So I’m shambling around online, looking for some inspiration to write about literary heroines, fictional females who inspire readers, particularly women who practice the virtues and exhibit courage in the face of danger, when a link to “The 10 Best Literary Heroines” popped up.
Here, the editors at AbeBooks.com had asked this question of their readers: “If you could be any literary character, who would you be and why?” Many of the responses advocated for female characters—no surprise there, as more women than men read fiction—and there were brief comments on such protagonists as Scout Finch in “To Kill a Mockingbird” and Scarlett O’Hara in “Gone With the Wind.” Here, too, were some young lionesses of literature—Hermione Granger from the “Harry Potter” series, Nancy Drew, and Anne of Green Gables—along with the elderly sleuth Miss Marple.
