Ten of the best Book Dads

Ten of the best Book Dads

Lots of Dads are real-life heroes. Here’s a collection of fictional Dad’s that have won our hearts, from light-hearted children’s fiction to the darkest adult tale.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming

I think it’s fair to say that most people would remember Dick Van Dyke’s rendering of Caractacus Potts, the wild and whacky but loving and devoted inventor father in the 1968 screen adaptation by Roald Dahl, better than the character originally created by Ian Fleming in the book he wrote for his son. Either way, a great fictional dad.

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

Fern’s dad, Mr Arable, wants to kill the runt of the litter but is persuaded by Fern to stop so he deserves credit for setting in motion the wonderful story of Charlotte’s Web.

Danny Champion of the World by Roald Dahl

The wonderful William, widower and devoted father of Danny, has to be one of most memorable book dads created – even if he’s a bit of crim.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens 

Who can forget the image of Scrooge’s underpaid clerk Bob Cratchit and his sick child Tiny Tim enjoying a simple Christmas Day, in spite of their dire poverty? It’s one of the enduring father-son images.

Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

Long before there was the smash-hit musical there was the classic French novel in which ex-convict Jean Valjean redeems any past wrongs with his love for the orphan Cosette.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Proving that a foster father can be just as loving – and useful – as a real one, Hans Huberman teaches Liesel to read in secret, even while hiding a poor Jewish man from the Nazis.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 

Mr Bennet is the long-suffering father in one of Austen’s best-loved novels. While he clearly favours Lizzie among his daughters, he’s a devoted father to them all and of course, he’s also very funny.

Close Your Eyes by Michael Robotham

He may have been an absent father for some of the time while he’s busy cracking murder cases, but the father-daughter relationship in the Joe O’Loughlin series of crime novels is so beautifully depicted we can easily forgive him.

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

We feel slightly disturbed by the demise of Atticus’ reputation since the release of Go Set A Watchman. We’re sticking to the original Atticus, the lion-hearted father figure we know and love from Harper Lee’s original book.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

The unrelenting darkness of this book is redeemed by one of the most beautiful father and son relationships ever depicted – that of the ‘man’ and the ‘boy’ in McCarthy’s brilliant, post-apocalyptic novel, The Road.

 

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