A nice guy to read but I wouldn't want to live with him

Sunday is here and so is Edith. Coming here after the great Gellis is a challenge, so I will not try to meet it. Let's get trivial.

I just finished revisions (I hope) for a new book. I brushed up my hero and heroine, explained a few things I had left up in the air, changed a few POV's and then, done, and suffused with relief (even if the editor is right, revisions are never fun) I got to thinking about heros and heroines in general.

Now I know you've been asked who your favorite hero in fiction is. And been asked to confess which heroine you'd like to be in order to "be" with him.

But I'm asking who you would like to spend a week with: in Reality. In our Reality. hah, That makes it different, doesn't it?

Because after I thought about it, I realized that the most fascinating fictional gents, the most daring and darling of them that I adore, are guys I wouldn't want to spend an hour with in real life.

Since I basically read Historicals, there would be the omnipresent conflict between a man's idea of a female's place then and who I am now. Yes, I know the movies did it with Hugh Jackman as a Victorian
hero come to life and to America in the present day. (KATE AND LEOPOLD)

It worked fine for our modern heroine and for him. But she had to go back to his time. I like it here.
Well, if I don't like it so much, at least all my family and friends are here, and so is modern medicine. Capped teeth and implants. Contact lenses. Central heating. Sushi outside of Japan. M &M's.

And when I thought of my favorite fictional men coming alive to live here and now, I saw that though they might come to enjoy it, it would never work for me.

I Love Mr. Rochester, and he's great for Jane.
But can you say: "Autocrat?"
He sulks and frets and broods too, and even if he did had a mad wife in an attic, it would be no fun to live with a grouch.
The man is simply not sunny.

Mr. Darcy? Lord, but the man is mannered! There'd be trouble ahead, because I am not.

Not naming names here, because now I'm talking about modern day historical novels.

Most of the men I adore in Historical Romances have no jobs, and no creative hobbies either. They work at being irresistible and perpetually ready for sex. Nice. But after that? They pot around all day inspecting their estates and riding to hounds. When they're in a city they like to gamble and drink and ride around in spanking new curricles. Great. But for our day?

"What did you do today, Dear?"

"I was drinking with my pals, then we went to the track and I dropped a bundle, and how do you like this new sports car I just bought? Want to go to bed?"

And if he was more straight laced than that? What would he be prepared for? It would be like having a retired man around the house all the time. I'd forever be nudging him, trying to get him to do something more interesting than getting his hair cut.

As for all those dashing lads who consider near rape fun, especially while their heroines faintly cry "ah no" as they submit? Maybe that was OK in their day, and their novels. Not in reality. When I say
"no" I mean it.

And those heroes who are fixated on sex? Flattering, but let's get real.

Let's not even discuss the lusty pirates and Vikings.

Now, your turn. Prove me wrong. Please.

What character out of a Romance Novel would you like to meet in our here and now, because you think it might last - here and now? And tell me why. This could be interesting. Trivial. But interesting.

Comments

[AgTigress]

Some very interesting points! But I think it is all too easy to forget that the wealthy aristocrats of the late 18th/early 19th centuries were not necessarily idle layabouts just because they appeared at social events, were fussy about their clothing, and enjoyed gambling. Naturally there would be some men who simply let their employees do everything for them and who spent their time exclusively in leisure activities, but there were also many (as I do not need to tell those who write and read this site!) who took their responsibilities as landowners and farmers seriously. Running a country estate, with livestock, crops, employees and tenants, is not a simple matter, and nobody would suggest today that a person who owned and ran a large mixed farm did not have a 'real job', even if he/she chose not to spend much time in personally mucking out the cowsheds. The men of the aristocracy and gentry who took their role seriously in the Georgian-Regency period would probably have been keen on experimenting with the newest ideas about stock-breeding and crop-rotation, as well as keeping a close eye on financial matters.

Furthermore, the intelligent aristocratic and gentry males of the period were very well-educated in the Classics, and most were well-travelled, not only on the standard Grand Tour, but sometimes much further afield. Many took a passionate interest in history, art and literature, as well as in the natural sciences. This is the period of the founding and growth of major learned societies, such as the Royal Society and the Society of Antiquaries, the Dilettanti and the Royal Academy. Nearly all the huge advances in learning that marked the later 18th and early 19th centuries were made by men of the classes traditionally depicted in today's 'Regency romances'.

I think that most of Heyer's most appealing heroes would be perfectly acceptable to live with. They all have depth and character. Even those who appear at the start to be louche men of fashion turn out to have hidden depths.

;-)

[Cathy]

Excellent points, but I did think of one hero who would manage... I think. Ruark Deverell Beachamp from SHANNA.

I always feel so guilty when I mention a book here and it's not been written by a Wench...but ya'll read other stuff, too... right? Right.

Anyway, Ruark was practically an engineer. I haven't read the book in a long, long time, but IIRC, he built some kind of sugar cane press, developed a system to keep the field workers (slaves and bondslaves) from dying of poisonous spider bites, captained a pirate ship (after killing the pirate captain), could handle a sword, work as a bondslave and still show up for dinner at the mansion--with family and friends--looking quite dapper.

And he put up with that *%#@& Shanna. He's trainable and smart and not afraid of hardwork. I think it could work.

[Maggie]

Your question made me realize that I'm always, always aware that I'm reading fiction. I never really see the characters as "real"---and that's not the fault of the excellent writers I read (i.e., all you Wenches).

I think it's me, with a preference for blessed and blissful unreality. There's no whiff of the chamber pot and the heroine's mole is considered a beauty mark where no pesky hair would ever dare to sprout.

If the characters ever became too "real" to me, I'd probably find them as boring as most of my acquaintances, or my family might lock me up. I really don't long to be in the arms of a tall, dark lord, although his money might come in handy. Perhaps I'm just too prosaically rooted in reality to wish for fictional characters to come alive.

And now I'm wondering if my WIPs are loaded with cardboard people. Darn you, Edith. You ARE a wench.

[Nina P]

Hi Wench Edith. It's great to have you back on Sundays. (I know you only missed one, but this littlest wenchling hates change.)

The question you pose is most interesting. Yes, there are a few heroes I'd like to see walking around my living room. MJ's Earl of Falconer (STOLEN MAGIC) and Jo's Earl of Saxenhurst (FORBIDDEN MAGIC) for another. It would be pure joy to see what those two brilliant minds could come up with in our society. Give the right chance, I bet they'd give Mr. Trump or Jack Welsh a run for their money. (never mind their superior manners) Of course, I'm not sure they'd like my world much. For all the things we have that they didn't (cars, washing machines, drive thru windows) we seem to posses very little of what they enjoyed. We do our own housework, gather our own food and live without drivers or footman. So, I ask, if we brought them here, do you think they’d stay?

[Sherrie Holmes]

From Sherrie:
Entertaining post, Edith, and a difficult question to answer. While I can come up with a lot of heroes I'd love to spend the day with, and maybe even a week, having a lasting relationship with one of them might be a different matter altogether.

For instance, I adore Heyer's Duke of Avon. He would be a delightful dinner companion, an erudite conversationalist, a brilliant dresser. (How could I resist a man in red high heels?) That faint aura of danger surrounding him is darned attractive. But could I live with the guy? Well. Maybe. If he was as wholly devoted to me as he was to Leonie. *g*

I'm in love with Dorothy Dunnett's Francis Crawford of Lymond. He's a gorgeous and deeply complex man, but there's no way I could live with him. Dang, this is hard trying to come up with a hero I could live with!

There are so many Regency heroes I love, many of them created by the Wenches. I think the reason we love them, despite whatever faults they may have, is that their better qualities always redeem them, and beneath the arrogant exterior is a man of worth. (Which doesn't mean you won't want to occassionally slap them upside the head!)

I think I'm just going to have to play it safe and choose Abraham Lincoln! He's not fictional, but he has qualities I greatly admire. He had integrity and perseverance, pushing past his failures until he succeeded. He was a fair and deeply compassionate man. Lincoln was ethical and conducted himself with dignity, yet he had a wicked sense of humor and was known as a great raconteur. He was devoted to his family. And he was tall. (I like tall guys!) I think I could live with this guy!

[Jane George]

As I happen to be happily married to a man born on the cusp of Leo/Virgo, who is as durned charming and brilliant as he is infuriating, I have no difficulties falling for heroes in romance literature. *g*

Most livable for today? Jo's Stephen Ball and Francis Middlethorpe come to mind.

And sharing the life of gentleman artist Jean-Marie Bourreau, the former Le Corbeau (supporting character in St. Raven)in France wouldn't be too bad, either. In fact, the man deserves his own book! :-)

[RevMelinda]

Hi there Edith,
I can think of three heroes I'd love to know, love, AND live with:
1. Georgette Heyer's Sir Anthony Fanshawe from The Masqueraders (I know I keep raving about him, but honestly, I just adore him. . .). He'd be calm, understanding, quietly adoring, and spring into action if needed.
2. Carla Kelly's Captain Jesse Randall, the surgeon/soldier hero from The Wedding Journey (sensitive, kinda shy, smart, brave, sweetly passionate--sigh)
3. Jo Beverley's Rothgar from Devilish--for all the obvious reasons (i.e. incredible sexy fabulousness) and the delicious outfits (I already mentioned my love of manly stockings in a previous post).
As to which one would fit in best today?--probably Jesse Randall, who'd hopefully be able to pick up modern surgical techniques and adapt gamely to our modern hardships! (For the love of ME!)
Melinda

[Wendy]

I've always thought that Mary Jo's Reginald Davenport from "The Rake" (which was her re-written version of The Rake and The Reformer), would be a hero that was livable. He was flawed (an alcholic), had manners and pride, but was ok with the heroine (Alys) working.

Like Edith, I love reading historical romance but every so often the thought pops into my head "if that was me, I'd give him a piece of my mind for trying to order me around". But then, isn't that what fiction is all about - putting yourself in another time and place for a few hours. And most of the time, I am too caught up in the story to be putting myself in heroine's shoes.

[Edith]

In truth friends, there are fictional gents I'd glady pass a day with.
Agtigress - I guess some are Heyer heores.
Sherrie - Dunnett's is my ideal but I fear he's too damned erudite.
Still, I do know my own heroes best, I'd love to meet them.
But they are my children.
sigh.
So who can I name?
I guess the amoral pirate captain: Morgan, from the WINDFLOWER.
He is an opium addict, true.
But there are rehab centers and hey! Who's perfect?

[Susan Wilbanks]

Hmm. I think I'll take Christy Morell from Patricia Gaffney's TO LOVE AND TO CHERISH. He's decent, honorable, compassionate, smart--AND, as a bonus he's a vicar rather than a lord or a pirate or a viking, so he's used to working for a living. Mmm, Christy...I really need to re-read that book soon.

[Camilla]

I'll take Jack Langdon from Loretta Chase's "The Devil's Delilah" and Piers Verderan from Jo Beverley's "Emily and the Dark Angel" for $200 Alex(or Edith *g*)

[Jane]

I thought of a couple, both from Elswyth Thane's Williamsburg Novels. First, Julian Day. He's a thinker, a teacher, very well-read. And his descendant Bracken Murray, a newspaper man. Of course, he's also an outstanding horseman, and I've never ridden in my life! But again, he's a reader.

[RevMelinda]

I was just trying to imagine Sir Anthony Fanshawe downloading music to his IPod, calling customer service at the airline, or taking the kids to Chuck E. Cheese. Yikes.

[Maggie]

Oh...I think Hugo from _The Unknown Ajax_ by Heyer might work. Ever adaptable. One of the few historical romance novels I've read where there were many, many laugh-out-loud funny moments.

[Janga]

I think almost any of Carla Kelly's heroes would adapt well. They are a practical group, and many of them like Scipio the millowner, David Wiggins the baliff, and Drs.Cook and Randall have professions.Even her aristocrats tend to be scholars or former military men.

And, Jane, Bracken Murray! What a grand idea. I think he would be a great man to have by your side in any age.

[Edith]

Oh, Rev Melinda! What an awful vision! And what a wonderful juxtiposition: a Historical Hero and Chuck E. Cheese!
love it.

[Teresa]

Hmmm, no-one comes immediately to mind, I must confess. Oh, wait - I wonder how Jo's Galeran of Heywood would do in the here and now. In many ways, he wasn't your typical medieval hero, yet he was still a strong, attractive man. Yeah - I'd like to meet him :-)