Literature's Most Romantic Heroes

Recently, the British Telegraph conducted a poll of the most romantic heroes in literature. I personally think that the results of this poll are garbage. That's not to say that the heroes listed are not romantic - some of them definitely are. But the order is all wrong and some fantastic literary characters were left off.

This is the original list - with my color commentary of course.

1. Edward Rochester of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre - Romantic for sure but he's not my number 1.
2. Richard Sharpe of Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe series. - I don't even know who this is.
3. Fitzwilliam Darcy of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice - Yes, he should be on the list
4. Heathcliff of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights - No way! Heathcliff is the worst hero ever.
5. Rhett Butler of Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind - Hell yeah. But, why is he #5?
6. Mark Darcy, of Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’ Diary - Considering he's the modern day #3, I think that this is cheating
7. Captain Corelli of Louis de Berniere’s Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - yeah, no.
8. Henry DeTamble of Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveler’s Wife - I love this book but I actually would not include him on this list. Plus I'm not sure this book counts as "literature"
9. Gabriel Oak of Thomas Hardy’s Far From the Madding Crow - I never read this book so no comment.
10. Rupert Campbell Black of Jilly Cooper's The Rutshire Chronicles - Yeah, I never read this book either.

I am still not sure how a British poll could completely exclude Shakespeare. That just seems bizarre to me. Regardless, I've decided to right the wrong of this poll and devise my own list. Here we go!

1. Gilbert Blythe of Lucy Maude Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables - He's truly the perfect hero. Anne is basically a total spaz throughout all the books and runs him around in circles but he still never gives up.
2. Rhett Butler of Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind - Who doesn't love a rake?
3. Colonel Brandon of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility - He's so patient and that helps him eventually win the girl. How could you not love that?
4. Edward Rochester of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre - The ultimate tortured soul, which is always romantic.
5. Benedict of Shapekespeare's Much Ado About Nothing - Because he makes me laugh and that is an important trait in my book.
6. Edmund Dantes of Alexander Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo - Because revenge just makes him that much more attractive
7. Theodore "Laurie" Laurence of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women - Because I cry every time he gets his heart broken when Jo turns down his proposal.
8. Yuri Zhivago of Boris Pasternak's Doctor Zhivago - This book is Russian and tragic so basically it was written just for me. It does bother me that he cheats on his wife though which is why Yuri is down at #8.
9. Fitzwilliam Darcy of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice - I'm a big fan of the whole fight./flirt literary device.
10. Charles Ryder of Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited - Poor guy can never win.

Honorable Mention: Alexander Barrington of Paullina Simmons' The Bronze Horseman - This is not considered "literature" but it's one of my favorite books and he's awesome so he gets an honorable mention.

I'm an equal opportunist so I'll post soon with a list of my 10 favorite female literary characters. Stay tuned!