The Best books for great character definitions

As my book is about her, I must recommend Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, which was my introduction to her writing.

The inspiration for my book came from a newspaper article about the sale of a handful of her papers bought by The Bodleian Library for £1m. My writer’s ‘What if...?’ asked: If a few pages are worth £1m, how much would a few complete manuscripts be worth? And so the story idea was born.

One problem. At that time I’d never read a Jane Austen novel! My wife recommended this book; I became an instant fan devouring all the books and as many letters as I could read. Her books are so crammed with fascinating people, I knew my book had to be character-driven.

Thank you Miss Austen.

By the time I learnt to read, Enid Blyton had already written six or seven children’s books. One of my early reads was likely to have been this one, the original adventure. Eventually, I read them all.

I learnt the characters so well; their looks and personalities, they were embedded in my mind until the next book – and the remaining nineteen! So clear were their identities, my friends and I were able to re-enact the Five’s escapades taking the roles of the siblings and cousin. 

Although some of her writing comes in for criticism these days (from adults), it’s for things that went unnoticed by the average child swept along by the book’s adventures.

In my writing I work hard to create memorable characters and I’m always delighted when they are mentioned by readers.

I read this first book of the trilogy: His Dark Materials, when another scribbler gave me the set with a promise of: You’ll love this.

I wondered if I was being offered a children’s story as the protagonist is a twelve-year-old girl. Not only was I quickly drawn into Lyra’s parallel world but also captivated by the characters: children, adults, and daemons (like souls with the manifestation of animals). 

I’m not a fan of anthropomorphism but such is Philip Pullman’s writing skill, I was soon totally immersed in the beautifully-crafted characters, humans and otherwise. Including a wholly-believable polar bear.

I learnt from Pullman that taking pains when writing to dig the foundations of, and build, your characters, to make the reader care, or love, or despise makes writing the story flow more easily.

Is it a children’s, YA, or adult book? Yes!

I’ve selected this title as it’s one of the first Jeeves and Wooster books but, to be honest, you could choose any one; they’re all brilliant.

That goes for pretty much all of Wodehouse’s stories. I realise everyone knows these two characters from the various TV series produced over the years. But they may not have read the books. They should. It’s a great credit to the author that whichever actors portray this pair, and others such as Lord Emsworth of Blandings, the characters are instantly recognisable.

I think PG Wodehouse’s characterisation is superb. I admire his eye for details, not only in appearance but in mannerisms and speech. Wooster – the young gentleman – is wealthy, foppish, dapper, scatterbrained and idle. Jeeves – the gentleman’s gentleman – is someone who “from the collar upwards, stands alone.” That phrase alone tells the reader everything they need to know about the character.

I love Wodehouse’s plots because they are designed around the characters unlike many stories where characters are slotted into the plot. Only Bertie Wooster could get into the scrapes he does and only Jeeves could get him out.

I learnt from this book how to create bizarre characters. It’s full of odd personalities, not all of them are weird but they’re definitely strange. But then it’s a strange story so...

I loved seeing Backman’s skill of characterisation at work. He creates a seven-year-old girl who wants to live in her Granny’s make-believe world populated by peculiar people. Unfortunately she finds she has to exist in the real world – with all its equally peculiar people.

I enjoyed his creation of a cast where everyone is not as they first seem. In fact, trying not to put in a spoiler, there are twice as many characters as people. Elsa, the young heroine, has to find these complex characters and discover who they really are. But this isn’t a children’s story and the child star is no ordinary seven-year-old; yet another excellent piece of characterisation.

I learnt from Fredrik Backman about the value of adding intricate details to an individual’s traits and background which hide their true identity or aims from the protagonist.