I know this used to be a bit of a tradition – up until the mid/late seventies i think – and I know a sydney fan revived it for the ’85 worldcon in melbourne – but don’t think it happens anymore – ?

now there’s a grand project – why don’t we revive the tradition? be lotsa fun… could frock up an’ everything!

now where did i put my buckram shoulder pads…?

i love the windflower. i always wanted a sequel about the abused second lead, cat, who now that i think of it is a lot like samuel, the hero of kinsale’s the shadow and the star, my favorite of hers despite the cracktastic plotting. sharon & tom curtis/laura london did a bunch of traditional regencies too, in most of which my hatred of the passivity of the heroines wars with my love of the dialogue.

A bit embarrassed to say, though, that Grand Sophy is still my absolute favourite. Point taken about the bossiness and the anti-semitism, but the plot and the dialogue are just so much fun! And I like the fact that Charles is a “Mark 1 hero who thinks he is a Mark 2″ (or words to that effect – it’s a (mis)quote from Heyer, who said that she only had two types of hero, Mark 1 and Mark 2).

Sylvester, Venitia and Frederica are high on my list, though I think I’d place Black Sheep and Cotillion above them. I think some scenes from Talisman Ring are enormously funny, but the book as a whole isn’t as rich as her best work. Also have to admit to a great fondness for The Masqueraders, even though intellectually I know it’s not as well written as a lot of her other stuff.

You gave me a bunch of romance books all of which I adored, but given the crap memory you’ll have to plot me to see if I can remember Flowers from the Storm or not. In the one I remember most vividly the hero has a stroke and there’s lots of sexy nursing.

Anyone ever read Laura London’s The Windflower? It was the first romance novel I ever read. The prose is alternately witty and smart and then painfully purple, the gender dynamics are terrible, but the secondary characters are fabulous. That and Laura Kinsale’s Flowers From the Storm are both fab — Justine, I think I’ve given you a copy of the Kinsale, perhaps.

These Old Shades and Devil’s Cub used to be my faves, but Leone has increasingly worn on me as I get older. Dunno why exactly. A bit too hero worshippy maybe? A friend of a friend says she’s just like one of those fan girls who can’t admit that her object of worship could ever do anything wrong.

Niki: that’s fab news. So not only is booze and food prohibitively expensive but I’m going to have to pay for water too! Bloody hell. It’s gunna cost a fortune! Why am I going there again? Oh that’s right you’re there!