B is for ... Beta Males, Beta Couples and Barbara Cartland
B is for Beta Male The beta male in any romance is a little less … shall we say thrusting … than the alpha male. He is the boy next door, or the best friend you’ve known all your life but hadn’t noticed till now; the single dad you see at the school, or the nice guy who works as a vet. He’s gentler and more apologetic than the alpha male. Think of any Hugh Grant character, before he played Daniel Cleaver, and there you have your beta male. Another example of the beta male is Edward Ferrars in Sense & Sensibility (coincidentally played by Hugh Grant in the Emma Thomson version). He’s the guy who loves unrequitedly and it’s unlikely he’d whisk the heroine off to a desert island. He’s more likely to take her for tea at The Ritz or ice skating in the park. That does not mean that the beta male is weak. He is honest, noble and sticks to his principles, even if it causes him pain. But like the alpha he will protect the woman he loves and all his family. Occasionally he will start of