Well, it's over. After more than a year of planning and weeks of reading through old favorites and writing up these posts, I'm done counting down my favorite literary couples.
Here's the final list:
10. Jo March and Professor Baher of Little Women
9. Bella Swan and Edward Cullen of the "Twilight" series
8. Annie Laurence and Max Darling of the "Death on Demand" series
7. Emma Woodhouse and Mr. Knightley of Emma
6. Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester of Jane Eyre
5. Anne Elliot and Capt. Wentworth of Persuasion
4. Becky Bloomwood and Luke Brandon of the "Shopaholic" series
3. Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe of the "Anne of Green Gables" series
2. Elizabeth Bennett/ Bridget Jones and Mr. Darcy/ Mark Darcy of Pride and Prejudice and the Bridget Jones series
1. Laura Ingalls and Almanzo Wilder of the "Little House" series
For me, I found the biggest similarities are that I like an independent lead woman who knows her own mind, often makes mistakes, but learns from them. In contrast, I like a man who instead of trying to control a woman matches her toe for toe.
Jane Austen characters also made it on the list three different times. The reason? her characters and stories are timeless. The stories took place 200 years ago, but are still as enjoyable as ever to read.
Some of these characters have been favorites of mine for years, and I consider them old friends. Others are ones I've only met recently, but I love them all and use them as a frame of reference for the characters I develop.
I noticed that I do not have any same-sex couples on my list. That's not an oversight or blatant disregard for same-sex relationships either. The reason I don't have any on the list is the fact that I have not read any books that truly fit this mold. Through this process I realized I should probably expand my horizons. I'll take any suggestions.
I also don't have any characters from books that were not originally written in English. I should branch out on that front, too.
In making this list and analyzing each of these couples, I learned a lot about what I like and what I don't like. It will be beneficial for me as I continue on my own writing adventure.
There were of course many couples I like that did not make it on the list. Here's a big shout out to my Honorable Mentions. Click here for a special song dedication just for you, performed by another runner-up.
Now I'm curious to know, who are your favorite literary couples? Please post a comment here on the blog or contact me on Twitter @lmchap to tell me your answers. If I get enough, I'll include them in a future post.
Thanks for reading. I had a fun time with this project of mine, and it was great to take you all along on my adventure.
Click on the "pbmg" label to see all posts in this series.
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