Goodreads asked Ross Howell Jr.:

Who is your favorite fictional couple, and why?

Ross Howell Jr. For many years I've been a Thomas Hardy fan, so I'd have to say that my favorite fictional couple are Gabriel Oak and Bathsheba Everdene in "Far From the Madding Crowd." I grew up on a farm in the mountains of Virginia, where we raised cattle, sheep, and pigs, so the setting of the novel in rural southwestern England was a world I recognized. Full disclosure: Alan Bates and Julie Christie playing the parts of the couple in the movie version of the tale raised my estimation of the characters even higher. I was in love with Christie, of course, as were many young men of my generation.

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