MelanieM Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 Does anyone have suggestions for fiction (or non-fiction that reads like fiction) that features wealthy people in a really positive light, doing amazing and fabulous things? All genres welcome. I can't seem to find much, so I thought I'd ask the hive -- a place where all questions have answers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Most of the philanthropists profiled in "Hearts on Fire" by Jill Iscol are well-off. The author's father was chairman of Nautica and her husband is a multimillionaire telecom executive. It is non-fiction but written in a narrative form. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RanchGirl Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Unspoken by Dee Henderson is a mystery about a kidnapping victim who is also an heiress disposing of an inheritance. Not my favorite book but not terrible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 The Lord Peter Wimsey detective series by Dorothy Sayers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Harry Potter is pretty wealthy. :) (Sorry for the spoiler) A Christmas Carol-Scrooge does good things (again, spoiler. Sorry) A lot of the Brandon Sanderson novels feature royalty, merchants, and other rich folk who do good things. You'd have better luck with non-fiction, because as Sadie said, you need conflict. I'll admit I'm curious-but why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Keeper Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 The Inspector Lynley mysteries by Elizabeth George; Lynley is an aristocrat who also happens to be a Scotland Yard Inspector. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Shades of Grey ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Eight Cousins, and even more so the sequel Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renthead Mommy Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Shades of Grey ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ That was the first place my brain went also after reading the title. I mean he does do amazing and fabulous things with his money... Aside from charities, he keeps bdsm shops in business.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artichoke Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Many of the Grace Livingston Hill books have wealthy protagonists who do good with their money. There's also the Christian classic In His Steps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest inoubliable Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Realllllly curious about this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heatherwith4 Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Shades of Grey ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ I'm glad I'm not the only loon that thought about Christian Grey. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 MM, Harry Potter was the first thing to pop into my head too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 I immediately thought of Daddy Warbucks in Annie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Half of us have just failed as educators. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arctic Bunny Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 The Little Princess? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Half of us have just failed as educators. And at least half of the other half was thinking the same thing but wouldn't admit it. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 On more serious note is this for kids or adults? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 How good? How amazing? Let's see, Frodo Baggins pretty much saves Middle Earth. Do comic book characters count? What about Bruce Wayne? Or The Green Hornet? Or Charles Xavier? Or Daddy Warbucks? Or Tony Stark? Or Lara Croft? Willy Wonka? Is he good enough? There's Forrest Gump? Bertie Wooster is funny, but sort of useless...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Daddy Longlegs. I read it so long ago, that honestly, I might not agree with everything in it anymore. But from I remember, it showed a wealthy person in a positive light. There was also a movie made about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 I hate to disagree but I think that book is creepy. YMMV. If you're referring to Daddy Longlegs, then I agree it's a bit creepy. Imagine Little Orphan Annie growing up and having a romantic relationship with Daddy Warbucks. Ick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 If you're referring to Daddy Longlegs, then I agree it's a bit creepy. Imagine Little Orphan Annie growing up and having a romantic relationship with Daddy Warbucks. Ick. Ha, you're right. I just re-read the plot summary, and had completely forgotten about the romantic interest part. Hmm.. I'll try and think of another one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 The ...In Death series by J.D. Robb. The main character is a police detective who marries a billionaire. He is smart, hardworking, and a good guy. They do a lot of good things with their money. These books are mystery/thrillers with graphic sex and violence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 I guess The Great Gatsby is maybe not what you have in mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
readwithem Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 The Lord Peter Wimsey detective series by Dorothy Sayers! This was going to be my suggestion as well. And the BBC movies (with two different actors in various stories) are very well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelanieM Posted September 3, 2014 Author Share Posted September 3, 2014 Awesome!! Thanks for all the great suggestions! To answer a couple of questions... For adults, not kids. Though kids books would be fun too! This came up because a friend was saying that it's difficult to find fiction that represents wealthy people in a positive light. So we're looking for books that celebrate wealth (even indirectly) rather than presenting it as something negative. Also, Fifty Shades was one that came to mind for me as well. So you all are not alone. ha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Forbes has an annual list of 15, but these seem mostly to be tv/movies, e.g. Mr Burns from The Simpsons Here's theirs from 2013 http://www.forbes.com/special-report/2013/fictional-15/ Wodehouse's Wooster http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dave-astor/wealthy-fictional-characters_b_2016921.html What about the men in Pride and Prejudice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 What about the men in Pride and Prejudice? Austen's Emma is a woman of wealth too. L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Also, having recently read Longbourn, I have to say, the Bennetts may not have had tons of money but the girls did just sit around in fancy dresses, attending balls, and waiting to get married off. It wasn't like they were going to have to take in washing or sell their bodies on the street. Jane Eyre's Mr Rochester Suggestions from the Wall St Journal http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424053111903791504576589160311007544 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Also, having recently read Longbourn, I have to say, the Bennetts may not have had tons of money but the girls did just sit around in fancy dresses, attending balls, and waiting to get married off. It wasn't like they were going to have to take in washing or sell their bodies on the street. Yes - they were comfortable. They would have lost everything when their father died, but in the mean time they were fine. Not wealthy, I don't think though. They shared their carriage horses with the farm, so had to walk if the horses were busy. L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 In terms of kids' books (that I rather enjoyed too) Artemis Fowl is extremely wealthy. And while he is not necessarily the good guy at least in the beginning, he eventually becomes rather a hero. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 I can think of more novels where the wealthy are people who aren't bad but the main characters aren't wealthy - like in Pride and Prejudice. As said, they're clearly comfortable if precarious in their situation, but the real rich characters are basically good people (not all of them, but most). Ditto in Jane Eyre. Ditto in many Dickens novels. I mean, in Oliver Twist, the main characters are in poverty and some rich people are terrible, but in the end, Oliver is saved by kind, rich benefactors who realize his connections. Or I Capture the Castle, where the main characters are poor but get caught up in the lives of their rich new neighbors, who turn out to be really good people. I guess I think the rich aren't too maligned by literature. If writers choose to write about poor or middle class protagonists more often it's because its easier to find a wider range of struggles there. When you give rich people struggles they tend to be moral in nature since they can't be about influence or power or having enough since the rich already have those things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Jane Eyre's Mr Rochester I wouldn't call him GOOD, would you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Yeah, that whole locking your wife in the attic thing... When rich people are morally good in fiction, it's almost incidental. I'm puzzled at needing to look for this type of fiction. The entire culture celebrates rich. LOL. Well, I'm not sure I can think of many novels featuring ANYONE just going around being good, doing amazingly wonderful things. Even non-fiction books about historical characters that I love also describe their flaws and bad things that they did. If we believed that ONLY being good and doing amazingly wonderful things was the goal, then I'm not sure we could get out of bed in the morning or live with ourselves. We have to know that everyone is good and bad, has success and failures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soufflegirl Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 The Scarlet Pimpernel? Or the Campion mysteries by Margery Allingham; they are similar to the Peter Wimsey stories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 I wouldn't call him GOOD, would you?Aww, come on...He didn't cast his wife out on the street! I don't know. There had to be something appealing about him, otherwise why read about Jane's longing for him? ;) By the way the story of Lady Almina is interesting, especially the stuff about her work with veterans who returned home wounded. It's non-fiction but related to Downton Abbey. She was wealthy and presumed to be an illegitimate daughter of a Rothschild,which was the source of her enormous fortune. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 Aww, come on...He didn't cast his wife out on the street! I don't know. There had to be something appealing about him, otherwise why read about Jane's longing for him? ;) There's something appealing about Heathcliff too, but that doesn't make him only GOOD. I think Jane likes the streak of darkness in Rochester. It mirrors that tiny wild piece of herself that was left after she was subdued into a lady. Or take Rhett Butler (the book Rhett). He's definitely a rogue and scoundrel, but also a hero, right? By the way the story of Lady Almira is interesting, especially the stuff about her work with veterans who returned home wounded. It's non-fiction but related to Downton Abbey; after reading the book, I felt the real woman was 1000x more interesting than boring Lady Grantham, who is the least interesting/developed character on the show. She was wealthy and presumed to be an illegitimate daughter of a Rothschild,which was the source of her enormous fortune. I liked that book quite a lot too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 Btw I realized Lady Almina was the inspiration for Cora Crawley not Lady Grantham (I deleted that from my post, no big deal, I just wanted to clarify). Cora Crawley is plenty interesting on Downton, but just for her big mouth and lack of pomposity. Lady Grantham just smiles and plays along, and was initially quite opposed to the hospital being built there during the war. Heathcliff is too dark and dangerous. Holy smokes. No! There sure are some weird characters in books. I was going to suggest Anna Karenina, but thought better of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 How about the Elizabeth Peters mysteries? They run around Egypt looking for mummies and having adventures. Money is never mentioned. Which means wealthy. My mom used to read those "The Cat Who...." mysteries by Lillian Jackson Braun about a gruff rich bachelor who runs around town solving crimes Murder-She-Wrote style, with occasional help from his cats. Silly lightweight fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 I suspect there's a lot in the world of mysteries and romances where being well endowed helps move the plot along. How about The Princess Bride? Princess Buttercup is down - to-earth and a nondiscriminatory type. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 How about the Elizabeth Peters mysteries? They run around Egypt looking for mummies and having adventures. Money is never mentioned. Which means wealthy. My mom used to read those "The Cat Who...." mysteries by Lillian Jackson Braun about a gruff rich bachelor who runs around town solving crimes Murder-She-Wrote style, with occasional help from his cats. Silly lightweight fun. Yes, I was just remembering the Amelia Peabody books. They are definitely wealthy, Amelia inherits her father's estate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 How about The Princess Bride? Princess Buttercup is down - to-earth and a nondiscriminatory type. She is poor! She only gets brought up to the castle because she is beautiful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 She is poor! She only gets brought up to the castle because she is beautiful.Ha ha, shows what I know. Okay, scratch that one. Back to gothic novels! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. I also agree with The Scarlet Pimpernel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 Artemis Fowl. Harry Potter. Berty Woodhouse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. I also agree with The Scarlet Pimpernel. Speaking of DIckens. ;) There are some good people in A Christmas Carol. Scrooge even makes amends. What about the father in The Secret Garden? The little princess dad in The Little Princess? The Von Trapps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 Speaking of DIckens. ;) There are some good people in A Christmas Carol. Scrooge even makes amends. What about the father in The Secret Garden? The little princess dad in The Little Princess? Mary in The Secret Garden has terrible parents who sent her away so that they don't have to deal with her. In The Little Princess the dad is dead! Have any of you people actually read any of these books? ;) :lol: :smilielol5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 Mary in The Secret Garden has terrible parents who sent her away so that they don't have to deal with her. In The Little Princess the dad is dead! Have any of you people actually read any of these books? ;) :lol: :smilielol5: lol I was thinking about the nice adults who took care of the kids, even the poor ones. But you are right. I misremembered the good characters. :) And that old Scrooge grew & amended. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 Mary in The Secret Garden has terrible parents who sent her away so that they don't have to deal with her. In The Little Princess the dad is dead! Have any of you people actually read any of these books? ;) :lol: :smilielol5:Of course not. we're watching the movies. In Little Princess, maybe the thought was the nice old man Shirley Temple sings with. If you're looking for a ST movie, how about The Little Colonel? Or what about The King and I? Or Beauty and the Beast? Yeah! Perfect! Anyway, Mrs M....Stop making fun and start giving suggestions. Finding perfect characters who are wealthy isn't easy. We're working hard here. Okay. How about Auntie Mame? :) Book and movie. The Uninvited is a good ghost story where the main characters are a reasonably comfortable brother and sister who want to resolve the problems of the tormented soul haunting their house. The movie is good as well, and easier to find. Back to mysteries, Phryne Fisher is quite wealthy. The books have a lot of sex (a la James Bond); the tv series is gorgeous and/but cuts a lot of the sex and is not very faithful to the books. She's an Australian detective in Australia post WWI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 My mom used to read those "The Cat Who...." mysteries by Lillian Jackson Braun about a gruff rich bachelor who runs around town solving crimes Murder-She-Wrote style, with occasional help from his cats. Silly lightweight fun. These were my first thought because I'm reading them right now. The main character inherits millions in the 3rd book, I believe. He doesn't like to deal with money as he feels it's a hindrance, so he sets up a foundation to dole out the money to people and businesses in need. He is considered a hero by the people who live in the towns all around him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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