by
Lucy Pollard-Gott
© 1997-2005 Lucy Pollard-Gott. All rights reserved.
From the moment they emerged from their creator’s imagination, many fictional characters have shaped history as surely as did real-life warriors, statesmen, and philosophers. The Fictional 100 not only identifies those characters who have most influenced world literature, but also ranks them, judging each by his or her impact on literary history as well as popular culture.
From the brash Hercules (16) to the troubled, outspoken Holden Caulfield (99), from the menacing plots of Medea (26) to the misguided schemes of Emma (70), The Fictional 100 runs the gamut of heroes and villains, young and old, saints and sinners—their sagas including some of the most romantic and scandalous love stories ever told, as well as some of the most traumatic and passionate "endings" (fourteen of the one hundred committed suicide, and seven were murdered).
Some characters held a mirror to their society and catalyzed great changes. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom (82), for example, brought home the suffering of black slaves to many white Americans for the first time, and the novel is often credited with starting the Civil War. Others had "lives" so distinctive, or came to embody a principle so completely, that their names became part of our very language. Think of words and terms such as: quixotic, Oedipus complex, Achilles’ heel, a real Don Juan, or the patience of Job.
Including such varied luminaries as Hamlet (1), Genji (5), Chia Pao-yü (8), Arjuna (10), Scheherazade (13), Romeo (23), Juliet (24), Frankenstein (33), Jean Valjean (34), Shakuntala (63), Superman (80), and Colonel Aureliano Buendía (97), this groundbreaking book offers a multicultural tour of literature’s most intriguing characters to reveal a common thread of humanity throughout the works that contain them.
The Fictional 100 will present one of the strongest collections of literary characters enclosed in a single work, serving as a reference for lovers of the classics, a source of debate for critics, and a guide for those curious about the canon of great world literature.
The Fictional 100 offers--in short, readable chapters--the triumphs and tragedies, romantic escapades, and adventures of the most interesting people in world literature and legend. Each chapter begins with an epigraph in the character’s own words, which reveal something of each one’s unique style and personality, starting with the famous "To be, or not to be" from the brooding Hamlet. Then each character’s "life story" is recounted, typically emerging in one or more key works of literature, but often continuing to evolve in music, film, and other literary works far removed from the character’s time and place of origin. Consider, for example, Jane Austen’s Emma transplanted to Beverly Hills in the film "Clueless," Homer’s Odysseus making the rounds of twentieth-century Dublin in James Joyce’s "Ulysses," or Mary Shelley’s Dr. Frankenstein strutting on stage as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show."
Students will find a ready resource for their research needs, from biblical and Arthurian legends to Shakespeare and the chief figures of the modern novel. The Fictional 100 compiles a wide selection of critical responses to each character, spanning numerous works and varied media.
Each character’s story is accompanied by a classic illustration or a photo of a landmark portrayal that captures a significant moment in the character’s development--for instance, a theatre poster of William Gillette, who brought Sherlock Holmes (9) to the stage, or a movie still of Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara (92). Finally, a rich list of references enables the reader to pursue a "face-to-face" encounter with any of these intriguing characters through the most accessible literary sources.
The Fictional 100 selects the most enduring and compelling characters from six continents, and traces the reasons for their unique appeal, which may lie in a deep psychological or mythic resonance, the artistry of their presentation, or the special circumstances of time and society that brought them into being and sustain their popularity.
Besides American and European characters (such as Huckleberry Finn [31], Alice [25], Jane Eyre [61], David Copperfield [72], Scrooge [73], Madame Bovary [37], Anna Karenina [53], the Brothers Karamazov [64,65,66]) familiar to readers in these traditions, the greatest fictional personages from Latin America, China, Japan, India, Africa, and Australia are represented. For example, it includes not only Romeo (23) and Juliet (24), but also the "Romeo and Juliet" of Japan, Tokubei (44) and Ohatsu (45), whose story, though less well-known internationally, is as tragic and affecting as their European counterparts’. There is not only Achilles (14) of ancient Greece, but also Arjuna (10) of ancient India. Evidence of both the depth and breadth of each character’s influence around the world is presented to support his or her ranking on the list. Readers should enjoy seeing how their favorites stack up in the worldwide competition across time and cultures. Sherlock Holmes (9), Cinderella (40), Captain Ahab (62), Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde (67), Dorothy Gale (83), and Tarzan (90) are all there.
This book will enable the reader to consider not only the great variety among these characters, but also the range of features they share across cultural boundaries. For example, one recurring type, the "Trickster," has appeared in multiple guises in Europe (Odysseus [2], Don Juan [7], Hercules [16]), Africa (Hlakanyana [39]), and among North American Indians (Wakdjunkaga [46]).
From Hamlet (1) to Toni Morrison’s Beloved (100), this book makes it easy for readers to sample humanity’s best loved and most provocative fictional lives.
For a selected list of books and other resources on each character mentioned above, click that character's name in the text. You are invited to follow book title links on each character's page to Amazon.com, which provides secure online book shopping, as well as phone, fax, and mail-order alternatives. If you add a book to your shopping cart, you can still click Back on your browser to return to fictional100.com and continue browsing books on your favorite fictional characters. When you check out, Amazon lets you review your selections before purchasing, and their standard policy is not to charge you for an order until the time of shipment. Happy reading!
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Lucy Pollard-Gott holds an A.B., summa cum laude, and a Ph.D. in psychology, both from Princeton University, where she specialized in the psychology of the arts. Her research has addressed such topics as the structure of fairy tales, attribution theory and the novel, and the poetry of Wallace Stevens. She has published a number of scholarly articles on psychology and literature in such journals as Discourse Processes, Cognitive Psychology, and Poetics. A native of Vestal, New York, she now resides in Princeton Junction, New Jersey.
If you would like to be notified when The Fictional 100 is published, contact: lucy@fictional100.com
in
association with Amazon.com
Copyright © 1997-2005 Lucy Pollard-Gott. All rights reserved.