Dean Priest

via {no, this is not a real model for Dean}

The Latest Literary Series . . . A Hero

      I like to find the “unlikely” heroes in fiction—those that touched me, but weren’t always co-starring with a lovely heroine. Dean Priest, of L.M. Montgomery’s Emily trilogy, is just such a man.

      Dean isn’t a Gilbert Blythe—not perfectly sweet, forgiving, young, or exactly handsome. But he holds some charm—probably because of his roguishness. He’s actually overly possessive, old (at least compared to the heroine, with whom he’s in love), and walks with a limp. Hence the name Dean “Jarback” Priest.

      Emily Starr thinks he knows too much—and he’s certainly not “the man” for her, though they are good friends. He has plenty of faults yet is still, maybe surprisingly, likeable.

      His advice to you? Your characters can be mysterious. We never fully “get” him. He was basically an outcast of the Priest clan. He was sorrowful. He shows again that suffering makes a character all the more interesting and real.

     Who is your literary hero?