Showing posts with label Memorable Characters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Memorable Characters. Show all posts

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Memorable Characters: Reggie & The Rake

The Rake
by Mary Jo Putney
The rake is as common a character in historical romances as is the duke or the dandy, the military hero or that second son. He is both loved and maligned and can easily play the hero or the villain. It has often been said that "there is no better husband than a reformed rake."

A rake is usually portrayed as a man whose physical attributes can only be outdone by his prowess in the bedroom and his charm with the ladies. The ladies want him and the gentlemen want to be him. Of course, usually some of those same gentlemen end up envying him for those attributes mentioned above, and others would prefer to get rid of him when their wives or mistresses share their admiration.

Nevertheless, to qualify as a rake a gentleman must have other skills. He must not care what others think or say about him, his wit must be as incomparably sharp as his sense of fashion and his superb knowledge of cattle. A rake is a risk-taker, and that often leads to gambling, horse races, and dueling. Adulation and emulation is also part of his daily life and the ton's young bucks usually flutter around him like bees around a flower. Womanizing, gambling, dueling, racing, drinking, and making the rounds make up the life of a rake. Visiting the right bedrooms, keeping the right mistress, and having enough pounds to finance this lifestyle is a 'must.'

These gentlemen usually begin following this life style early in life while they wait for their fathers, uncles, grandfathers, or nearest relatives to die off so they can inherit a title, or marry and live off allowances from their families until the title comes along.

But what happens if after years of "raking" and sowing wild oats there is no title, no wife, and no fortune? What happens when all those great expectations promised by society or family are dashed? What happens to a rake after years pass and there is nothing but more women, more duels, more gambling, and more drink? Then he becomes Reginald Davenport, the "Despair of the Davenports," a thirty-nine year old wastrel, The Rake.
Davenport was a complicated man, one who could act with both heroism and villainy, though he was neither hero nor villain. A man who, while not old, was certainly not young; who had the recklessness to create problems for himself, and the honesty to admit when he had done so. [...] he was fair and compassionate in his dealing with those around him. 
He was also very much alone.
There are many versions of the rake -- the much admired and reformed womanizer or the charmer is the most popular version. With Reginal Davenport, the author explores the intimate, personal reasoning behind such a life, as well as how society's influence encouraged and created the rake. After having read many a version of this popular character as a hero or anti-hero, to date Reginald Davenport is the most complete, complex version of a rake I have encountered, placing him firmly on my list of memorable characters.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Memorable Characters: Simon & The Serpent Prince

There are certain books I remember fondly, not necessarily because the story was oh so grand, but because there was a memorable character or a moment that pulled me into the story. I tend to fall in love with characters and moments -- sometimes that does it for me.

Viscount Simon Iddesleigh from The Serpent Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt is one of those characters. Every so often I see the book on my shelf and smile. Ohhh, I liked him! He fell deeply and passionately in love with his Lucy almost on sight (ahh, her terrifying eyebrows!). Simon had absolutely no problem verbalizing the love or showing passion and he could liquefy a stone with all that dirty talk seductive dialogue. The scenes in the bedroom were hot, no question about it! Simon was a good/bad boy, doing bad things for a good reason. And isn't that always the case with heroes? Yes, I loved him for all those reasons, but I remember him most for that subtle macho/alpha attitude combined with the metrosexual fashion 'vibe' he had going on, his hmm... favorite shoes and the ohh soooo 'golden and gilded' sense of style!
Everyone swung around, and Lucy almost let her mouth hang open. The viscount was magnificent. That was the only word for it. Magnificent. He wore a silver brocade coat embroidered in silver and black on the turned-back sleeves, skirts, and all down the front. Underneath was a sapphire waistcoat with vining leaves and multicolored flowers lavishly embroidered all over. His shirt had falls of lace at the wrists and throat, and he wore a snow-white wig on his head.

"Late!" Papa exploded. "Late for my super! Sit down promptly at seven o'clock in this household, sir, and if you cannot..." Papa trailed off and stared fixedly down at the viscount's feet.

Lucy followed his gaze. The viscount wore elegant pumps with --

"Red heels!" Papa shouted. "Good God, sirrah, think you this is a bordello?"
Yes, those red heels are as memorable as are Lucy's terrifying eyebrows and Simon's angst and passion.