Over the last twelve months or so, The Conversation has published occasional articles titled “My favourite fictional character“. In each article the writer names a character and justifies their choice.
As far as I can tell, there have been six so far, and most have chosen non-Australian characters. The choosers and their choices have been:
- Carol Lefevre, whose Murmurations I’ve reviewed: Ivy Eckdorf in William Trevor’s O’Neill’s Hotel (1969), for her “crazed, compelling voice”.
- Edwina Preston, whose Bad art mother I’ve reviewed: Judy in Ethel Turner’s Seven little Australians (1894), who was “wild … equipped to conquer the world, but not to survive it”.
- Melanie Saward: Queenie in Candice Carty-Williams’ Queenie (2019), who is “complex, funny, broken, fun”.
- Jane Gleeson-White, whose book, Australian classics: 50 great writers and their celebrated works, is in my reference collection: Lyra in Philip Pullman’s Northern lights (1995) AND (she cheekily chose two) Lila Cerullo in Elena Ferrante’s My brilliant friend (2011), for being “half-wild, ‘too much’ heroines”.
- Amy Walters, who was a blogger in the New Territory program: Esme Lennox in Maggie O’Farrell’s The vanishing act of Esme Lennox (2006), who “refuses to be the ‘perfect victim’ – even in an asylum”.
- Alexander Howard: John Le Carré’s George Smiley (first appeared, 1961), who is “unattractive, overweight, a terrible dresser – and a better spy than James Bond”
If you are interested in their justifications, you can find all the articles at the link in my opening paragraph. I note that to date only Preston has chosen an Australian character. Also, her character is the only one from a bona fide classic, which surprised me a little. So far, there have been five female choosers to one male, and their choices have matched their genders. Telling?
Meanwhile, I’ll share a few (yes, I’m allowing myself a few) of my favourite Australian fictional characters. It’s a challenge not just because it’s always hard to choose favourites, or because “favourite” is a slippery concept, but because favourite characters don’t necessarily come from favourite books. Most do, but, for example, a longtime favourite novel of mine is Voss, but I wouldn’t say the characters were favourites.
I’m giving you my favourites in six random categories:
Favourite childhood character: Ethel Turner’s Judy in Seven little Australians. I’m with Edwina Preston. How could any red-blooded Australian girl not want to be the brave, warm-hearted, rebellious Judy.
Favourite First Nations character: Bobby Wabalanginy in Kim Scott’s That deadman dance (my review). While not the only voice in the book, young Nyoongar boy Bobby is our guide, and he fulfils that role with wit, intelligence and honesty. But I have others, like the flawed Kerry in Melissa Lucashenko’s Too much lip (my post) and the motherly Odette in Tony Birch’s The white girl (my post).
Favourite older character: Kathleen in Thea Astley’s Coda (my post). Being a woman of a certain age, I’m interested in women traversing the closing decades of their lives. There are more around in our literature than you might think, and I’ve liked many of them, but Kathleen is a favourite because she’s a memorable, wily, acerbic, old woman, a self-styled “feral-grandmother”, who is not ready to be, as she says, “corpsed”. She knows the “four ages of women: bimbo, breeder, babysitter, burden” and she’s doing her darnedest to rise above it. I’m not really like her, but that doesn’t mean I can’t love her.
Favourite nice guy: Russell Bass in Trevor Shearston’s Hare fur (my review). OK, I admit it. I’m a sucker for “nice guys”, in fiction as well as in life. I’m not one of those (see below) who find nice guys boring or unbelievable. Fiction is full of unpleasant men, or, if not that, of dull, dithery, helpless, “dun-coloured” (to quote Patrick White) men. But there are good men too, like Will the doctor in Eleanor Limprecht’s The coast (my post). I’m going with Russell Bass, however, because of how, with humanity, he navigates the tricky human, legal and moral territory of supporting kids who are hiding from welfare authorities.
Favourite villain: Father Pearse in John Clanchy’s In whom we trust (my review). What makes a villain a favourite? Their villainy? Their redemptive qualities? Or, that they are only villainous because of their circumstances? For me, certainly not their villainy. I was never one of those girls who liked “the bad boys”, though “favourite” doesn’t necessarily mean “like” does it? Grenouille in Patrick Süskind’s Perfume could be a favourite character because he is pure villainy perfectly rendered, but I don’t like him. Father Pearse is not the worst character in Clanchy’s book, so is perhaps not, literally, a “villain”, but he is a weak man whose cowardice impacts the the children in his charge, until he is confronted.
Favourite independent woman (in a nod to Bill): Sybylla in Miles Franklin’s My brilliant career, of course. Like Ethel Turner’s Judy, she’s impossible to go past. She set the standard. But I must also give a nod to two femocrats, Cassie Armstrong in Sara Dowse’s West block (my review) and Edith Campbell Berry in Frank Moorhouse’s Edith trilogy. I’ve only read and reviewed the third, Cold light, since blogging, but she has energy and force that might land her in trouble at times but she keeps on going.
So, an eclectic lot, really, and I’ve sidestepped – because I can – the challenge of choosing ONE favourite character, but I hope I’ve got you thinking.
Would you care to share one or two favourite characters (and, if you are Australian, I’d really love to hear your Australian ones!)
Whispering Gums 
It’s after my bedtime, I can’t write a considered or lengthy answer, but my favourite character (and favourite Independent Woman) is Eve Langley’s Steve.
I rather thought you might pick Steve and Langley, Bill, and she’s up there for me.
“young Nyoongar boy”: when I grew up in Perth, one of our maids (sorry about that) was a beautiful, intelligent and delightful woman called Esther Nugget – a Noongar. That’s how the WA aborigines – for that’s how they were then known – spelled their tribal name. The ‘y’ appeared much later in these eastern parts of the country; and it seems to have taken over.
I think you know in advance my favourite – Australian ! – fictional character, ST: unhappily, the ABC’s truly awful TV depiction has turned him into a sort of gargoyle.
Jack Irish, as WRITTEN, is a man of some talent, some skill and a great deal of .. well, character !
Thanks MR, I think I got “Nyoongar” from Kim Scott himself, but I’m too lazy to check now. (I’m relaxing with my book and iPad in bed). I did think when I write it last night, should I check it again?
Jack Irish! Good for you… I love that you have answered this question so clearly and confidently. I only have the ABC Version to go by… sorry!
Good grief ! – I am amazed to learn that you EVER get to relax in bed, ST ! And also pleased about it; for you need your energy with all your literary occupations ! 😀
Ha ha, thanks, MR, I rarely do, but I love slow January. It’s my favourite month of the year for chilling out.
Scott, I think, but other Aboriginal writers as well, had a go at getting Noongar words right phonetically. I think that N in Noongar is actually a ‘Ng’, but of course I’m not sure.
M-R, I was thinking of Jack Irish too. Peter Temple was a fine writer, and Irish excellently realised.
M-R I have autobigraphy of an Aboriginal woman who worked as a servant in Perth and on stations – Alice Nannup – When the Pelican Laughed, from Fremantle Press. Not an audiobook as far as I can see.
He was indeed, Bill ! I was thinking just the other day of the fact that you don’t like .. [bugger, I’ve forgotten which writer]’s work because he doesn’t get Place right – whereas Temple got Melbourne (and in fact all his locations) so right as to summon up the images. 🙂
Fremantle Press, eh ? – they published my book. I shall grill them. Essie could probably have written a book, I reckon, if she wasn’t so busy getting married and raising a family.
I think you are referring to Jane Harper, MR, not a he, but Bill can correct us on that.
That’s it isn’t it Bill, people trying to get the phonetics right and spell to make that easier for us to say. It’s hard for us trying to write about First Nations peoples to know which are the approved spellings.
What bothers me is that Harper might be a really nice person (who never leaves the city). I’ve decided to stop using her as my marker for poor (non-existent) geography in Australian writing. It’s time someone else had a turn.
I like that you care about that Bill. So I will stop reminding you.
How nice to see Hare’s Fur get a mention, I loved that book. Everything about it…
Yes, I did too, Lisa. I thought you’d like seeing it mentioned.
Hi Sue, I like your choice of characters, especially Kathleen in Coda. I would add Buster, as my favourite childhood character in The Shiralee. I don’t know if Hester Harper could be classified as a villian in The Well by Elizabeth Jolley, but she is not all kindness! Douglas Cheeseman is a nice guy in The Idea of Perection by Kate Grenville.
Oh great choices Meg. Hester is villain enough I think. I thought of Jolley a bit because I like her … like Weekly in Newspaper of Claremont St too! And yes, Douglas Cheeseman. There are a lot of decent men, I think, in Aussie lit.
Thanks for mentioning Cassie, WG. And Edith Campbell Berry. As for me, George Smiley is tops.
She’s a good character … but I love it, Sara … George Smiley!
Mick Herron’s Slow Horses in the Slough House anti-Bond series is brilliant on screen and paper and it is great news to see a splendid new author challenging the Fleming, Cornwell and Deighton claims to be emperor of the espionage fiction throne. No doubt British Intelligence will be annoyed that such an anti-Bond production can succeed as, of course, was the case with Harry Palmer in the films based on Len Deighton’s novels.
Another not dissimilar anti-Bond film production might be on its way based on TheBurlingtonFiles series of spy novels but unlike the Slough House series and Len Deighton’s works it is more fact based than fiction. Interestingly, the protagonist in TheBurlingtonFiles has been likened to a posh Harry Palmer with a dry sense of humour akin to that of Jackson Lamb.
The first thriller in TheBurlingtonFiles series was called “Beyond Enkription”. It was released in 2014. The remaining five volumes in the series have been stalled for “legal and security” reasons. Nevertheless, Beyond Enkription is an intriguing unadulterated stand-alone thriller and a super read as long as you don’t expect John le Carré’s delicate diction, sophisticated syntax and placid plots.
Beyond Enkription has been heralded by one US critic as “being up there with My Silent War by Kim Philby and No Other Choice by George Blake”. Little wonder, unlike Slow Horses, Beyond Enkription is mandatory reading on some countries’ intelligence induction programs.
Edith Campbell Berry is certainly my Australian independent woman of choice. As is Judy Woolcott, although I also have to add Jo March as a teen idol of mine.
For the rest I will have to ponder some more…
Thanks Brona … Jo was a childhood idol of mine too … and she got to live!
I always wanted to be like Jo, but suspect I am more like quiet, responsible Meg.
Yep, me too – and it’s Meg in Seven little Australians too, isn’t it? I wanted to be Judy too (but not die!!)
Indeed!
Love this post so much! Also love the way you’ve sneakily categorised them so as to be able to list more than one. I feel that as soon I list my faves and press SEND, I’ll think of half a dozen others who are equally my faves… but here goes.
Childhood: Ged, the hero of Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea series.
Would most like to have dinner with: Captain Jack Aubrey R.N. and his particular friend Stephen Maturin. I’d flirt outrageously with Jack and encourage Stephen (a naval surgeon) to wash his hands between patients. See Patrick O’Brian’s excellent Master and Commander series for details. There’s only 20 or so books in the series – it won’t take long.
Australian: The narrator ‘I’ in Helen Garner’s non-fiction, a character who is and is not Helen Garner herself. That narrator is SO excruciatingly clear eyed and hard – on herself as much as everyone else.
So the thing to do is just dive in and do t think too hard I think, Michelle. Though I think you have given it some good thought. I love that you got Helen Garner in there. I guess her “I”, as you describe it, is ok even though I did say fictional!
I love this post, Sue! And I’m right there with Carol Lefevre — Ivy Eckdorf in William Trevor’s Mrs Eckdorf in O’Neill’s Hotel does have a “crazed, compelling voice”. I find that I quite like those voices, the kooky people who do wicked things but you secretly want to cheer them on, such as Mrs March in Virginia Feito’s “Mrs March”, Tom in Patricia Highsmith’s “The Talented Mr Ripley” and Matt in Henry Sutton’s “Get Me Out of Here”. It helps if their badness comes with a healthy dose of black humour.
I clearly need to read that Trevor, kimbofo. Black humour will win me over most times. I don’t know Virginia Feito and Henry Sutton.
If I choose from well-known North American classics, i would say Emily from the New Moon trilogy by L.M. Montgomery (less popular than Anne of Green Gables, but even more writerly) and Francie from A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (also for being a young and determined writer). In terms of more recent fiction, Lauren from Octavia Butler’s Parable duology: so brave, so contemplative.
Thanks Marcie. Of those I only know Francie, though had forgotten her. I’d like to read Octavia Butler one day… but we’ll see.
What an interesting idea! Favourite Australian character might be Henry Handel Richardson’s Richard Mahoney- a magnificent portrayal of bipolarity.
I think Russian literature of the 19th century provides so many great characters, obviously from Tolstoy and Dostoevsky but also Goncharev’s Oblomov and Saltykov-Schredin’s Porfiry Golovlev – in his way one of the most terryfying fictional characters.
Oh thanks Ian … I’ve been waiting for someone to name him, or another HHR character.
And yes, Russian literature has some memorable ones. I also have a favourite Camus character from La peste but he’s not so grand on the world lit stage.
I absolutely have a soft spot for a minor (18 or under) female characters that are nearly feral. Roberta from Cruddy by Lynda Barry is my favorite. I’ve read that book at least three times, all before I started my blog. I love Ursie from Boegywoman by Jaimy Gordon. And third would be Margo from Once Upon a River by Bonnie Jo Campbell. Those last two books are reviewed on my blog, but I don’t want to link them and risk ending up in your WordPress spam.
Thanks Melanie … I should read some of those given those minor male characters that we’ve all read like Holden Caulfield. Time to read some of the women. One link should not send you to spam, but a couple probably would so in future you could just link to your blog as a whole, but then people can get that on your name in comments, can’t they?