Even though she was a less prominent character, I always loved Phoebe from Catcher in the Rye. So much so that I named my daughter after her.
I also loved Jo, and admired Karen Killea (that spelling looks terribly wrong). I loved books with animals as the main character (Black Beauty, Born Free...)

Jo (who was regrettably named after my father's ex-girlfriend, not Little Women)

anyanka, yes I am a cat lover and loved that picture of Martin's cat which is my current wallpaper. It is a bit of a swim between Rhode Island and London.

gbg

Sheba looks a lot like the one on the right at the top of the page. And she's a bit old and stiff-legged now, and can't jump as well as she used to be able to. Still a dear old thing, though, with the most piercing yowl.

Here is a link that might be useful: All about the Cornish Rex.

I'd have to give Philippa Somerville from Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond Chronicles the nod for most appealing character. Followed closely by Harry Crewe and Anne Shirley.

Joanne, from Here Be Dragons, Sharon Kay Penman.

My husband fell for Anne Shirley in the TV series. We visited the house on Prince Edward Island where the setting for the books is; and he was crushed to find that she was not a real person.

I've always adored Lord Peter Wimsey. Also Miles Vorkosigan, from the Bujold SF novels. And has anyone read the books about Master Li and Number Ten Ox?

Brenda

Beloved - Jo March, Laura Ingalls, Heidi, Betsy of B,T, and T, Jane Eyre, Anne of Green Gables, and Antigone who I will always think of fondly as Anti-gone because I had never heard her name said by anyone!

In love with - T. H. White's Arthur, Rhett Butler, Jim Chee, Dave Robicheaux and Heathcliff!

OT....Martin thanks for the link on the Cornish Rex. I don't believe I have ever seen one. Currently I have an 18 year old black angora named Big Lu who was just pronounced "Phenonmenal for her age!" by the vet.

Granjan, I would definitely date Jim Chee, Mr.Holmes, Mr.Poirot, Mr.Rumpole, and Colonel Christopher Brandon....if only they would ask! Sigh.
I know, odd taste, but at my age I go for the interesting over most everything else.

gbg

Anne Shirley is probably my absolute favourite, followed by
Nobby Nobbs, the Luggage, and Nanny Ogg from the Discworld series. Nanny reminds me so much of one of my grandmothers that I canÂt help but love her, Nobby is adorable in a horrible and cynical sort of way, and I want the Luggage for myself.
and
Death from GaimanÂs Sandman series and Death from Pratchett Discworld series. They are so different, but also very much alike in that you canÂt help liking them.

Villains:
Ebeneser Scrooge.
The Duke of Avon from Georgette HeyerÂs These old Shades.

Of course they both become reformed by the end of the books.

My mind has gone blank. I need to look at my books before I add any more.

The Scarlet Pimpernel aka Sir Percy Blakeney was my teenage hero, although I always wondered how, with his aristocratic background, he managed such good impersonations of all those different people! Literary licence by Baroness Orczy I suppose...

Thanks for explaining, Martin and Gooseberrygirl! Great photo, too; I didn't look at that thread before (bit busy just before Christmas).

Thanks for mentioning Phoebe from The Catcher in the Rye, Jojoco. I feel bad I forgot her... it's been a long time since I read the novel; a revisit is overdue but I'm worried that I won't like it anymore, or that I will find Holden annoying as Chris does. I know he has that potential!

netla, DEATH from Discworld is also my favorite. In fact when a new book comes out, I scan the pages first to see if he is there (his presence is noted by caps). I also am fond of the Librarian, and Colonel Vimes. Oh, and Ventari is as well - he is a tyrant, with a heart of gold. (BTW Death also has a part in Good Omen. A different take on him, however, probably closer to Sandman)

Speaking of Good Omen, Crowley and Aziraphale have to be included. As demon and angel, they love mankind enough to save it, yet their keen eye for the oddities of the species make for some hilarious lines.

Rose's uncle from Alcott's Eight Cousins. He struck me as the consummate nurturer. I liked Rose better than Jo March. I was always convinced that Jo's marriage to the Professor was more practical than romantic and it broke my heart. That may well have been because Alcott had to keep it rated G, so to speak, but it still took the bloom off my love of Jo. (pun intended.)

The Grand Sophy, speaking of Heyer.

Yes to Dave Robicheaux.

Me, too, Robicheaux

I'll mention two others that I have loved:

First, from one of my favorite books, Qfyfq from Calvino's Cosmicomics. If you've read the book, you'll understand why.

Second, Sam Damon from Once an Eagle. He was the sort of man whom you hope is fighting for your country, if it comes to that. I think he deserves a mention since I don't ever see his name in these type of threads. I've never forgotten him, and often think I should re-read that book to see if Sam is all that I remember him as being.

Another Jim Chee fan here, and I also love Joe Leaphorn. I'm reading about them both right now.

Others that I love for one reason or another:
Lionel Essrog from Motherless Brooklyn
B.J. and Chin from Sarah Canary
Father Tim from Jan Karon's Mitford books
Taylor Greer from Kingsolver's Pigs in Heaven and Bean Trees
"Gus" McCrae from Lonesome Dove and
the kids from Half Magic

I always like the main character in Dick Francis' books, too. They are such decent men--they may fight, but they're decent.

Good grief! The best of the best. Father Tim from Jan Karon's wonderful Mitford series.

Bertie Wooster. 'nuff said. :-)

What an interesting thread!

For me:
*Death from Pratchett's series...I also scan to see if he's in the book, as I adore him.
*I second Lord Ventinari - I even named a fish after him
*Granny Weatherwax from the Discworld series, as well...she is such an interesting character
*F'nor from McCaffrey's Dragonrider series, as well as N'ton
*Aerin from McKinley's "The Hero and the Crown"
*Lord Peter Wimsey
*Crestomanci
*Calcifer, the fire demon from "Howl's Moving Castle"

Yes, Bertie Wooster!
Doc from Steinbeck's Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday....sigh.
Arkady from Martin Cruz Smith's Russian mysteries.
Off the top of my head:
Charley Bloom from The Milagro Beanfield War by John Nichols... an underdog driven by innate decency to take on tasks he's not sure he's up to.
Will's dad in Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury... gives me the same sort of feeling as Atticus in To Kill a Mockingbird.
Gerald Durrell's entire family from My Family and Other Animals and Birds, Beasts and Relatives... but especially Larry and his unflappable mother!
Rebecca and Ivanhoe...
The Old Man in Robert Ruark's The Old Man and the Boy.
Yossarian from Catch-22. (I loved this book as a teenager; I'm almost afraid to read it again - not sure I have the stomach for all the bloodshed any longer.)
J.D. Salinger's Seymour...

Bertie? Bertie!? He is way too high maintenance! ;-)
. I'll take Jeeves, by far! And Peter Wimsey's right hand man, Bunter. How useful to have around.

Yes, Bertie's VERY high maintenance but wouldn't you love to have him around? I mean, Jeeves will be with him -- they're practically joined at the hip! ;-)

Jeeves would be good to have around but ..... he'd want to be running things, albeit from behind the scenes. With Bertie, YOU can run things! :-)

Oh, and how about Zaphod Beeblebrox? He'd be a hoot at parties! Just be careful with him -- if you're at a party with Zaphod and you've got your eye on a girl, he's likely to steal her away from you!

;-)

Zaphod isn't my fav character in the HHG, tho he is fun. Its Marvin the Paranoid Android. The scene where he makes his opponent so angry that he shoots the floor out from under him is one of my fav parts of the book.

Ford Prefect is a close second.

I think it would be very relaxing to have Jeeves running everything, and not have to think of anything practical. (Like the tax papers sorted all over the dining room table, calling my name....yuck.) Okay-Bertie for entertainment, Jeeves for seamless function. I like it!

And I thought we were the only family who had tax papers/forms scattered all over the dining room table and floor . . . and they had to be in to HM Inland Revenue by the end of January, so this is just the flotsam. I'll be forced to invite someone to Sunday lunch so the mess gets cleared away. Ring for Jeeves.
Anyone care to join us around a rib of local beef and Yorkshire pud, or a leg of Welsh lamb and mint sauce followed by a traditional English pud?

Back to book characters. I know they are not fiction but I used to enjoy reading about the 'unusual' family of B MacDonald, especially her older siser Mary. I realise in 'real life' she was probably very difficult and bossy but M MacD could certainly weave endless funny tales around her and the other siblings and Mother. . .. and also the Kettle family. I suppose they would be known as 'lovable rogues' today.

Marvin The Paranoid Android, to me, would be a lot like creme brulee -- tastes great but you don't want TOO much of it otherwise you'll just get sick!

;-)

I imagine Marvin could get quite depressing if he was around a lot.

(By the way, ginger creme brulee is darned good!)

I think it'd also be a hoot to have Aahz around from time to time. Maybe even Skeeve...... Oh, but we'd DEFINITELY need Bunny to be around. Just to do the taxes, of course. ;-)

I like Marvin because he is wonderfully cynical about everything - and yet he's always put upon so you feel sorry for him. And besides, hes a robot. If you get tired of him you can switch him off, nu?

Cindy, you often use the word nu. It doesn't sound very English to me, so what does it mean?!!

Its Yiddish, an exclamation that sort of means 'of course', 'right', 'isn't it true', usually with tongue firmly placed in cheek.

If used at the beginning of a sentence, the meaning changes: Nu" is a word used to express expectation. At the doctor's office, for example, you can say, "Nu, so how does my heart sound?" At a restaurant, you can say, "Nu, when is our food coming already?" At a friend's coffee table you ask, "Nu, nu, so what's the news with the family?" Almost synonymous with 'so'.

We spent the weekend at a Can-Am volleyball tourney-the Canadian teams all finished their sentences with "eh" as in "We play again at 3, eh?" "That team from Pennsylvania can hit, eh?" Seems to have the same connotation as your "nu", eh?

I love Pratchett's characters as well. Deah is also my favorite with Susan following and Granny Weatherwax after her. I also enjoy Christopher Moore's books as well. Have you read any of those?

jaded,

I'm a big Christopher Moore fan. Some of my favorite characters are: Tuck, Theo, Roberto and the Warrior Babe. Who are yours?

I've tried to be a Christopher Moore fan, but just can't get into his books. Funny, coz his material is so up my alley, but I read a few pages and find him much more silly than funny, if you know what I mean. But I probably should try again - what book should I start with?

chris in the valley, I love Rose's Uncle too! Eight Cousins is one of my all time favorite books.

Other beloved characters:

Schmendrick the Magician from The Last Unicorn

Lucy from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

cindydavid -- Which Moore books have you tried to read? I started my Moore reading with Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings, which is still probably my favorite. It's funny but also offers some thought-provoking ideas. I also enjoyed Island of the Sequined Love Nun, which has some great characters who get carried over into other books.

I understand trying to like something you think you should enjoy. My good friend is a huge David Sedari fan. She gave me a stack of his books to read and I just couldn't seem to get into them. I really need to try again. Even Christopher Moore is a big fan of Sedaris.

Lamb, and Stupidest Angel. Maybe I'll try Fluke first

Sebastian from Brideshead Revisited charmed me. I do wonder, however, how he would hold up to a revisit.

The Ka-tet of Roland Deschain, Susannah and Eddie Dean, Jake Chambers...(Oy, Cuthbert Allgood and Alain Johns honorable mentions)

all from the Dark Tower Series

Some of my favorite characters have already been mentioned. I agree wholeheartedly with Rosefolly about Elnora Comstock from Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton Porter. Aerin from The Hero and the Crown and Harry from The Blue Sword both by Robin McKinley are also favorite characters. My favorite Georgette Heyer characters are Leonie from These Old Shades and Sophy from The Grand Sophy. (Oh yes, the whole family from the Amelia Peabody series).

For male characters, as a young girl, I wanted to be just like Tarzan, heck, I wanted to be Tarzan! Later, I just wanted to marry him and live in the jungle with him. (vbg)
Other favorites include Jim Chee, Brother Cadfael, F'Nor and F'Lar from Anne McCaffrey's Dragonrider series. I also loved Aragorn, Legolas, Frodo and the other Hobbits from The Lord of the Rings by Tolkein.

I'd better stop there, suffice it to say that I have several favorite characters from several favorite authors!

This is definately not a definitive list, but....

Beloved--
Sam Gamgee - LoTR
Smiley - Various novels from John LeCarre
Bernie Rhodenbarr (sp?) - The burglar books from Lawrence Block
Fisban - DragonLance Chronicles
The ancient drunk guy from the Milagro Beanfield War (I'm not home to look his name up)(I laughed hysterically when he drove that bulldozer over a cliff)
I second (or third) the vote for Calvin and Hobbes.

I wouldn't call him beloved but I enjoyed the Trashcan Man from King's, The Stand.

I'm sure there are more.

Oh my gosh, this has got me thinking! My most beloved include:

-- Atticus Finch, Scout, and Boo Radley (To Kill a Mockingbird)
-- Elizabeth Bennet (Pride and Prejudice)
-- Jane Eyre
-- Betsy (Betsy, Tacy, and Tib)
-- Charlie (Flowers for Algernon)
-- Courderoy
-- Babar
-- Billy, Old Dan, & Little Ann (Where the Red Fern Grows)
-- Pecola (The Bluest Eye)
-- Mick Kelly and John Singer(The Heart is a Lonely Hunter)
-- Charlotte (Charlotte's Web)

I was (and still am) in love with Edward Fairfax Rochester form "Jane Eyre" (read first when I was 10 and about 100 times since!). Think Timothy Dalton!

I'm also in love with John of Gaunt from "Katherine" - he was so attractive.

Other beloved characters:

Mammy - Gone With The Wind
Atticus Finch - To Kill a Mockingbird
Wart - The Once and Future King

Oh - yes to Wart, and Merlin. That has been one of my comfort reads for decades, probably my favorite Arthur retelling.

I need to reread Katherine. John wasn't just attractive - he was the only voice of reason in a very difficult time period.

I have to say that I love all the discworld characters, especially Sam Vimes and Sergeant Angua.
Will from Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising sequence
Jenny Elf and all her friends from the Xanth novels
Lloyd Alexander's characters are wonderfully sarcastic and humorous.
Daine from the Tamora Pierce series- I look just like her but shorter, and I love animals like she does.
Nita, Kit, Dairine, Ronan, and the rest of the crew (the cats' gating teams are included) from Diane Duane's Young Wizardry Series.
All my other favorites are already listed.

I agree about Sebastion. I saw the video series first and the character was absolutely golden. I have re-read the book several times and it does stand the test of time.

Other characters who have stayed with me are the father in "The Chosen," Cathy in "East of Eden," and Hemingway in "A Moveable Feast." Perhaps these are more memorable than beloved so I am off-thread.

Did anyone mention Sir John Falstaff-He knows the "laughter at the heart of things"

I know this might be a bit obscure but .... Le Cagot from Shibumi?