I'm joining lots of folk across the blogosphere today in wishing Verity a very happy wedding!
You'll probably see quite a lot of these greetings appear - it was the brainchild of the blogger we all know as Joan Hunter Dunn.
To make this a bit more collaborative, why not put forward your ideas for the best married couple in fiction? I'm always drawn to Jane and Bingley, even though we don't hear much about their married life together. Ian and Felicity in Greenery Street is another good'un. Thoughts?
Even thought many may find them smug and obnoxious, I will vote for Harriet Vane and Lord Peter. I loved “Gaudy Night”, in particular.
ReplyDeleteCute bear couple! Verity has text from Austria asking me to thank you and tell you how touched she is; she is reading on her phone and can't comment.
ReplyDeleteToo early in the morning for my thinking hat... Anne and Gilbert Blythe.
Congratulations to Verity
ReplyDeleteMy vote is for my most favourite romantic couple Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe
Wedding bears how absolutely fitting! I've just spent a delightful few moments briefly looking at my books for inspiration. I'd love to know more about Room with a view's George & Lucy married life. DE Stevenson's Hester and Tim,Mrs Tim and the regiment, seemed to have a solid and fun marriage. Great post.
ReplyDeleteClaire and Margaret have stolen Anne and Gilbert from me! So I will have to go for... Jane and Mr Rochester.
ReplyDeleteI'm going right out on a limb, here, Simon---because, although I'd put in a vote for Harriet Vane/Lord Peter, and I think you make good point re. Jane Austen (as well as Jane and Bingley, we've got Marianne and Colonel Brandon and several other happy pairings), for me, one of the most touching romances in fiction, probably my all time favourite is Dick Swiveller and the Marchioness in 'The Old Curiosity Shop'. And Dickens, bless him, the master of happy endings, assures us that their marriage was based on tolerance, sympathy and genuine affection.
ReplyDeleteLoved the bear photo, wonder what part Bernard is playing in this wedding, Ring bearer?
ReplyDeleteEmma and Mr Knightley, match created by Jane Austen
"best" married couple in fiction (I note you didn't say "most romantic couple", which is how some of your commenters are interpreting it)---well, having recently seen a wonderful performance by the American Shakespeare Company at the Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton, VA, I cast my vote for Macbeth and his Lady. What a pair! As for ordinary everyday favorites, I submit Mr. and Mrs. North; Bill and Dorian Weigand; Captain Heimrich and Susan Faye; and Nate and Rose Shapiro---all creations of the fertile brains of Richard and Frances Lockridge, who were also a married couple "in" fiction, albeit authors rather than characters.
ReplyDeleteWhat a well chosen picture.
ReplyDeleteAs for my favourite married couple, it has to be Dane and the unnamed narrator from Love in the Sun.
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ReplyDeleteIf we're seeking realism rather than romance, I suggest Hilda Lessways and Edwin Clayhanger. Arnold Bennett knew from first hand experience just how complex marriage could be, and it's all there in his fantastic novels.
ReplyDeleteMight have to go with Ruthiella with Harriet and Peter.
ReplyDeleteOh, Harriet Vane & Lord Peter already chosen, but they were my instant thought when I read your question. Busman's Honeymoon was the first Dorothy Sayers I read & it remains a favourite.
ReplyDeleteJean Paget and Joe Harmon from "The Legacy" by Nevil Shute. I never fail to be inspired and impressed by what they had to go through to be together.
ReplyDeleteEasily: Thomas Beresford and Prudence Cowley.
ReplyDeleteThe worst: George and Martha in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" - agreed this was a play and a movie, but still fiction.
Somewhere inbetween: Rumpole and She Who Must Be Obeyed
Peter Wimsey and Harriett Vane (of course), but spare a thought for Rory Alleyn and Agatha Troy.
ReplyDeletePeter & Harriet, of course, but also Anne Elliot & Captain Wentworth. Congratulations Verity!
ReplyDeleteLove the bears and thank you!! I will hank properly when I can blog again next week!
ReplyDeleteHands down the Best Married Couple of all time in fiction has to be Claire Randall (née Beauchamp) and James Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie Fraser in the Outlander Series (7 books to date) by Diana Gabaldon. The emotional and intimate relationship is detailed over the course and passage of their lifetime.
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