hero is both difficult to portray and sell, and lasting if done right.
SEP Any character she writes stays with me a long time. Especially, Sugarbelle. Love her.
BTW, one question. Did you burn dinner?
No, dinner turned out fine, mostly because my embarrassed husband changed the channel. I guess having his wife shrieking about a naked man in an apartment building with the windows open was more than he could take on an empty stomach.
What a fun post, Kate—and I’m with AJ; DID you burn dinner? LOL
Most folks won’t remember my outstanding characters, but they made quite the impression back in Jr. High. Desiree St. Cloud comes immediately to mind (Barbara Cartland wrote her, believe it or not) because I tend to relate to colors and this book, Desire of the Heart, used them in a way to which I could readily relate.
I, too, loved Castleford throughout Madeline Hunter’s series, but couldn’t see a way to redeem him. Daphne was the perfect foil, and Madeline did a fabulous job. Loved that book.
The first time I saw Castleford, I thought he was going to be the villain. Madeline Hunter set herself up for quite a job redeeming him.