Scarlett O’Hara (Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell)

This dark-haired green-eyed southern belle of the 17-inch waist is a red-hot femme fatale who delights and distresses us in equal measure. While her single-minded focus in trying to win over the affections of Ashley might make her appear lovelorn and vulnerable, her ill-treatment of Rhett Butler after the death of their baby girl Bonnie is plain cruel. But you can’t help admire her grit when she pledges never to go hungry again and turns around her father’s plantation, or her ingenuity in making a dress out of green velvet curtains when there is money to buy none. A true leader, this young lady is one helluva colourful package!

Daniel Cleaver (Bridget Jones’s Diary series by Helen Fielding)

He’s the sexy, suave looker that your mother warned you about. He’s the incorrigible flirt who makes every girl’s stomach flutter. He’s the seducer who will say anything to get a woman in bed. He’s the compulsive cheat who will never tie himself to one woman. He’s the creep who will sleep with his friend’s fiancee. And 20 years on, he’s still trying to get into Bridget’s pants by waiting for her half-naked after babysitting her children, to whom he is godfather! Daniel Cleaver may be everything you don’t want your man to be but let’s face it, the Bridget Jones books and movies wouldn’t be half as fun without this “love rat”. And he does help sweet and boring Mark Darcy look a lot better.

Christian Grey (Fifty Shades Trilogy by E.L. James)

His name may be Grey but this brooding billionaire has a sex drive that puts “colourful” to fifty shades of shame. Drop-dead gorgeous, arrogant and controlling, Christian Grey is a man of less words and lots of action — in the bedroom, in the bathroom, in the elevator, in the office, in the car…. Heavily into BDSM, he’s the dom who wields the whip and ties up his sub in the Red Room of Pain, but beneath it all is a golden heart and a tortured soul, madly in love with Ana Steele, despite his efforts to keep things just physical.

The Hatter (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll)

Though he’s known in popular culture as the “mad hatter”, Lewis Carroll never called him that in the Alice books. In fact, the Cheshire Cat refers to both The Hatter and the March Hare as “mad”. Forever stuck at 6pm, after he was accused by the Queen of Hearts of “murdering time” when he tried to sing for her, The Hatter is thus always having tea at the never-ending Mad Tea Party. Full of insults, quirks, nonsense verse and unsolvable riddles (the most famous one being ‘Why is a raven like a writing desk?’), The Hatter is one of literature’s most curious and delightful characters.

Luna Lovegood (Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling)

She has her wand stuck behind her ear for safekeeping and is wearing a necklace of Butterbeer caps the first time Harry meets Luna Lovegood, who, though a minor character in the series, is marvellously quirky. She has the strangest ideas, like the Rotfang Conspiracy, where Aurors are trying to bring down the Ministry of Magic using a combination of Dark Magic and gum disease! And the most outlandish accessories, like Spectrespecs, which according to her make wrackspurts (invisible creatures that float through one’s ears causing the brain to go fuzzy), visible to the wizarding eye. But when trouble comes calling, Luna is one of the bravest fighters in Dumbledore’s Army and a firm friend to Harry-Hermione-Ron-Ginny.

Shiva (Shiva Trilogy by Amish)

One of Amish’s young readers got it oh-so-right when he said, “Shiva is the dude of the gods!” Well, Shiva as envisioned by Amish is a tribal leader who is chosen to become the Neelkanth. Given to frequent cursing and a volatile temper, Shiva smokes up with best bud Veerbhadra and sings and dances beautifully. He’s fearless and fair and open to admitting his own mistakes, which makes him as endearing as he is inspiring, especially when he’s completely smitten by Sati. And once she becomes his wife, he just can’t seem to keep his eyes or hands off her!