Top Ten Tuesday: My Top Heroines

It's time for another venture into Top Ten Tuesday, brought to you courtesy of The Broke and the Bookish! This week's topic is:

My Top Ten Literary Heroines!

Here goes, again in no particular order.

1. Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice. I am certain that she will be a frequent character on these lists because, let's face it, she is just that great. She is strong where others around her are weak, intelligent in spite of a silly, grasping mother and even sillier sisters, and able to make the world's most unattainable man fall at her feet. She is witty and charming and is always able to think of just the right thing to say to convey her feelings. I admire that and wish it was a trait I was blessed with as well. Most of the time I turn into a bumbling idiot when I am placed in a stressful position where one would need to tread carefully in the words department.

2. Alanna of Trebond from the Song of the Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce. This quartet of YA novels have stuck with me for nearly 20 years because of the wonderful character of Alanna. She defies all conventions and disguises herself as a boy in order to obtain her knighthood, and she won't let anyone push her around. She is strong, smart, braver than most men, and I have always delighted in reading her adventures, even now that I'm older.

3. Mehrunnisa from The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan. This is actually a real person, and was the aunt of the woman to whom the great Taj Mahal was built for. She was the source of power behind the Indian throne, climbing there through great adversity and much struggle both in the world and 'behind the veil'. I admire her greatly.

4. Aliena from Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. Talk about struggling to get by in a man's world. This woman is completely shattered more than once and manages to keep her wits about her and rebuild from scratch while keeping her dignity, her pride and her core of inner strength intact.

5. Jo March from Little Women by Louis May Alcott. I love Jo. She is warm and caring, and also has a quest for learning which knows no bounds. A wonderful character to read about.

6. Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables. She could warm anyone's heart, and she certainly does mine. One of the most charming literary heroines ever written.

7. Sayuri from Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. She stops at nothing to achieve her goals, even if that means stepping on a few toes on her way there. But she manages to make everything work with poise and dignity.

8. Morgaine from Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. A beautiful, mysterious and magical heroine who is a delight to read about.

9. Rowan Mayfair from The Witching Hour by Anne Rice. She is a brilliant doctor and the most powerful witch of her age-what's not to love?

10. Vida Winter from The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. Just an amazing character, full of all the virtues and vices that make a great story.

so those are mine, how about you? Agree? Disagree?