Lucy and Bert argue about treating Nancy Drew like a real person. Can you think of any literary characters that you wish were real or who felt as real to you?

Lucy and Bert argue about treating Nancy Drew like a real person. Can you think of any literary characters that you wish were real or who felt as real to you?

Oh my yes. I read Nancy Drew and The Three Investigators and many more books that I felt and wished the characters were real. I always felt Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were real people. Inspector Gamache is real to me, Dr. Ruth Galloway is real to me, Flavia DeLuce is real to me. Many of Hemingway’s characters are real to me. I think it’s just part of reading for me - to enjoy the story in an immersive way. The best writers make it easy to wish their characters were real and to believe in a part of your brain that they really are fully alive people or animals. Of course I always believed Peter Pan was real too.

It is the art of superb writing that an author can make the characters real and leave the reader with a lasting impression. We have many examples where we wish we could be a part of the story based on rich character descriptions. Don't you wish you cold have a discussion with Aticus Finch, Laura or Sadie from The Lions of Fifth Avenue, Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, Count Rostov from A Gentleman in Moscow to name a few.

Mma Precious Ramotswe from the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency in Botswana. Spend a weekend in Three Pines (Louise Penny's series).

As mentioned above…I would LOVE to spend time in the bistro with Armand Gamache, Reine-Marie Gamache, Ruth and her duck Rosa, and the rest of Three Pines characters. Or dine with the wonderful Count Rostov from A Gentleman in Moscow. Or on an adventure with one of these three amazing women - Virginia Speedwell (Deanna Raybourns’s series), Amelia Peabody (Elizabeth Peter’s series) or Mrs. Pollifax (Dorothy Gilman). Or visit the children living in the House on the Cerulean Sea.

This part of the story made a deep connection with me. I remember clearly feeling Nancy Drew was real, even though I knew in my head that she was not! It probably helped that it was a series and I kept my contact going with her, as I read book after book. I'm sure I experienced other characters over the years who I also felt were real. But Nancy Drew was probably the first and most memorable!

My sister and I loved, loved Nancy Drew. She definitely made such an impression on me. Know we read almost every book. That's how we spent our summers.

Gabi, I totally agree with you! I loved the House in the Cerulean Sea and would love to visit Three Pines!

When we become immersed in a story, the characters become real to us . . . even as adults. I think that's why historical fiction is so popular. We know the events are real, as are many of the characters, so it is natural that we believe the conversations also happened. It never occurs to me until I've read the author's note at the end, that some of this is not real.

I would love to meet the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird, Anne of Green Gables, and Jane Austen's novels.

Wanting to be Nancy Drew resonated for me.
Asking questions, being curious , Bert was that and more. Relationship between Lucy and Bert felt real. Bert's naivete was accurate reflection.

T.H. White's "The Once and Future King" had a profound impact on me in High School and still resonates with me all these many years later.

The characters in war novels or novels about a particular village or group of people caught up in war drama always seem real to me. Tim O'Brien swears "The Things They Carried" is not a memoir, but that's almost impossible to believe. Kristin Hannah's "The Nightingale" , Heller's "Catch 22", and Mary Doria Russel's "Thread of Grace" are other examples. Well researched books tend to carry the ring of truth and the characters become real to us.

Barb23703, It’s interesting that you mention “The Once and Future King.” I found a copy a couple weeks ago because I want to read it again. The book and characters were also very memorable to me from High School!

The books that I really enjoy are written with characters that I feel like I know in real life. I can understand the girls thinking of Nancy Drew as a real person.

Too many to list! I loved Trixie Belsen and Nancy Drew as a kid and would love for the main characters in my espionage novels to be real!

An entire generation read and believed in Nancy Drew. We emulated her with our own detective adventures, although not as dangerous as those of Lucy and Bert. Readers will always see themselves or something they wish was part of themselves with a character from a favorite book.