This Tuesday The Broke and the Bookish would like to talk about characters that they wish had their own book. There is often a side character with an interesting back story that I would like to learn more about. Here are just a few of them…

His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman

Witches in the His Dark Materials series live for hundreds of years, and what a life Serafina Pekkala (and her dæmon Kaisa) must have had! I would love to read about her adventures and particularly her time spent with Farder Coram. It would be a very sad love story.

The Goldfinch – Donna Tartt

I have recently finished Tartt’s latest novel, so it’s still fresh in my mind. There are two characters that I would like to get to know better. The first is gentle, trusting Hobie. Tartt briefly mentions his unhappy younger years, before he met Welty. It would be interesting to learn more about the events leading up to his move to New York.

My second choice from The Goldfinch is (of course) Boris. And how could it not be? He’s a chaotic character and I can only imagine what would show up in a book about his life – both before and after his friendship with Theo.

Jamaica Inn – Daphne Du Maurier

Jem is a real favourite of mine. He’s a complex character; a bit of a bad boy, but charming and kind. He’s probably been in enough scrapes to make a great story.

The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald

Jordan Baker misses out on a lot of the limelight in The Great Gatsby, but I like to think that there’s more to her character. What does she do with her life after her and Nick Carraway part ways?

A Song of Ice and Fire – George R.R. Martin

Olenna Tyrell, otherwise known as the Queen of Thorns, is such a feisty character. She’s one of the reasons women should love the A Song of Ice and Fire series – I bet she has a few stories to tell.

David Copperfield – Charles Dickens

Miss Betsey Trotwood is one of my favourite characters in David Copperfield. She’s independent, generous and extremely stubborn. We don’t know the details of her unhappy marriage but there must be a story in there somewhere.

The Hobbit – J.R.R. Tolkien

Beorn the ‘skin changer’ is one of the most interesting and mysterious characters in The Hobbit. He’s fierce and dangerous (he can change into a bear!) but he is also gentle and caring, especially towards the intelligent animals that live with him. He has an important part to play in The Hobbit, although we don’t see that much of him. It’s possible that there is already a book about his past – if so, I would really like to read it!

Harry Potter series – J.K. Rowling

Not only is Kingsley Shacklebolt a top Auror, he also ends up as Minister for Magic. But what did Kingsley get up to when Voldemort was powerful in the pre Harry Potter days? And, most importantly, I’d like to see what was going on behind the scenes while Harry was at school.

The Road – Cormac McCarthy 

I suppose this is more of a follow-on book that I would like to read, from the point of view of ‘the boy’ or ‘the son’. The Road is so bleak and hopeless, so I would have to psych myself up to read what happens to ‘the boy’. But who knows, it might be a more hopeful story…

Which characters do you think deserve their own books? 

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