Original photo by Ginny

Anne Elliot is what you might call an old fashioned heroine. She doesn’t go out and slay dragons or stand up against a massive evil. In fact, she’s quite a quiet character. But she also has the strength to deal with her selfish family, keep calm in the face of tragedy, sacrifice what she wants for the good of others, and fight for love. Out of all Jane Austen’s heroines, she might possibly be my favourite.

I Capture the Castle is written as Cassandra’s diary, and what a diary it is! Cassandra starts her journal while sitting in the kitchen sink. Her witty humour, unique outlook on life and love, and her down to earth common sense is so refreshing. Plus she imagines and does crazy things like swimming in the moat in the freezing cold. I have a feeling we would be great friends.


Ah Blue. The girl with the awesome name, four amazing boys for friends and a curse that says she’ll kill her true love if she happens to kiss him. She’s such a fun character to read about, with her crazy family, witty dialogue and great sense of humour. I’ve spent three awesome books following her and I can’t wait for the fourth.


Isola has an amusing habit of introducing herself under various false names. One of her best friends also happens to be a ghost. And when everyone deserts her, she has the courage to stand up to the evil by herself and make things right with the world again. She’s a very interesting person to spend a book with, that’s for sure.



I have a very soft spot for thieves, and Kat Bishop embodies everything that I love in a thieving character. She’s smart, has an awesome family, a great sense of humour, and a romance with her boyfriend that adds to the plot rather than takes away from it. The books just sparkle with wit, jokes, and amazing heists that seem impossible, but make total sense at the same time.

Valkyrie Cain has it all, the fighting skills, awesome magic, a destiny, and the best friend/sidekick I’ve ever seen. It’s not everyone who has a walking, talking, fighting skeleton as a friend after all. Their friendship is filled with sarcasm, jokes, and very queer mannerisms. Not only that, but somehow Valkyrie has to deal with living a double life and missing out on a lot of time with her family. For a fighting heroine, she’s definitely my pick.

Tori Spring is funny, sarcastic and broken inside. But she’s got the strength to hide it so very few people can see, and manages to go through the book learning to accept who she is and deal with her problems privately rather than giving in to all the well-meaning friends who just want her to change. Her book is a romance, but because of her witty, slightly pessimistic view on life, it totally works for me.

And there you have it, ten of my favourite literary heroines. Now it’s your turn. Who are some of your favourite bookish heroines? Are you participating in Top Ten Tuesday? Leave a link to your post in the comments and I’ll visit you!