Who are the best villains in literature?

To have a hero, you need a villain. And in the annals of literary history, there have been some downright scoundrels, to put it mildly. No deed is too dark, no action too despicable for this list of utter reprobates. read more

Children's books get all the best villains, and Roald Dahl created more than most. The worst of a despicable bunch is Mrs Agatha Trunchbull, headmistress of Crunchem Hall Elementary School. read more

The greatest villains in literature Previous slide Next slide 1 of 51 View All Skip Ad It's perhaps the nature of grown-up literature that it doesn't all that often have villains, in the sense of coal-black embodiments of the principle of evil. read more

In some countries, authors are villains. In Washington, a person of an opposing political view can only be a villain. In the world of literature, witches, bullies, an oil magnate, a hungry shark and even the bitter cold are terrifying. read more