I read The Scarlet Pimpernel at a formative age, and ever since then, my all-time favourite fictional character type has been the super-clever schemer, ten steps ahead of everyone around them, who doesn't care if they get badly misjudged and underestimated by everyone around them - more, who often deliberately causes people to misjudge them, for Reasons. (And if the viewpoint character is one of those who misjudges them, all the better - as long as we get an awesome revelation scene later.)
They're usually witty and eloquent, and insouciant in the face of danger: the sort of person who would calmly flick a speck of dust from their cuff when held at sword point by their arch-nemesis. They're often actors; even if they're not in disguise and playing a part, their words and actions are usually deliberate, done with their audience in mind. You don't often get to see glimpses of their true feelings. Inscrutable could be a word for them. They would make an excellent super-villain, if they weren't good at heart.
High up on my own mental list of this character type is Francis Crawford of Lymond from Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond Chronicles. Her Niccolo should probably be on the list, too, but I never fell in love with him in quite the same way as I did with Lymond.
There's also Peaceable Drummond Sherwood from The Sherwood Ring by Elizabeth Marie Pope. The male leads of several Sherwood Smith novels have strong elements of this type, too... but this comment is already getting far too long, so I won't ramble on any further. :-)
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Date: 12/13/14 10:08 am (UTC)They're usually witty and eloquent, and insouciant in the face of danger: the sort of person who would calmly flick a speck of dust from their cuff when held at sword point by their arch-nemesis. They're often actors; even if they're not in disguise and playing a part, their words and actions are usually deliberate, done with their audience in mind. You don't often get to see glimpses of their true feelings. Inscrutable could be a word for them. They would make an excellent super-villain, if they weren't good at heart.
High up on my own mental list of this character type is Francis Crawford of Lymond from Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond Chronicles. Her Niccolo should probably be on the list, too, but I never fell in love with him in quite the same way as I did with Lymond.
There's also Peaceable Drummond Sherwood from The Sherwood Ring by Elizabeth Marie Pope. The male leads of several Sherwood Smith novels have strong elements of this type, too... but this comment is already getting far too long, so I won't ramble on any further. :-)