I would make a lousy heroine in a book.

I thought of this thread last night as I read my book - it's very good but the 'heroine' (one of them) lost her appetite, then on another occasion she 'pushed away her sandwich'.

[sigh]

Although the other heroine thinks about food all the time because she is French and is being starved during WW1.

I do agree that Ruth Galloway and Merrily Watkins are brilliant characters. The new Ruth Galloway, just published, is set in Italy and is brilliant!

Like all of you I LOVE crime fiction, especially Mark Billingham and Val McDermid, great writers and such nice, friendly people. If you have never been there I heartily recommend the Harrogate Crimewriting Festival, held each July. Mark & Val are always there and this year’s festival is being chaired by the wonderful Lee Child!

It just makes me want to comfort eat a bit more!

Hi Luckyfour, I hope you enjoy them as much as I have---and as all my friends have.

Hi Chicken, I have had some good information from Greyduster. Thanks for your extra information I will be looking out for these books as they sound just up my street,

I back Ruth Galloway against most other mystery novel heroines. She's human and fallible and I'd like to be her neighbour. Likewise Rev Merrily Watkins, main character in Phil Rickman's series of mysteries -strongly recommend as she's another I'd like as a neighbour.

The Agatha Raisin novels by M C Beaton are more realistic! Agatha is always trying to lose weight.

Luckyfour---I think those are the books by Ariana Franklin ( pseudonym of Diana Norman) wife of Barry Norman, sadly both dead now. They are brilliant. I've just re-read the first of the series, "Mistress of the Art of Death", and enjoyed it as much as at the first reading. My favourite book ever is" The Vizard Mask", written under her real name, set in the time of the plague and the Restoration. It's out of print now, but there are sometimes copies secondhand on Amazon.

why I like her!

I knew there was a reason I like her!!

Mma Ramotswe is a traditionally built African woman to quote her own words. If you haven't already met her then hurry to find a copy of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

If I'm stressed I rarely give up on food. Even when I'm ill so I'm in the same boat.

That's interesting Ready meals. Probably the same reason that tiny children say nee nar for emergency vehicles despite the fact that they haven't made that sound in years.

Greyduster - I do like the sound of the Adelia Aguilar books, do you have a title or perhaps the author's name please.

Marydoll

I would make a lousy heroine because I would NEVER go in that house/room/cellar without adequate lighting and someone to hold my hand ?

I eat whilst stressed and as this is most of the time I am overweight.
However when devastated (when I got divorced,my Mum had a stroke,daughter was very ill) I lose my appetite completely but then of course I cannot enjoy being thin because of the worry.

I dont seem to need a reason to reach for snacks crisps are my biggest downfall or fresh bread with butter, it seems to happen regardless the GC are home the film just starting settling down with a book going to do some research on computer, its 3 hour till evening meal the list goes on and on.

Look no further... Vera - in the books. She is fat, ugly and with terrible skin as she suffers badly from eczema; but - a mind like a rapier!

A lot of modern fiction isn't researched at all for realism, the cliches just come straight from whatever modern fiction they themselves read before deciding to write their own. There is an entire cultural tradition behind art forms that is not a reflection of real life in modern times. That is why when a child first starts drawing houses there is always a window in each corner and the door in the middle of the front, regardless whether or not he has ever seen a real house that looks like that. That is because invariably that is how we showed a child to draw a house - even though we have never lived in one like it either - it's the way we were first taught to draw a house as kids. With fiction novels I think similar principles apply.

I eat more when I’m grumpy and like my favourite fiction heroine - Adelia Aguilar, Henry the Second’s fictional medieval coroner - I am grumpy most of the time. She’s unkempt, clever, courageous, and a single mother. But if you had seen some of the things she came across in the course of her investigations, you probably wouldn't want to eat again!

I eat when I'm sad,stressed,happy I wish it could be the other way round.
I love the Elly Griffiths Ruth Galloway series as well, such a normal heroine.

I'm more like Vera

Grannybags, never mind the biscuits, what about tea and CHOCOLATE?