Hello everyone,
It is time to return to the not insubstantial task of looking back through all my previous reads of the past five years and creating an alphabetical list of the notable characters, authors, titles and settings. Today the letter is ‘H’.
A lot of the characters I have read beginning with H are quite unique ones, while there are also a couple of instantly memorable settings. Let us get started with the list!
Hampstead Heath
This is the place in London where wayward young artists’ muse Elise meets bestselling author Connie in The Confession by Jessie Burton. They go on to share a romance until Elise disappears following a trip to Mexico.
Handful
A girl who grows up as a slave at a plantation in The Invention Of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd. Horrifically, she is given to Sarah Grimke as a gift for her 11th birthday, but Sarah is revolted and goes on to become a leading abolitionist. Handful also tries to lead an escape and uprising.
Hannah
The name of three significant characters I have read. One of them is Avery’s deceased mother from The Inheritance Games trilogy, spelt backwards as well as forwards. The others are a sociopathic woman in The Lies We Told by Camilla Way and the main character in Lies Like Wildfire by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez, a very calculating narrator.
Hannah Kent
The author of The Good People, a novel which I read in 2020, although she is perhaps more famous for her debut Burial Rites. She has a very evocative writing style.
Harbinder Kaur
A police officer who is the main protagonist in a series by Elly Griffiths. The only one I have read so far is The Stranger Diaries, which I did in late 2020. She is not the most engaging, but she is very perceptive and has a somewhat cynical outlook on life.
Hardy Birdy
One of the more peculiar character names I have come across, Hardy Birdy is a failed academic who leads ghost tours in Oxford in Magpie Lane by Lucy Atkins. He strikes up a relationship with Dee, the main character.
Hare’s Landing
A country house hotel in rural Ireland in The Dark Room by Sam Blake, which has a murky past including the unexplained death of its former owner. Finding themselves there for a getaway, guests Rachel and Caroline investigate what happened.
Harrison
The chief inspector in the DI Adam Fawley series by Cara Hunter. He talks in cliches and jargon, much to the continued amusement of his team.
Harrow Lake
A spooky young adult novel by Kat Ellis, which I read in a blog tour in 2020. It is named after the setting, which feels like a town that time forgot, and is a place where a frightful entity called Mister Jitters apparently resides.
Harry
A film producer in The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. He and Evelyn are the best of friends and closest confidantes.
Harry Saint-Clare Ramsey
The owner of a woodland estate and outward bound centre where a teenage boy was killed nearly 20 years earlier, in Six Stories by Matt Wesolowski. He appears often in flashbacks.
The Hate U Give
Perhaps the most groundbreaking young adult contemporary novel of the past 10 years. Written by Angie Thomas, it is narrated by Starr Carter who witnesses her unarmed friend gunned down by a police officer. As well as highly relevant, it has wonderful character development and is a book I would recommend to anyone.
Havemayer
A member of the Archaeological Society in The Ten Thousand Doors Of January and something of a secondary villain. He pursues January and her friends through the various doors.
Hawthorne House
The setting for the Inheritance Games trilogy. It is the house Avery inherits if she lives there for a year, and it is full of puzzles, passageways, and secret rooms. One of my favourite things about this series is discovering more of this house that billionaire Tobias Hawthorne had built.
Heathcliff
One of the most famous and divisive characters in the history of English literature. I read Wuthering Heights in 2018 and was very much of the opinion that Heathcliff was not an especially likeable character!
Heather Morris
Author of the heartrending The Tattooist Of Auschwitz, which I read in 2018. HShe has also written two follow-ups which I have been meaning to read, but still have not managed to.
Hector
The son of the Trojan king and the finest warrior of Troy. Hector is responsible for killing Achilles’ best friend Patroclus and suffers deadly revenge. This story mainly appears in The Song Of Achilles by Madeline Miller, but is referenced in other retellings I have read.
Helene Wecker
The author of The Golem And The Jinni, which I read in 2021. It was a long book, but Wecker wrote it with such a lot of imagination and told a unique story.
Mrs Henge
The creepy housekeeper in The Lost Ones by Anita Frank. Always lurking in the shadows with snide remarks.
Henrietta Maria
The queen consort of King Charles I during the English Civil War. Originally from France, she features in The Smallest Man by Frances Quinn and forms a friendship with the protagonist, Nat Davy.
Henry
I have read about several characters called Henry. The main one that comes to mind is Henry Lamb, the son of of a father of the same name who lived in an abusive household dictated to by a cult leader in The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell, and a very unreliable narrator.
There is also Henry Daunt, who appears in a fugue state in Once Upon A River by Diane Setterfield, and also Henry the father of a missing girl in I Am Watching You by Teresa Driscoll.
Her Last Breath
A thriller by Tracy Buchanan which I read back in 2019. It is my favourite out of the four books I have read by her so far and has some outstanding twists.
Her Name Was Rose
The debut thriller novel by Claire Allan, about a woman called Emily who, after witnessing another woman die in an accident, becomes jealous of the life she had and so pursues an affair with her widower.
Hera
A wife of Zeus in Greek mythology. She appears in a few retellings, though most notably A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes.
Hermes
The Greek messenger god; one of the most famous deities and as such he appears in a lot of books. Out of the ones I have read, his most memorable appearance is in Circe by Madeline Miller.
Hermes is also the name of Dora’s pet magpie in Pandora by Susan Stokes-Chapman.
Hester Why
The main narrator in Bone China by Laura Purcell, which I read in 2022. Appointed as housemaid for Louise Pinecroft, she struggles to get through to her new mistress and feels an ongoing guilt for her past actions.
Hezekiah
Dora’s uncle in Pandora. He inherited an antiquaries shop from her parents after they died and sells mostly counterfeit goods. But in the basement he is keeping something of immense significance.
Hiro Arikawa
The author of The Travelling Cat Chronicles. In other words, one of the authors who has made me cry the most.
Holly Jackson
Author of the A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder trilogy. She has such a talent for mystery and crime writing while making her books fun to read. I finished her most recent book, Five Survive, last week.
Hope Adams
Author of Dangerous Women, a book inspired the true story of a ship carrying female convicts where a death took place.
Hostage
A book by Clare Mackintosh which I read in 2022. It is easily one of the most intense and high stakes thrillers I have ever picked up.
The House In The Cerulean Sea
One of the sweetest books ever. About how a childcare official visits a house full of various magical creatures cared for by the wise and charismatic Arthur Parnassus. It is kind of hard not to fall in love with it.
The House Of Fortune
Jessie Burton’s follow up to The Miniaturist, which was released in 2022. I enjoyed it a lot, although perhaps not quite as much as the first book.
Houyi
Xingyin’s father in Daughter Of The Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan. A legendary archer, his immortality was taken by her mother Chang’ee and he is long presumed dead.
How To Be Brave
The debut novel by Louise Beech, partly inspired by her daughter’s battle with diabetes and her grandfather Colin’s miraculous survival during the Second World War. It was a unique emotional journey reading this book and I absolutely loved it.
How To Disappear
A thriller by Gillian McAllister which I read in 2020, where a mother and daughter have to go into witness protection. However, they struggle to adjust to their new lives.
Huangpu River
The river in Shanghai where the ‘madness’ seems to originate from in These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong. An evil creature is apparently lurking within…
Hummingbird Creek
A wellness retreat where Mae lives in See How They Lie by Sue Wallman. Run by her father, it has state of the art facilities but the rules are strict and severe consequences await for anyone who contravenes them. It turns out to be a very sinister place.
Humphrey
Margot’s husband in The One Hundred Years Of Lenni And Margot. He was a wonderful character and was responsible for some of the many moving moments in the book.
The Huntress
An epic historical fiction by Kate Quinn, telling the story of a Russian fighter pilot during the Second World War. Told over three timelines and perspectives, it is very complex indeed but always riveting to read.
Hurtwood
The fictional location in Shropshire where American journalist Rose comes to live with her husband in The Last To Know by Jo Furniss. Something bad happened there years ago which is still the subject of resentment in the town, and she struggles to settle in.
Hydra
The second book in the Six Stories series by Matt Wesolowski, about a young woman who is in a secure psychiatric unit for killing her family.
Hypnos
The patriarch of House Nyx in the Gilded Wolves trilogy by Roshani Chokshi. A total diva, he is unapologetically decadent and has extremely expensive tastes. Yet somehow he is very likeable and also fun to read.
Let’s Chat
Have you come across any of these books, authors, or characters? Let me know in the comments!
Happy reading 🙂
Stephen Reads Books 