Read about the other entries on the list.The Plain Jane Who Gets Her Man
In the seminal gothic romance Jane Eyre, our heroine literally is a plain Jane—but the well-worn story of the less-than-conventionally attractive (or even “ugly-duckling”) heroine who nonetheless manages to ride off into the sunset with some Grade-A, Top-Sirloin Romantic Hero Beefcake didn’t stop there; both classic and contemporary novels are full of the old standby. From sad-sack Bridget Jones in Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’s Diary, who feels totally insecure about her looks and yet manages to win the affection of dreamboat Mark Darcy, to Jennifer Weiner’s dowdy underdog heroine Cannie Shapiro in Good In Bed, to the unlikely love affair between frumpy middle-aged Lenny Abramov and the beautiful young ingénue Eunice Park in Gary Shteyngart’s blistering modern dystopian tale Super Sad True Love Story, stories in which inner beauty is recognized (and rewarded with well-deserved hot lovin’) is something I’ll always be a sucker for.
--Marshal Zeringue
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