From Odysseus and Lancelot to Aravis Tarkheena and Severus Snape, Laura Powell uncovers her favourite heroes in hiding
"Heroes have a tendency to hide from the world. They often have to conceal a secret power or identity; sometimes it's their true nature that's disguised, sometimes just their appearance. The two lead characters of Burn Mark and its sequel, Witch Fire, are teenage witches, living in a version of Britain where witches are a persecuted underclass and the Inquisition is an elite police force. As such, magic has to be concealed or else controlled by the authorities. But of course you don't have to possess Dark Forces to feel you've got something to hide, or that you're pretending to be something you're not. At one time or another, everyone feels like a fake…"
Laura Powell's latest book, Witch Fire, is the sequel to Burn Mark, a tale of ancient witchcraft in a modern world.
*1. Odysseus in The Odyssey by Homer*
Unlike most of the Greek heroes, Odysseus is more famous for his cunning and eloquence than his brawn. After a 10-year journey home from the Trojan War, he disguises himself as a wandering beggar to see what's befallen his household since he's been gone. Only his faithful dog Argus recognises him – and promptly dies of happiness!
*2. Lancelot in The Once and Future King by TH White*
White re-imagines the glamorous Sir Lancelot as ugly and self-loathing. Driven mad by his adulterous love for Guenever, Lancelot runs away from Camelot to become a "wild man". King Pelles dresses him as a Fool and keeps him in his stables, but the wild man's skills as a warrior ensure that he is eventually recognised and rescued by his friends. Tragic, comic, heart-racing and heart-breaking, White's masterpiece is still the finest Arthurian fantasy of them all.
*3. Viola in Twelfth Night by Shakespeare*
Shipwrecked and stranded in a country that's at war with her own, Viola pretends to be a boy to get a place in the all-male court of Duke Orsino. Her job is to woo the Countess Olivia on his behalf, when she is in love with the Duke herself. Witty, charming, resourceful … it's no surprise that Olivia falls in love with Viola's male alter-ego, Cesario. Wouldn't anyone?
*4. Sir Percy Blakeney in The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy*
Sir Percy is the Bruce Wayne of the French Revolution: a rich playboy with a double life spent rescuing people from the guillotine. He's a master of disguise, a dashing swordsman, schemer and escape artist. But to the world at large, he's just another posh nincompoop. Swashbuckle-tastic!
*5. Aravis Tarkheena in The Horse and His Boy by CS Lewis*
Aravis is a princess straight out of the Arabian Nights, who disguises herself in her brother's armour to escape an arranged marriage and have adventures with her talking horse, Hwin. She's wonderfully sharp-tongued and disagreeable to start with. But as well as being a raging snob, Aravis is courageous and loyal, an amazing story-teller and expert horsewoman. Some critics disapprove of Lewis because of what they perceive to be old fogeyish views, but I think the humanity of his writing always shines through. I can't imagine any child not being inspired by the Narnian Chronicles's heady mix of Platonic philosophy, Christian symbolism and pagan mythology.
*6. Alanna of Trebond in The Song of the Lioness series by Tamora Pierce*
Yes, it's another girl-disguised-as-a-boy. Alanna is destined to go to a convent to learn to be a lady, but she longs to be a derring-do knight. Disguised as "Alan", she goes to the royal palace to follow her dream. Tamora Pierce was writing wonderfully strong, stubborn female leads long before "feisty" became a literary cliché for girls.
*7. Sophie Hatter in Howl's Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne-Jones*
Sophie is turned into an old crone by a witch's curse. The twist is, although she's a meek and mousy girl, she finds it much easier to be bossy and outspoken once she's an elderly woman. So she braves the castle of the fearsome Wizard Howl and bullies him into giving her a job as his cleaner. From there, she sets about trying to lift the curse, while looking for Howl's legendary stash of young girls' hearts. Wynne-Jones is a genius, and vain, cowardly Howl is my secret crush.
*8. Will Stanton in The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper*
Will Stanton is a very different kind of superhero – a scruffy schoolboy who learns on his eleventh birthday that he is an immortal "Old One" and destined to wield the mystical powers of The Light in the ancient struggle with The Dark. A classic fantasy, in which the hero's thrill at possessing great power is offset by its burden of loneliness and secrecy.
*9. Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling*
We don't find out Snape's true loyalties until the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The ultimate triple-agent, he's a morally fascinating character who's as genuinely unpleasant as he is heroic.
*10. Luke in Lament by Maggie Stiefvater*
There are an awful lot of paranormal romances in which girls-next-door fall for a vampire/faery/werewolf cunningly disguised as a high-school heartthrob. But Stievater's in a class of her own. And so is Luke! A faerie-assassin masquerading as – yes – a high-school heartthrob, he's conflicted, dangerous, irresistible … and tragically trapped between two worlds. Reported by guardian.co.uk 2 days ago.
"Heroes have a tendency to hide from the world. They often have to conceal a secret power or identity; sometimes it's their true nature that's disguised, sometimes just their appearance. The two lead characters of Burn Mark and its sequel, Witch Fire, are teenage witches, living in a version of Britain where witches are a persecuted underclass and the Inquisition is an elite police force. As such, magic has to be concealed or else controlled by the authorities. But of course you don't have to possess Dark Forces to feel you've got something to hide, or that you're pretending to be something you're not. At one time or another, everyone feels like a fake…"
Laura Powell's latest book, Witch Fire, is the sequel to Burn Mark, a tale of ancient witchcraft in a modern world.
*1. Odysseus in The Odyssey by Homer*
Unlike most of the Greek heroes, Odysseus is more famous for his cunning and eloquence than his brawn. After a 10-year journey home from the Trojan War, he disguises himself as a wandering beggar to see what's befallen his household since he's been gone. Only his faithful dog Argus recognises him – and promptly dies of happiness!
*2. Lancelot in The Once and Future King by TH White*
White re-imagines the glamorous Sir Lancelot as ugly and self-loathing. Driven mad by his adulterous love for Guenever, Lancelot runs away from Camelot to become a "wild man". King Pelles dresses him as a Fool and keeps him in his stables, but the wild man's skills as a warrior ensure that he is eventually recognised and rescued by his friends. Tragic, comic, heart-racing and heart-breaking, White's masterpiece is still the finest Arthurian fantasy of them all.
*3. Viola in Twelfth Night by Shakespeare*
Shipwrecked and stranded in a country that's at war with her own, Viola pretends to be a boy to get a place in the all-male court of Duke Orsino. Her job is to woo the Countess Olivia on his behalf, when she is in love with the Duke herself. Witty, charming, resourceful … it's no surprise that Olivia falls in love with Viola's male alter-ego, Cesario. Wouldn't anyone?
*4. Sir Percy Blakeney in The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy*
Sir Percy is the Bruce Wayne of the French Revolution: a rich playboy with a double life spent rescuing people from the guillotine. He's a master of disguise, a dashing swordsman, schemer and escape artist. But to the world at large, he's just another posh nincompoop. Swashbuckle-tastic!
*5. Aravis Tarkheena in The Horse and His Boy by CS Lewis*
Aravis is a princess straight out of the Arabian Nights, who disguises herself in her brother's armour to escape an arranged marriage and have adventures with her talking horse, Hwin. She's wonderfully sharp-tongued and disagreeable to start with. But as well as being a raging snob, Aravis is courageous and loyal, an amazing story-teller and expert horsewoman. Some critics disapprove of Lewis because of what they perceive to be old fogeyish views, but I think the humanity of his writing always shines through. I can't imagine any child not being inspired by the Narnian Chronicles's heady mix of Platonic philosophy, Christian symbolism and pagan mythology.
*6. Alanna of Trebond in The Song of the Lioness series by Tamora Pierce*
Yes, it's another girl-disguised-as-a-boy. Alanna is destined to go to a convent to learn to be a lady, but she longs to be a derring-do knight. Disguised as "Alan", she goes to the royal palace to follow her dream. Tamora Pierce was writing wonderfully strong, stubborn female leads long before "feisty" became a literary cliché for girls.
*7. Sophie Hatter in Howl's Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne-Jones*
Sophie is turned into an old crone by a witch's curse. The twist is, although she's a meek and mousy girl, she finds it much easier to be bossy and outspoken once she's an elderly woman. So she braves the castle of the fearsome Wizard Howl and bullies him into giving her a job as his cleaner. From there, she sets about trying to lift the curse, while looking for Howl's legendary stash of young girls' hearts. Wynne-Jones is a genius, and vain, cowardly Howl is my secret crush.
*8. Will Stanton in The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper*
Will Stanton is a very different kind of superhero – a scruffy schoolboy who learns on his eleventh birthday that he is an immortal "Old One" and destined to wield the mystical powers of The Light in the ancient struggle with The Dark. A classic fantasy, in which the hero's thrill at possessing great power is offset by its burden of loneliness and secrecy.
*9. Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling*
We don't find out Snape's true loyalties until the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The ultimate triple-agent, he's a morally fascinating character who's as genuinely unpleasant as he is heroic.
*10. Luke in Lament by Maggie Stiefvater*
There are an awful lot of paranormal romances in which girls-next-door fall for a vampire/faery/werewolf cunningly disguised as a high-school heartthrob. But Stievater's in a class of her own. And so is Luke! A faerie-assassin masquerading as – yes – a high-school heartthrob, he's conflicted, dangerous, irresistible … and tragically trapped between two worlds. Reported by guardian.co.uk 2 days ago.