Unnamed Antagonists and Villains
I noticed a trend in some of my recent reads, in which authors chose to leave the disappointing or downright abusive and criminal men unnamed. I started researching this and expanded it a bit. I haven't read them all, and some don't fit quite as cleanly as my original 3 - Hamnet, A Dowry of Blood, and Bright Young Women, so please let me know if you feel some don't fit well at all, or if you have additional suggestions!!
created by notlizlemon
last updated January, 2026
Comments
i read so many reviews of bright young women which said that the serial killer it was based on was so obvious. but it completely flew over my head until the end of the book!
ahh, I went in knowing who it was based on. But I used to be pretty into true crime and I think the sorority in Florida would have tipped me off. But for people who are not insane I think it would be easy to not know. Something interesting I noticed is they used the real dates (example his deathā¦ I looked that up, didnāt know it by heart, donāt worry š)
I havenāt read a lot of books where the villians were unnamed, except A Dowry of Blood. As much as itās implied that we know who he is, it was still ominous and made him even more evil for me. Iām excited! āļø āļø
I scoured for these. Itās not a very common practice, but I read three of them almost back to back coincidentally so it really stood out to me
Is the villain in Hamnet supposed to be William Shakespeare? If so, I agree lol
Yes lol - but I'd say antagonist for that one rather than villain
