6 Favourite Siblings in Literature

I wanted my novel The Ministry of Manners to be a story about obedience versus love, and sibling relationships are one of the clearest places where that battle shows up. Brothers and sisters are often the first people we argue with, the first people we disappoint, and the first people we’d still choose anyway. Alfie and Margot don’t always agree, but their bond existed before they were old enough to understand the rules properly. It’s deeper than good manners, and much harder to erase. 

At its heart, the story asks a simple but dangerous question: what happens when the people you love matter more than the rules you’re supposed to follow? Sibling bonds, at their best, are inconvenient to power. They don’t behave, and that’s exactly why I wanted Alfie and Margot at the centre of the book. 

Four siblings who prove that saving entire worlds is basically a family project. What I love is how their bond stretches and strains as they grow up. They don’t stay perfectly aligned, but they always matter to one another, which feels truer than endless harmony.

Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy are a masterclass in how sibling love can be affectionate, infuriating and fiercely loyal all at once. They argue, resent each other, disappoint each other, and still form the emotional centre of each other’s lives.

A younger sibling as chaos engine, an older sibling as negotiator with reality. Their relationship is funny, tender, and quietly profound in how it captures the responsibility and protectiveness that can come with being the older one.

Violet, Klaus and Sunny survive because they function as a unit. Their bond isn’t sentimental; it’s practical. They rely on one another’s strengths, and that shared competence becomes a form of love.

Stripped of fairy-tale sugar, this is a story about siblings facing abandonment and terror together. Their loyalty to each other is what gets them through a hostile world that keeps asking children to fend for themselves.

I should probably declare an interest here. Luke and Zack are the siblings who accidentally changed the course of my career. Although the series is full of superpowers, it’s really about being the not-chosen sibling – the one who doesn’t get the lightning bolt or the applause. Luke’s story is about learning that this doesn’t make him lesser, just different.

The Ministry of Manners by David Solomons, illustrated by Hazem Asif, is out now.