Goodreads asked Al E. Boy:

Who is your favorite fictional couple, and why?

Al E. Boy Difficult question...to be sure! There are literally countless memorable couples throughout literature....so to pinpoint one particular couple is....to say the least....taxing. I think...for me...and I'm sure it clearly illustrates my 'leanings'...it would have to be Bob and Mrs. Cratchit. Poor Bob! He has a wife and four children...one a poor crippled boy whose time on this earth is numbered...and works for 15 shillings a week at a rate of three pence ("thruppence") an hour for 60 hours per week. Until the decimalization of the British Pound in 1971, one shilling was twelve pence. Thus, fifteen shillings is 180 pence. It would take 60 hours to earn 180 at a rate of three pence per hour.[2] In terms of 2015 purchasing power, this would be approximately £63.00[3] or about $94 US per week. And this couple somehow makes do with this meager amount of salary. Mrs. Cratchit clearly loves her husband and family, and while the "old ogre" Mr. Scrooge takes advantage of her husband's good nature and talents, she fully understands and appreciates his true worth. Bob, in kind, understands and loves his wife, and his family, and they are the center of his universe. No matter the outcome of "A Christmas Carol"...this couple's love for one another...and the way they manage to keep their brood so wonderfully kind, loving and infectiously charming speaks volumes about their character and the manner in which they have been able to prevail against unspeakable odds.

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