Right. That should read "the son of her father’s father and his young bride.
Anyway, after googling it, I realized I remembered it wrong:
Christopher, the kids father, was the son of Malcolm’s father and his young bride.
Corrine, the kids’ mother, was the daughter of Malcolm and the young bride, conceived after Christopher’s father was dead. Malcolm and his wife Olivia hid the pregnant woman in the attic and Olivia faked a pregnancy so they could pass the child off as their own biologically.
So Christopher and Corrine were both maternal half-siblings and paternal half-uncle and niece.
The first that came to mind has already been mentioned a few times–Fanny and William Price in Mansfield Park. The contrast with the Crawford brother-sister-sister combination could make for interesting discussion.
Several interesting brother/sister relationships occur in **Price and Prejudice ** and might make for interesting discussions. Consider that between Mrs. Bennett and her brother Mr. Gardener, which consists of a great depth of caring and understanding on the brother’s part and a lot of cluelessness that is part of the general character of the sister. Contrast that with the relationship of Mr. Bingley and his sisters–based on shallow social interactions and sisterly deceit. Or that of Mr. Darcy and his sister–nearly a parent-child. And some minor ones involving Charlotte Lucas and her brothers, who were relieved to get their spinster sister off their hands.
I’ve always been touched by the references to Ebeneezer Scrooge’s relationship to his sister. Reawakening his memory of her tenderness is a step towards his redemption and reconciliation with his nephew in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
In **Dune ** the relationship between Paul Maud’ib and Alia is intimate (even spanning future time); not sure if you’d call it normal. Or literature.
The brother and sister in **Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates ** are very close.
I’d be interested to hear what your group chooses to discuss.
There’s The God of Small Things, which appeals to adults, doesn’t suck, and has a central brother-sister relationship, but as I recall, there is incest.
I’m a little disturbed that all of the brother-sister books I can think up involve incest.
I came in to recommend this book as well. It does involve incest, but it is not about incest. It is very much about family dynamics and how trauma follows someone through out their entire life.
Another book in a similar vein would be One Hundred Years of Solitude. Incest plays an important role, but the work is far broader than that.
Another comics sibling duo would be the Von Strucker twins aka Fenris, who could only use their powers when they were touching.After the sister was murdered, the brother had her skin made into his sword hilt, so he could continue to use their powers as the new Swordsman. :eek:
Miles and Flora in The Turn of the Screw and, um, HBO’s Deadwood.
Years ago I read a novel about a brother and sister raised in a very dysfunctional family. When their relationship turned sexual, it was easy to understand – they just couldn’t relate in a meaningful way to anyone but each other. I can’t remember the title, darn it. I think “Billy” was in the title. Ring any bells?
In Love Actually, which made a point to show a great many sorts of love, Sarah (played by Laura Linney) has an emotionally disturbed brother, Michael, who is institutionalized. She is always available to him to sooth and nurture, even on the night when she finally gets the chance to have sex with the guy she’s had a crush on for more then two years.
Also, in Northanger Abbey, Henry Tilney and his sister Eleanor seem to have an extremely tight relationship. Other Austen books, especially Mansfield Park (William and Fanny) describe very close relations, although without the slightest suggest of romance. Similarly, Frank and Caroline seem to have a very close relationship.
I have to admit, I first thought of Dolph and Ivy from the Xanth series, long before I gave up on it, around ‘Heaven Cent’ and ‘Man from Mundania’… as much and as inventively as they squabbled in fine bossy-older-sister, bratty-younger-brother fashion, (up to and including threatened blackmail of tattling each other’s misdeeds to their overbearing mother the Queen,) you could tell that they really loved each other and would do anything for each other.
After Ivy got betrothed and moved with him to the Good magician’s castle, they seem to have drifted badly apart. I always wondered just what Dolph’s reaction was when he found out that Ivy had a (obviously retconned) ‘long lost twin sister’
Aw, crap, you’re right. Dolph actually IS her brother. It’s obviously been forever since I read any books that involved any royals but the new triplets and Ida.
