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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?

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From:

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?

From:

rachelmanija.livejournal.com

I have a handful of Heyer reviews in my memories. Um. The influence on Swordspoint is pretty much a matter of witty dialogue; their worldviews and subject matter are quite different. Heyer wrote extremely funny Regency romances characterized by a great deal of amusing slang, large casts of vivid and eccentric characters, complicated and farcical plots of the sort in which people must pretend to be their own twin brother, and some very sweet and touching romances.

Harlequin has reprinted some of hers, but some of her best are still quite hard to find. You may also need to check the library.

By the way, I often find the first few pages of her books slow going and difficult. Persevere.

Venetia is a lovely take on romance growing out of friendship, and the innocent young girl vs. the rake. It's got some of her best characterization, more real angst and dramatic intensity than most, a wonderful heroine, and a very sexy hero. It's probably more in the vein of Swordspoint than any of her others I've read, which is not saying much.

Cotillion. This is my favorite, but the reason why involves a major plot spoiler. This one is really best read not knowing anything about it, although it will gain a lot if you're familiar with the romance genre in general and Regencies in particular.

The Unknown Ajax has a very downplayed romance, and is really a family drama. Hugo, a weaver's son, inherits a crumbling family estate and with it, the impoverished and neurotic family he never knew. They think he's a country clod. He thinks... well, Hugo is a very interesting character, and a lot of the fun of the book is learning what he thinks. This one has smugglers, a hilarious bit involving a crusty old retainer and some ghosts, and a genuinely suspenseful last third, in which all the carefully built-up plot threads come together.

Sylvester. The heroine meets the hero at a ball. He snubs her. She, annoyed and taking note of his diabolical eyebrows, writes him into a Gothic romance/roman a clef as the villain, under the name of "Count Ugolino." Then they meet under better circumstances and fall in love... right in time for her book to come out. Oops.

Frederica. The heroine is taking care of her younger siblings, who are a handful; the insane plot involves a hot air balloon, a Baluchistan hound, and an illegible elopement note. Very funny and sweet.

From:

p-zeitgeist.livejournal.com

. . . and oh, what the hell. Not everyone loves Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun as I do, but you might: the relationships are interesting as hell, although some of my friends have complained that the narrative voice is so cool and distanced that they didn't get a real feel for any of them. I found that to be a strength rather than a weakness, but then, see above regarding how much I'm not a natural romance reader. And both the language and the visuals are gorgeous.

And I can't resist saying once again that as much as I liked The Years of Rice and Salt -- and I did -- I still love The Memory of Whiteness more. So much so that I can't even begin to guess whether it's actually a better book in some abstract and aesthetic sense, as I am inclined to think, or whether it's just something internal to me. I keep pushing it at other people in the hope that some of them will some day be able to tell me.

From:

rachelmanija.livejournal.com

Sprig Muslin and The Talisman Ring both parody melodramatic romance novels. I think they're extremely funny, but probably best if you're at least vaguely familiar with the genre already.

The Grand Sophy is a popular favorite, but also has a random but extremely nasty anti-Semitic scene. If you read it, you might want to skip past the pawn-shop scene.

The Corinthian and False Colors are fun but slight; the latter does have a terrific subplot involving the hero's mother.

Charity Girl is meh.

From:

rachelmanija.livejournal.com

Have you ever read P. C. Hodgell? This is a characteristic bit from God Stalk:

"Cleppetty had a minor talent for theurgy, and, with her book of common
household charms, could do a number of handy things such as kindling a
fire with its own ashes, making broken china whole, and raising bread in
half the normal time. At the end of Jame's second active week at the inn,
she suddenly found the book thrust into her hands.

"'Now let's see you try,' the widow said, plopping a lump of unleavened
dough down on the table before her.

"Jame hesitated. Many of her people had such talents if not far greater
ones, but those that did were feared and often compelled to enter the
priesthood. Apprehensively, she recited the charm. It usually took
Cleppetty half an hour to ready her bread for the oven; Jame's rose in
five minutes. When the widow sliced into the baked loaf, however, they
discovered that its sudden expansion had been due to the growth of
rudimentary internal organs.

"That was the end of Jame's apprenticeship in the kitchen."

From:

coffeeandink.livejournal.com

To no one's surprise, I second Rachel's recommendations.

Have you read Patricia McKillip? I wouldn't call most of her work epic, but I think the Riddlemaster trilogy counts, and her prose is always beautiful and her relationships often interesting.

Laurie Marks' Fire Logic and Earth Logic are an attempt to do feminist multicultural queer-friendly epic fantasy; there's a plot point in the second book that really doesn't work for me, but I think you'd find them worthwhile.

Sarah Monette is a friend, but I think I'm not being too partial when I say I'd expect you to like Melusine and The Virtu.

Barbara Hambly is a solid mid-level writer who occasionally rises to excellence. Dragonsbane is her best book, but I'm more than passing fond of the Darwath trilogy, which rings some interesting changes on typical epic fantasy tropes. And her female characters are great.

If you can find it used, you might try Robert Holdstock's Mythago Wood--or now that I think of it, you'd probably like Lavondyss even better, and they don't need t be read in order. Gritty and mythic anthropological fantasy.

You might like M. John Harrison's Virconium; I'm not sure. Beautiful prose, dislikeable characters; I often get the sense he is trying to punish his readers and himself for liking fantasy.

Evangeline Walton's Mabinogion series, especially The Island of the Mighty: beautiful reworkings of Welsh myth, sort of in the Mary Renault mode.

Elizabeth Lynn, The Northern Girl

The Strand might still have some UK editions of a C.L. Moore collection around; I don't know if she'll be too purple or too pulpish for you, but I love her, and her Jirel of Joiry stories are pretty much the origin of female-protagonist sword & sorcery.

From:

rm.livejournal.com

While she is mostly known for Regency-era stuff, her Georgian book, These Old Shades (one of a few) is probably the best example of why she and Swordspoint show up in the same breath.