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The ReadDown

The 11 Worst Fathers in Fiction

This upcoming Sunday is the day we celebrate fathers. Dad is always there to lend a hand, provide much needed advice, and loves you unconditionally. But what if he’s not? Maybe you always sought that Hallmark relationship, never to find it. Or perhaps you’re sick to death of sappy cards, or completely unfathomable Hollywood interpretations of what a father should be. This week, we’ve collected a list of literary bad dads, from despicable and cruel to murderous and vengeful, here are some of the worst fictional fathers!

  1. 1
    I Let You Go Book Cover Picture
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    Patrick Mathews

    by Clare Mackintosh

    Control is what Ian wants. And if he can’t have it, nobody can.
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  2. 2
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    Victor

    by Matt Marinovich

    A twisted man who rubbed off on his kids.
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  3. 3
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    Heathcliff

    by Emily Bronte

    He married to spite his true love, and then takes it out on his sickly son.
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  4. 4
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    Humbert Humbert

    by Vladimir Nabokov

    This step-father only married his wife so he could get to her daughter.
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  5. 5
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    Michael Casterbridge

    by Thomas Hardy

    What kind of man could sell his own child?
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  6. 6
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    Mr. Wormwood

    by Roald Dahl

    Repeatedly telling his daughter he wishes she were a boy is bad enough, but then he sabotaged her library books!
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  7. 7
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    Jack Torrance

    by Stephen King

    Again, what’s with trying to kill your kids?
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  8. 8
    A Game of Thrones (HBO Tie-in Edition) Book Cover Picture
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    Tywin Lannister

    by George R. R. Martin

    Tywin is pure evil. He may be royal, but he royally screwed up his three children.
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  9. 9
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    Lt. Col. Wilbur “Bull” Meecham

    by Pat Conroy

    Too bad he wasn’t as great a father as he was a pilot.

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