LJ lives again!

[brigdh]

So, I keep seeing Georgette Heyer mentioned as an influence on Swordspoint, and I want to read some of her books, but apparently she wrote, like, fifty, and I have no idea where to start. Does anyone have recommendations for ones that are particularly relevant/well-written?

Any other book recommendations, by the way, are also welcome. And I know, I know, asking for such general recommendations tends to get me few responses, because it's so wide open that it actually stymies thought instead of encouraging it, but I can't think of a genre I want at the moment, other than "good". Um. Epic fantasy with interesting relationships always gets bonus points from me?

Comments

[p-zeitgeist.livejournal.com]

I'm an admirer rather than a devotee of Heyer, which is probably inevitable given that I'm not really a serious romance reader. But with that warning, I'm going to give you recommendations anyway. I think it may be a truth universally recognized that The Grand Sophy is the most perfect Regency romance ever written: it is perhaps the Platonic idea of the Regency.

Less perfect, but possibly more relevant to Swordspoint, are the two Duke of Avon books, These Old Shades and Devil's Cub. I think These Old Shades is a relatively early work, and in some ways it shows, but it's a lot of fun anyway, as is the sequel. After all, who doesn't love an ambiguously-evil Duke?

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

It's alright; I'm not a reader of romance at all (I've only recently begun to accept that perhaps I shouldn't scoff at the entire genre, but too many people whose taste I trust like it for me to keep making fun).

Thank you! This is much more helpful than my browsing through Amazon and attempting to guess at which ones I want by reading the summaries.

Books and their fic potential.

[threewalls]

RE: These Old Shades

I'm not that into romance myself and while I don't like most Heyer books much, These Old Shades and its sequel I adore. Avon and his good friend Davenant ('angel' to Avons 'Satanas') can be slashed, though the actual romance in the story is good as well (the heroine is one of those girls dressed up as a boy types). If you find you like them, I can rec you slash that is very good indeed.

The Grand Sophy is all right, but I liked it much better when I was in high school than I do now.

RE: Other recommendations

Robert Holdstock is brilliant, his two series give one of my favourite re-workings of the Arthurian myths. From memory, not that slashable, but reasonably difficult to find. Merlin's Wood was insanely hard to find.

Dorothy L. Sayers is also brilliant, and witty, and the Peter Whimsey books give both good mystery as well as good, slow, realistic relationship building between Peter and Harriet. Peter can also be slashed with his manservant, but I have seldom seen this done.

Re: Books and their fic potential.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I always love to hear of new books to read.