The protagonists range from cooks to psychoanalysts, from war prostheses to plates of asparagus, on a world stage stretching from ancient Athens to Singapore today.
Protagonists range from little known South Africans like the sharecropper Kas Maine, an African prophetess, and the self-styled godfather of Soweto to political artists and writers, and will include some of the country's most famous citizens like Nelson Mandela, Steve Biko and Helen Suzman.
Blume's protagonists range in age from toddler Fudge to the adult Caitlin and Vix of Summer Sisters, but perhaps her best work centres on the crossover from child to teenager, whether it's Tony; in Then Again, Maybe I Won't, making sense of a world where his friend is shoplifting, or Margaret.
Hughes's widely adored protagonists could range from a misfit in thrift-shop threads (Molly Ringwald in Pretty in Pink) to a slick Jack-the-Lad outwitting the teacher who would thwart his truancy (Matthew Broderick in Ferris Bueller's Day Off).
The three women protagonists have in common their independence - ranging from Deanna's unselfconsciousness to Lusa's faltering self-sufficiency - and an intuitive regard for nature, backed up by superior education.
In 20-plus films ranging from workmanlike to brilliant, Ray demonstrated a compassion for flawed protagonists and a commitment to realism, from teen angst to Eskimo hunters.
Her 12 novels, set in time periods ranging from the historical past to the distant future, were known for their strong protagonists, many of them black women.
Townsend instilled wit and wisdom into her 13 ¾ year old protagonist, whose commentary ranged from class consciousness, the British political system, and -not forgetting - his undying love for neighbour Pandora Braithwaite.
The western Eskimos along the Pacific and Arctic coasts have the Raven cycle, a series of tales centred on Raven, a protagonist whose role ranges from culture hero to the lowest form of trickster.
Their protagonists run the gamut from a window cleaner to a trafficked teenage girl and their literary influences range from Samuel Beckett to Alice Munro.
