After a devastating breakup derails her carefully planned future, literature professor Chloe Sinclair escapes to the charming seaside town of Hawthorne Cove to attend its inaugural Jane Austen Festival and spend time with her best friend, Daphne, the festival's event planner.
Look, I get it. Mr. Darcy is a fantastic character. And Colin Firth in that BBC miniseries? I mean, come on. Is there a woman on earth who doesn’t swoon at that lake scene? I literally just wrote a book with half a dozen Mr. Darcies in it, one of whom is a cat, so trust me when I say that I fully understand what all the fuss is about.
But as good as Fitzwilliam Darcy is, I would argue he’s not Austen’s best male lead. That honor— and hear me out here— belongs to Persuasion’s Captain Wentworth.
In Austen’s work, there are two types of romantic leads: the leading man and the other man. The other man might not be Mr. Right, but you couldn’t blame someone for wanting him to be Mr. Right Now. He’s funny and charming and dashing— the sort of man who sweeps you off your feet almost instantly. He’s the kind of guy who could make a girl believe in love at first sight.
But he’s also deeply flawed. He’d be fun for a night, but never for a lifetime, and the more the reader, and the heroine, gets to know him, the less attractive he seems. That’s what clears the way for the leading man. He may not be as charming or handsome as the other man, but he’s honest and steadfast. He sees the heroine— really sees her. He loves her deeply. He challenges her. He acknowledges her flaws and encourages her growth. He cherishes her without putting her on a pedestal. He never asks her to be smaller, and he sees her as an equal. Though he’s not as flashy as the other man, with time, neither the heroine nor the reader can resist him.
Captain Wentworth is the exception. Like Austen’s other leading men, the more we learn about him, the more we fall in love with him. He is a man of character and a man of depth. But, unlike Austen’s other leading men, he’s also instantly dashing and charming. He’s the life of the party— the man you want next to you for a night and a lifetime. Unlike Darcy, he doesn’t have to overcome a terrible first impression because he doesn’t make one. He has his flaws, sure, and he is a jerk to Anne in spots, yes. But, unlike Darcy, his flaws are a function of his heartbreak rather than his arrogance.
And then, of course, there’s the letter. “You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope.”
Even a sopping wet Colin Firth can’t compete with that.
It’s Christmas time in Hawthorne Cove, and new resident bookstore owner Chloe Sinclair has never been more excited to celebrate. The Dickens’ Festival her best friend Daphne is throwing has the charming seaside town looking more magical than ever, and for a moment, Chloe feels like she is living in a storybook. But when a food critic drops dead during dinner, and Jack, the man she’s falling for, is arrested for murder, suddenly things are looking infinitely less merry and bright.
Grace Caldwell writes cozy mysteries for people who’d bring a book to a murder. An award-winning screenwriter and a professor of creative writing and literature, she’s published across more genres than she can reasonably list at a dinner party, but cozy mysteries are where she feels most at home. She lives in Central Florida with two fluffy feline assistants, Elsa and Anna, who supervise every page and approve of none of her deadlines.
Thank you so, so much for this wonderful feature! It was an honor to get to write a guest post for your blog!
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