BEST OF THE BEST

AMONG the most memorable portrayals of red hair in popular literature must be Mistral's Daughter and Till we Meet Again, both novels by Judith Krantz.

Both novels were very popular in the 1980s. Red hair is the magic thread that runs through the Maggie-Teddy-Fauve triad in Mistral's Daughter: the three women are grandmother-daughter-granddaughter and the novel tells us the story of all three. Maggie and Teddy are models, but Fauve, though she could have been a model, prefers to work for grandma Maggie, who opens a model agency.

Eve in Till We Meet Again also has magic red hair. The red is woven with gold for Judith Krantz, and it means shine, passion, feeling and absolute beauty!

Another memorable Judith Krantz red-haired girl is Valentine O'Neill from Scruples. Valentine is not beautiful, just pretty, but she is so clever and capable that she threatens to overtake the novel from protagonist Billie! No wonder [MAJOR SPOILER] Judith Krantz killed Valentine off in the second book, Scruples II.

These novels were not without faults, especially in their depiction of the male hero. Krantz's male protagonists are not that good, in my view. I think the one male protagonist I could stomach was the good-looking American colonel who marries Eve in Till We Meet Again!

I prefer today's book boyfriends/ husbands, e.g. Jace Wayland (Mortal Instruments), Edward Cullen (Twilight saga), Gideon Cross (Crossfire trilogy) and, best among the best, Christian Grey from Fifty Shades!!!!!! Yes!