What do you think about blonde heroes? If you're reading a book and the hero is blonde, are you less interested in him than if he'd been dark-haired?
There's a rumour in romancelandia that readers prefer the tall, dark and handsome type. In fact there are stories of blonde heroes turning up dark-haired on their covers so as not to scare the readers away.
I've been thinking about this rumour lately because my October Desire, Countering His Claim, has my first ever blonde hero, Luke Marlow. The image in my head for Luke was Rupert Penry-Jones (from Persuasion, Spooks, etc). This is him in his Persuasion costume with co-star, Sally Hawkins:
However, had I wanted another actor as inspiration, I wouldn't have had to look far. In fact, there are so many blonde potential-heroes that it makes me wonder if we have different expectations for heroes in books to heroes in movies, or whether the rumour is simply not true. In the spirit of healthy debate, I've gathered photos of some of those blonde potential-heroes for your consideration...
Chris Hemsworth
There's a rumour in romancelandia that readers prefer the tall, dark and handsome type. In fact there are stories of blonde heroes turning up dark-haired on their covers so as not to scare the readers away.
I've been thinking about this rumour lately because my October Desire, Countering His Claim, has my first ever blonde hero, Luke Marlow. The image in my head for Luke was Rupert Penry-Jones (from Persuasion, Spooks, etc). This is him in his Persuasion costume with co-star, Sally Hawkins:
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| Image: BBC website |
However, had I wanted another actor as inspiration, I wouldn't have had to look far. In fact, there are so many blonde potential-heroes that it makes me wonder if we have different expectations for heroes in books to heroes in movies, or whether the rumour is simply not true. In the spirit of healthy debate, I've gathered photos of some of those blonde potential-heroes for your consideration...
Chris Hemsworth
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| Image: Wikipedia |
Owen Wilson
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| Image: Georges Biard |
Alexander Skarsgard
Simon Baker
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| Image: Gage Skidmore |
Simon Baker
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| Image: Angela George |
Spike from Buffy The Vampire Slayer, aka, James Marsters
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| Image: Wikipedia |
Captain America, aka, Chris Evans
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| Image: Marvel Website |
Ryan Gosling
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| Image: Wikipedia |
Ryan Reynolds
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| Image: Wikipedia |
And this is how the Desire art department portrayed Luke Marlow on the cover of Countering His Claim.
There were many more examples I could have given, from Jensen Ackles to Paul Newman, from Dan Stephens (Matthew in Downton Abbey) to Jude Law. What do you think? Do you have a soft spot for blonde heroes, or do you prefer tall, dark and handsome?
This is a topic close to my own heart at the moment, Rach, as I'm currently writing a blond hero (though he's not my first). I love your cover, but I have to say that by looking at it I wouldn't think Luke blond. I just went and had a squizz at our sidebar and found 2 blond hero's -- Amy's in Girl Least Likely to Marry and mine in First Comes Baby... (there's a couple where it's ambiguous, though). So it seems we definitely write more heroes in the traditional tall, dark and delicious mode.
ReplyDeleteAs a writer I like to mix it up. As a reader I probably do have a preference for darker-haired heroes, but I'm never put off by a blond hero. I usually enjoy the novelty. And when one has such splendid examples in Chris Hemsworth and Ryan Reynolds (not to mention Orlando Bloom's Legolas) then it may only be a matter of time before blond becomes the new black. ;-)
I thought about Legolas, but didn't end up including him. Perhaps I should have!
DeleteYou know, I did describe Luke as dark blonde, and on the cover he's light on the top, dark near the neck. Interesting, isn't it?
Oh, and now I have to add a rider...
ReplyDeleteI'm only going by the covers in the sidebars, so my above summation (about there being more darker-haired heroes in our ranks) is only correct if the cover models are an accurate depiction of said heroes. So far in my books they've been pretty faithful to my descriptions. It'll be interesting to see if others think their covers accurate. :-)
How clever to check the covers in the sidebar, Michelle. If I'd thought of it, I would have included that in my discussion.
DeleteYou know what else is interesting - the blonde / blond thing. There are two schools of thought - the first is that one is female and the other is male, and the second that one is a noun and the other is the adjective. It seems that even different publishing houses have taken different sides. I've pretty much given up and chosen the one I like the look of and use it for everything. ;)
I do use blonde for female and blond for males, but truly what's an 'e' between friends, right? Life's too short to get twisted into knots over this stuff. As long as the meaning is clear then as far as I'm concerned it's all good. ;-)
DeleteMichelle, I'm rereading Jane Austen's Emma atm, and I'm struck, as always, by the changes in grammar in only a couple of hundred years. There are possessive apostrophes on possessive pronouns (our's, your's, her's), and other interesting little things. Makes me wonder what the language will be like in another 200 years.
DeleteHmm, having just had HOFAH changed to American spelling they changed my blonde to blond so wondered if the e was English spelling and the no e was American?
DeleteSo, I've done a little research. This explanation is from the Oxford Dictionary http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/blonde and mentions gender (Michelle's rule) and also says the US prefers no E in general (Amy's experience), as well as mentioniong the difference in the noun and adjective versions (the adjective can be blonde or blond but the noun is usually blonde). No wonder there is confusion!
Delete"The alternative spellings blonde and blond correspond to the feminine and masculine forms in French, but in English the distinction is not always made, as English does not have such distinctions of grammatical gender. Thus, blond woman or blonde woman, blond man or blonde man are all used. The word is more commonly used of women, though, and in the noun the spelling is typically blonde. In American usage the usual spelling is blond for both adjective and noun.
adjective
(also blond) (chiefly of hair) fair or pale yellow:her long blonde hair I had my hair dyed blonde
having hair of a fair or pale yellow colour:a tall blonde woman
having fair hair and a light complexion (especially when regarded as a racial characteristic): she was blonde and blue-eyed, but she wore her hair in the same kind of weave as the black women
noun
a woman with blonde hair.
[mass noun] the colour of blonde hair: her hair was yellow—not any shade of blonde, but yellow
Rachel,
ReplyDeleteWell, that was a fine way to start the day with all those lovely pics! I tend to write dark haired heroes as that's the way they come to me (doesn't that sound nice?). But I've got nothing against a blond hero and in fact recently had a stray thought about a blond hero with dancing eyes and a smile that was pure wickedness. As a reader I don't mind at all and I can't see any point changing the hair colour on the cover.
Thanks for the lovely post. Smiling here as I open my ms.
Annie, that's really interesting - they come to you as dark haired. Though the sound of that wicked blonde hero with the dancing eyes is delicious. Make sure you let us know when he gets his own story!
DeleteGlad to give you a smile in the morning. :)
I must admit that I don't remember the last time I took note of the hair colour of a hero, or for that matter heroine, in the books I read. I guess at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter to me so I don't take much notice.
ReplyDeleteI would be curious of whether there is the same avoidence around blond heroines. Also, I honestly can't tell what colour Luke's hair is supposed to be on that cover.
Lyn, there's definitely not the same avoidance for the heroines. In fact, I've just done a quick count on the covers in the sidebar and found 7 blonde heroines. It's interesting, isn't it?
DeleteHi Rachel - I tend to write more the dark haired hero...but one of my favourite romances of all time is Ruth Wind's Her Ideal Man, and he was a hero with long blonde locks. Now you have me thinking it's time I started thinking about a blonde hero, especially after seeing those pics of Chris Hemsworth and Ryan Reynolds. :)
ReplyDeleteHelen, I haven't read Her Ideal Man, but I do like Ruth Wind. Will keep an eye out for it.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to your future book with a Chris Hemsworth / Ryan Reynolds hero. :)
I like any hair colour for the hero -- even a red-head (in Fang Tango, the hero was a red kangaroo shifter... I know that sounds a bit weird, but readers really like this hero and I did, too (totally Unbiased comment, of course! ) It's the eyes and smile that make a hero for me...
ReplyDeleteAstrid, a red kangaroo shifter? That book sounds like a complete original! :)
DeleteYep, I agree on the eyes and the smile - they show so much more about his character, don't they?
Hmm, Rachel, that's a good question. I think my heroes are all dark haired. As Annie said, they tend to come to me like that!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I have a preference when reading. So long as the hero is heroic, I'm happy!
Jen, I wonder if we've taken in the TD&H thing on a subconscious level - maybe from all the Darcys and Heathcliffs in our past reading? And then our heroes come to us that way more often?
DeleteOh, I absolutely agree on the hero being heroic as the most important thing! It's just central, isn't it?
Hi Rachel
ReplyDeleteI don't mind what colour hair the hero has as long as he is a great hero I am happy :) I have always had a soft spot for Robert Redford and Rod Stewart so dark or blonde I am happy
Have Fun
Helen
Helen, Robert Redford when he was blonde was a hunk! Thing about him is, he was often red-haired and that's a whole other conversation. They're even more rare than the blonde heroes!
DeleteI think you've hit the nail on the head for me with, "as long as he is a great hero I am happy". Couldn't agree more. :)
Now see, the hero in my first book was a Robert Redford red-head. In fact I've written as a couple of rangas - am quite partial to them myself :-)
ReplyDeleteI think I write dark haired heroes to blonde haired heroes about 60/40. Just flipping back through my covers I've had a mix of both. My best blonde cover (with a cute kid who is also blonde and an even cuter dog) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Single-Outback-Wife-Medical-Romance/dp/0263852482/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1331374198&sr=1-1
can be seen here.
I think I tend to write more blonde heroes because my own hero is blonde - wonder if that makes a difference?
Amy, I thought about you in the red-head discussions above - I remember you blogging about it when one of those books was coming out. Loved all your photos. :)
DeleteHey, just checked out that link - very cool cover. Definitely would make me pick up a copy of Single Dad, Outback Wife.
In real life I don't find blond men appealing. I've just found them to be more shallow. But in a book I really don't care what the hair color is.
ReplyDeleteMarcy Shuler
Marcy, what I find really interesting about your comment is that you don't find blonde men appealing in real life, but don't mind them in books. See, I was thinking it would be the other way around - in real life, blonde men still find girlfriends and wives, so some people find them appealing, but in books people might have more decided preferences. Thanks for your input - it's given me more to think about!
DeleteOooo, Rachel, nice list! I can see you've researched your subject very well and even gone to the trouble of checking out blond vs blonde for us!
ReplyDeleteI'm very partial to Rupert P-J in Whitechapel, I have to say! I have some other blond actors to add to your list - in the interests of assisting your researches... Matt Damon, Sean Bean, Daniel Craig (thoroughly enjoying his James B) Leonardo Di Caprio....
Yep, as you can see I have no bias about a hero's hair colour! And I must say that your blond hero, Luke Marlow, in Countering His Claim is delicious!
Sharon, they're some great additions to the list - thanks! It's important we get this right, you know. ;)
DeleteAw, thanks for your comment about Luke - your critiques of his story helped immeasurably!
Ooo, and in the interests of leaving no-one out, Rachel, I just thought of Anthony Edwards! Absolutely divine in The Scarlet Pimpernel, doncha know!
Delete"They seek him here, they seek him there..."
Sharon, I admire your thoroughness. :)
DeleteAnthony Edwards - oh, yes, I remember him from Northern Exposure, and I've liked him since then.
Partial to Rupert P-J too. Another blond(e) I particularly like is David Wenham.
ReplyDeleteClaire, another RP-J admirer. I knew I liked you. ;)
DeleteOh, yes, David Wenham, especially in LOTR - though, I would have called him a red-head?
Definitely blonde. I can't post a pic in comments, but I'll post one on Facebook for you. I would put many of his other roles ahead of LOTR, and I still have a soft spot for Diver Dan in Sea Change. :)
DeleteOh, Diver Dan, I still miss you.
DeleteI saw your pic on FB and I still think he's a redhead. That lovely old gold-coppery version of red. I think they often put blonde highlights in the top for him, though.
In real life, I find blond men very attractive (married to one!) and always have. I'm delighted when I start to read a book and discover the hero is blond!
ReplyDeleteKandy, I like blonde men in real life too and, like you, I have one of my very own. :)
DeleteI love that you're delighted when you find a blonde hero in a book - and it gives me hope that readers will give Luke a chance. :)