Mr. Rochester, from Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre, has been voted the most romantic hero in literature in a new poll by Mills and Boon. I guess some women like their romantic heroes dark and brooding with an insane wife locked up in the attic. Crazy wife aside, Mr. Rochester is just too moody and arrogant for my taste. My top pick would be Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice. I’m really surprised that he was third in the poll, behind Richard Sharpe of Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe series. Here’s a list of the top ten:

1. Mr. Rochester, Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Bronte

2.Richard Sharpe, Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell

3. Mr. Darcy, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

4. Heathcliff, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

5. Rhett Butler, Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

6. Mark Darcy, Bridget Jones’ Diary by Helen Fielding

7. Captain Corelli, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Berniere

8. Henry DeTamble, The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

9. Gabriel Oak, Far From The Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

10. Rupert Campbell Black, The Rutshire Chronicles by Jilly Cooper

I like that Henry from The Time Traveler’s Wife made the list because the time traveling librarian is one of my favorite characters. I’ve written about my disdain for Heathcliff before, so I’m just going to leave that one alone. So what do you think of the list? Who’s your favorite literary romantic hero?