What the prototypes of famous literary characters looked like in reality (14 photos)

There is an opinion that any artist in his work depicts, as a rule, himself. After all, art itself is a reflection of one’s inner world in some form. It could be a painting, sculpture, poem, song, music, and so on. And literature is no exception. Many book characters are partly a reflection of the author. And other writers come up with their characters straight from their heads, combining several images into one hero. But there is a third option. Some writers prefer to be inspired by real-life people, as well as their actions, which can sometimes evoke the most controversial emotions. It is these real prototypes that will be discussed in our post.

Christopher Robin - Christopher Robin Milne (Winnie the Pooh, Alan Milne)





Christopher Robin Milne is the son of the famous English writer.

Dorian Gray - poet John Gray (The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde)



Pictured left is Ben Barnes in Dorian Gray (2009).

Sherlock Holmes - Dr. Joseph Bell (Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle)





Joseph Bell is a famous surgeon and mentor to a famous mystery author.

In the photo on the left is Vasily Livanov in the film “Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson” (1980).

Anna Karenina - Maria Hartung (Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy)



Maria Hartung is the eldest daughter of the famous poet Alexander Pushkin.

Pictured on the left is Keira Knightley in the film Anna Karenina (2012).

Peter Pan – Michael Llewelyn Davies (“Peter Pan and Wendy”, James Matthew Barrie)



Queen Margot - Marguerite de Valois (“Queen Margot”, Alexandre Dumas father)



Pictured on the left is Isabelle Adjani in the film Queen Margot (1994).

Roberta Alden - Grace Brown (An American Tragedy, Theodore Dreiser)



Grace Brown is a real American woman who tragically died at the hands of her boyfriend. The writer was so inspired by this story that he wrote an entire novel based on it.

Pictured left is Shelley Winters in A Place in the Sun, an adaptation of An American Tragedy (1951).

Emma Bovary - Delphine Delamarre ("Madame Bovary", Gustave Flaubert)



Pictured on the left is Mia Wasikowska in the film Madame Bovary (2014).

Daisy Buchanan - Ginevra King (The Great Gatsby, Francis Scott Fitzgerald)



Ginevra King is the writer’s first love, who later married a wealthy entrepreneur.

Pictured left is Carey Mulligan in The Great Gatsby (2013).

Grace Marks (“Aka Grace”, Margaret Atwood)



The story is based on real events. A maid named Grace Marks was accused of murdering her master. The girl was sentenced to life imprisonment. However, thirty years later she was pardoned and released.

Pictured on the left is Sarah Gadon in the film “Aka Grace” (2017).

Joan Madu - Marlene Dietrich (Arc de Triomphe, Erich Maria Remarque)



Pictured left is Ingrid Bergman in the film Arc de Triomphe (1948).

Marguerite Gautier - Marie Duplessis (“The Lady of the Camellias”, Alexandre Dumas son)



Marie Duplessis was a famous French milliner and courtesan. She was also in a relationship with a writer for some time.

Pictured left is Greta Scacchi in The Lady of the Camellias (1984).

Rodion Raskolnikov - Pierre-François Lasner (“Crime and Punishment”, Fyodor Dostoevsky)



The prototype of Rodion Raskolnikov is a French poet who, having failed to achieve success in his professional field, became a thieves and murderer.

In the photo on the left is Vladimir Koshevoy in the TV series “Crime and Punishment” (2007).

Philip Philipovich Preobrazhensky - Sergei Voronov (“Heart of a Dog”, Mikhail Bulgakov)



It is generally accepted that several real doctors act as prototypes for Professor Preobrazhensky. These are gynecologist Nikolai Pokrovsky, doctor Alexei Zamkov, biologist Ilya Ivanov, surgeons Vladimir Rozanov and Sergei Voronov. It is possible that the writer took the best from these images and created his own unique hero.

In the photo on the left is Evgeny Evstigneev in the film “Heart of a Dog” (1988).