Captain Nemo (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea)

Tom Bombadil (LORA)

Quincy Morris (Dracula)

Dr Prunesquallor (Gormenghast)


and of course

Sherlock Holmes

Terry Pratchett's Nanny Ogg, Granny Weatherwax and Lord Vetinari to name but a few....

Jamie and Claire Fraser from Diana Gabaldon's series.

A lot of these nominations are for people I would love to live in the world of for a while, and sort of watch from afar, but I would rather not eat dinner with Sherlock Holmes or take in a play with Hercule Poirot.

On the other hand, I would love lunch with Miss Marple. Strether would be very interesting if I had the time to get him to trust me and open up (James' "The Ambassadors"). And for a quick kick of a date . . . Tuesday Next, who would understand this thread very well.

looks as if I better check when I'm free for lunch then! Still my dream dinner guests with be a mixture of Agatha Christie creations and J K Rowling creations...which should prove to be interesting!

I wish I could meet:
Luna Lovegood (from Harry Potter)
Saphira (the dragon from Eragon and Eldest)
Harry Potter

I would love to meet Gandalf, and perhaps a coulple of his hobbit friends.

1. Jeeves - Bertie Wooster's valet. (or 'Gentleman's personal gentleman' as he describes himself)
2. A joint meeting with the two most famous detectives' assistants - Captain Hastings (Poirot's assistant), and Dr. Watson (Sherlock Holmes assistant).
I'd much prefer to meet these, as i don't think I'd get much information, conversation or even common sense from their famous companions.

Aslan: The great Lion. He's kind, forgiving, and can be wild, too.
Ayla: She's smart, beautiful, can take care of herself and others, is a good listener, and has a wonderful way with animals.
Natalie Lindstrom: She can communicate with the dead.

Dallas Winston from S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders

Mara from Mara Daughter of the Nile

Nancy Drew

Ktstew, have you read The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde? It has a very, um, unusual take on Jane and Rochester that you might enjoy. :-)

I'd love to meet any Vorkosigan -- heck, any character! -- from Lois McMaster Bujold's series, but especially Cordelia Vorkosigan. She's just so real, and so awesome, and I feel that I could learn a lot from her. It breaks my heart that she shows up so little in the later books of the series, as the focus shifts to her sons.

Also Amelia Peabody from Elizabeth Peters's mysteries. Have any of you listened to the audiobooks for those? They found the most perfect voice actress you could imagine ...

Honor Harrington! *Grin* (David Weber's Honor Harrington series)

Gandalf (LotR)

King Emeritus Trent (Xanth series by Peirs Anthony)

I know I'll think of more later. Still, should be an interesting mix!

Albus dumbledore and Richard Rahl from the sword of truth series

I would like to meet Smeagol-Gollum from the Lord of The Rings or pretty much anyone from the Discworld especially Lord Vetinari, Sam Vimes or Seargent Angua.

Yes. After reading three biographies about Vivien Leigh I still am fascinated by her life, how she affected and was affected by those around her, how she hurt and manipulated those who loved her, and how mental illness helped bring a charmed life and an enviable career to an early end.

Have you ever known anyone to get everything they wanted? Literally everything, both personally and professionally with no real struggle or delay - and still be dissatisfied and unfulfilled? Meet the unique and gifted Vivien Leigh. Born in India and the result of private convent schools, Vivien, when in her late teens, wanted to imitate so many of her friends and become independent ; she wanted the husband, house and family solution so as not to wind up an old maid. She set out to find a husband. And what a catch she made. Leigh Holman was a well-to-do London barrister several years older than Vivian. They purchased a house in one of the best London neighborhoods. Soon the homemaker routine bored Vivian; the couple decided to take the next step.. Vivian became pregnant and gave birth to a baby girl they named Suzanne. Baby Suzanne was fine, and even fun, when dry, fed and smiling. But most of the time it seemed that she needed changing, feeding or was screaming.. Vivian was not cut out for motherhood.

Vivian decided that she wanted to become a great actress. The extent of her experience were the class assemblies she participated in in grammar school.. The ever-indulgent Leigh enrolled her in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, assuming that her acting interest was another whim or phase Vivian was going through; it too would pass. At the Academy, she was judged 'pretty' (a word that, later in life, Vivian's friends would learn never to use in her presence). A series of walk-ons and one line stage and film appearances followed. Most actors pay the price of fame by spending years, even decades, studying their craft and struggling with rejection, inferior parts and self doubt. Not Vivian. She went from one line walk- ons to being cast in "The Mask Of Virtue", a London hit that made her a star. Not a major star, but at least her name was now known in the world of the 'thee-tah'.

Vivian soon learned the actor's definition of acting. One only became an actor in the 'thee-tah'. Hollywood and the movies were for those who needed to make a quick buck and/or those whose thee-tah skills were either rusty or non-existant. Anybody who was anybody lived life in the thee-tah.

While lunching with a friend one day in London, Laurence Olivier entered the restaurant and Vivian was captivated. Olivier was considered Britain's up and coming young actor; his breathing new life into the lesser known classics of Shakespeare was widely acclaimed. Vivian commented to her friend, "I'm going to marry him." Her friend reminded Vivian that she was already married. Vivian stared at her friend as if to say, "so what?"

Shortly thereafter, Vivian Holman changed her name to Vivien Leigh, turned her back on her husband and baby and sailed to America with Olivier, who had left his wife and infant son. Olivier had been signed to appear in "Wuthering Heights" (he needed the money because he wanted to establish his own thee-tah company in London). Vivien wasn't along for the ride. She had obtained a copy of the best-selling American novel "Gone With the Wind" from a friend who had just visited the States. Vivien had read the novel four times and was sure that the part of Scarlett was written for her. She WAS Scarlett O'Hara. And she was determined that she would play the part in the upcoming film.

David O Selznick, "GWTW"'s producer, had tested hundreds of actresses for the pivotal part of Scarlett O’Hara and it took him almost two years to narrow the field down to Paulette Goddard and Miriam Hopkins; he was leaning towards Goddard and was days away from filming..Now he would have Vivien Leigh to deal with. Prior to leaving London, Vivien had photos taken of herself as how she envisioned Scarlett, complete with magnolia blossoms and hoop skirts.

Selznick was reluctant to test another actress for the lead but the pressure was on; shooting the film had to begin immediately or some of the backers would withdraw their financial interest in the project. Vivien had secured the services of Myron Selznick, David's brother, as her American agent. No dope, that Vivien. A quick screen test was arranged. Vivien of course was excellent in her reading and interpretation and was signed to play Scarlett O'Hara. Of course she was good; she had played every scene in her mind hundreds of times. She had done it - an unknown English girl had, during her first visit to Hollywood, secured what many considered to be (at that time) the finest woman's film role ever written. Vivien was rewarded with an Academy Award for her flawless performance. Olivier had a difficult time filming Wuthering Heights; he was used to being the star. On the Heights set, he was part of an ensemble. The thee-tah became even more important to him.

It was during the filming of GWTW that some disturbing behavior surfaced in Vivien. Her co-stars in GWTW were unpleasantly surprised when Vivien wanted to play her favorite game during delays in filming. The game was ‘How To Kill A Baby.’ The winner was the one who came up with the most inventive way of killing an infant. Vivien was a well brought up, refined and most polite aristocrat which made this behavior particularly surprising and inappropriate. Butterfly McQueen and Evelyn Keyes saw and felt another side of Leigh. In films, when one is to be slapped, the slapper brings his/her hand close to the face of the one being slapped and the appropriate sound is added later. This was not acceptable with Vivien. David O Selznick, the film’s producer, got a phone call one day reporting problems on the set. Upon arrival, he found Butterfly McQueen in tears and refusing to continue filming. McQueen played the simple-minded maid, Prissy, and the ‘birthin babies’ scene was being shot. The scene has been tried several times; McQueen stopped the filming each time. “She’s hurting me,” sobbed McQueen. Selznick asked that they try again and was shocked to see the vicious slap Vivien delivered to McQueen’s now swollen and raw cheek., not to mention Vivien’s finger nail marks in McQueen’s arm that Vivien had grabbed to hold her victim in place to maximize the blow. Selznick insisted on the standard close to the face with sound added later slap. (In the film, you’ll notice that Vivien’s hand comes nowhere near McQueen’s face, McQueen appears momentarily confused before she picks up on the action and begins crying as per the script). Evelyn Keyes, who played Scarlett’s sister, Suellen, also felt the impact of Vivien’s ‘reality’. In the picking cotton at Tara scene, Vivien had to slap Keyes. Again, a vicious blow that almost knocked Keyes off of her feet was delivered. Keyes had the imprint of Leigh’s hand on her cheek for weeks. Her fellow actors also noted, not so much as a concern but in amazement, that Vivien could be laughing at a joke off camera and within a matter of seconds be sobbing into a handkerchief as filming commenced. “Her emotions could be summoned like flipping a switch,” said Ann Rutherford (‘Careen’).

Vivien now turned to Shakespeare, starring with Olivier in bringing the classics to life with imaginative sets and costumes, more action and stunts, and novel interpretations. Olivier, on the surface, was proud of Vivien’s accomplishment in “GWTW” and was pleased with her win of an Oscar, but jealousy was also fermenting. After all, he was now being considered ‘the greatest actor alive’, but Vivien was the one rewarded with her choice of movie rolls, awards and recognition and more money than she could ever spend.

Vivien and Larry conquering the film and stage worlds; their personal lives kept pace with their professional accomplishments. Queen Elizabeth II knighted Olivier, creating Lord and Lady Olivier. The Lord and Lady took their roles seriously. To be invited to one of their parties meant that you too were now an aristocrat; you had arrived. And, by arriving, you saw some behavior that was hard to overlook. Vivien was either smiling and charming or sullen and, at times, downright mean. An invitation to a Friday night dinner sometimes meant that you would not return home until Sunday night. Dinner sometimes lasted until 4 am and was followed by tennis promptly at 6 am. Tours of their home (Notley Abbey, a 12th century castle) and gardens were paced with extravagant multi-coursed gourmet meals and board games .She kept stationary on hand to write letters of apology to any guests she may have insulted should one of her manic periods affected the attendees. Vivien perked up and maintained a positive disposition in the early 1950s much to the relief of Olivier and her friends. She had found another role that she was born to play. Scarlett O’Hara and Blanche DuBois had a lot in common: both were Southern belles, pretty, attractive to men and manipulative. The difference was that Blanche was eventually destroyed by mental illness. Vivien was well on her way to the same fate, and she knew it. Before being signed for “A Streetcar Named Desire”, Vivien had begun regular elective electro-convulsive therapy treatments to help her periods of hysteria and violent mood swings. She ignored her doctor’s insistence that she curtail her career and rest as much as possible since a small spot of tuberculosis was discovered on her lung. She and Olivier had contracted to tour extensively, including Australia and New Zealand. As if the touring wasn’t stressful enough for Vivien, included in the plays to be presented was “Titus Andronicus”, considered the most gruesome of Shakespeare’s plays. It graphically portrays murder, dismemberment and insanity. Vivien’s behavior became even more unpredictable. When she was awarded the Academy Award for “Streetcar”, her comment was, “I don’t deserve it (the Oscar); I wasn’t acting. I was being me.” Olivier was becoming more and more frustrated with Vivien’s behavior. He understood and empathized with her illness, but his reputation was becoming tarnished due to missed performances, bad press (in those days the media did not report controversial items like mental illness, but they did report ‘problems with Lord and Lady Oliver), and his flawed performances due to his concern for his wife. Their relationship finally ended when, against Olivier’s advice, Vivien signed to star in “Elephant Walk”, co-starring Peter Finch, and involved an extended shoot in the jungles of Ceylon. Olivier reached the end of his rope when Vivien had a major mood swing, began an affair with Finch and eventually had to return to London for emergency teatment and concentrated electro-convulsive therapy sessions. (Elizabeth Taylor replaced Leigh in the film). The entire first class section of the Ceylon to London flight was booked for Vivien since she did not like to fly and was seen clawing at the window as the plane pulled away from the terminal. Treatment in London lasted several weeks.

Back in London, Vivien enjoyed the company of her former husband (he had maintained a supportive relationship with Vivien) and established a relationship with Suzanne (Vivien had basically ignored her daughter from the date she married Olivier). She also enjoyed the company of old friends who, now that Vivien’s illness was known to her intimates, were supportive and understanding. She and Olivier were separated; Vivien’s affair with Finch and a series of health problems being more than Olivier could handle. It didn’t take long for Olivier to give an engagement ring to actress Joan Plowright and Vivien to befriend actor Jack Merivale. Vivien never stopped loving Olivier and kept several of his photos on her vanity. She also kept a recording of the “Gone With the Wind” waltz that she used to play, “when she wanted to feel sad about Larry.”

Vivien was never really cured of her tuberculosis or mental illness despite ongoing treatment for both. A final example of her loss of control can be seen in her last film, 1967’s “Ship of Fools”, a disturbing, dark tale of anti Semitism aboard a German ship in he days preceeding World War II. In a key scene, actor Lee Marvin is intoxicated and mistakenly enters Leigh’ cabin. Frightened, she begins to fight with him, pushes him out into the hallway, and proceeds to beat him about the head and face with her stiletto heeled shoe. She had to be pulled off of Marvin when the director yelled, ”cut!” Marvin carried several small scars to his grave.

Vivien Leigh died in 1967 at age 52. In her own words: My birth sign is Scorpio and they eat themselves up and burn themselves out. I swing between happiness and misery. I am part prude and part nonconformist. I say what I think and I don't pretend and I am prepared to accept the consequences of my actions."

A heavy and premature price, to be sure.

I may be putting a significantly different interpretation on the words 'a character you wish you knew'. Some of those I would like to know are not people with whom I would choose to go on a fishing trip!

Sometimes the actual motivation of literary characters (especially the baddies) is absolutely fascinating. What, for example, motivates Iago in Shakespeare's 'Othello'? A face-to-face interview in which you could get to know a guy like this would be intriguing.

I think that's why I haven't added to this thread. Although I find many literary characters fascinating, I don't really want to spend time with them - most of the interesting ones are really not very nice! I would like to understand them better, though....

I would love to meet:
1. Anne from Anne of Green Gables and other books.
2. Granny Weatherwax and her coven from the discworld series.
3. Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson
4. The good guys from the Belgariad aka Garion and his friends.
5. The Fellowship from the Lord of the Rings.
6. Jimmy the Hand from the Raymond E. Feist Books.
7. Darcy and Elizabeth from Pride and Prejudice (I just love the book)

i'd love to meet:
1. the Pevensie kids from the Narnia Series
2. Anakin and Luke Skywalker and Queen Amidala
3. The fellowship of the ring and Saruman
4. Harry Potter/Ron Weasley/Hermione Granger/Dumbledore and Hewhomustnotbenamed

Oh where do I start?? Well, here's a top ten:
Captain Hastings: numerous Hercule Poirot stories
Anthony Cade: The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie
Eragon and Roran: Eragon by Christopher Paolini
Fanny Price and Edmund Bertram: Mansfield Park
Mr Knightley: Emma
Viscount Ashley Desford: Charity Girl by Georgette Heyer.
Mr Rochester: Jane Eyre
Sir Anthony Fanshawe: The Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer

Here are more to add to the list I entered way back there someplace...

Cody Tull - Baltimore business man who would be a very knowable guy except for the imaginary 'one up-manship' war with his brother Ezra [ who isn't aware there IS a feud] - Dinner At the Homesick Restaurant

Walter Mitty - Everybody's favourite James Thurber character

Miranda Rhea - young Texas news writer living in Denver during the 1918 influenza epidemic, who falls in love with a soldier on his way to France. For years I have thought of Miranda as one of my alter egos.[ or possibly I am one of hers?...] - Pale Horse, Pale Rider