Mannered Fantasy
Apr. 21st, 2013 08:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
catherineldfI'm in the midst of reading Rafael Sabatini's great swashbuckling novel, Scaramouche, aloud to Jana (this is a thing we do) and I am realizing that it's less about dueling on the streets of Paris (though that happens) and more about intrigue and political debate than I remember it from when I reader it as a teen. During my particular form of unhappy childhood, I devoured swash buckling adventures/romances of various types; Alexander Dumas (senior) and his historical novels filled with revenge and plotting...and sword fights; Anthony Hope with The Prisoner of Zenda, Baroness Orczy and The Scarlet Pimpernel and, of course Sabatini. I didn't discover the terrific Jeffrey Farnol until a few years back when a friendly librarian rescued me from the perils of having read most of the available Heyer novels. Combine that with a passion for the writings of Jane Austen, and I'm fertile ground for the mannered fantasy subgenre which combines speculative fiction with intrigue, courtly drama and witty social interactions.
One of the things I love about adding spec fic to the mix is that it broadens the range of possibilities. The settings don't have to be European, the characters don't need to be all heterosexual, women can be protagonists and have adventures or their own. And I do love the stylistic flourishes of the writing. It's the fun parts of my teenage and preteen readings without having to either write myself in or completely identify with Milady (not that there's anything wrong with that! :-).
That in turn got me thinking about some of my favorite mannered fantasy/sfnal works, which include:
Alexie Panshin's Anthony Villiers books, which are, in essence, outer space Regencies.
Sorcery and Cecilia by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
Privilege of the Sword and Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner
The Lace and Blade anthologies, edited by Deborah J. Ross (see also The Feathered Edge, same editor)
Coronets and Steel by Sherwood Smith
Liavek and subsequent volumes, edited by Will Shetterly and Emma Bull
A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold
Armor of Light and Point of Hope by Melissa Scott and Lisa Barnett
Stranger at the Wedding by Barbara Hambly
I'm always on the lookout for more good stuff. Do you have any favorites? I've read most of the standards (Nine Princes, etc.) but the ones noted above are the books and stories I reread.
One of the things I love about adding spec fic to the mix is that it broadens the range of possibilities. The settings don't have to be European, the characters don't need to be all heterosexual, women can be protagonists and have adventures or their own. And I do love the stylistic flourishes of the writing. It's the fun parts of my teenage and preteen readings without having to either write myself in or completely identify with Milady (not that there's anything wrong with that! :-).
That in turn got me thinking about some of my favorite mannered fantasy/sfnal works, which include:
Alexie Panshin's Anthony Villiers books, which are, in essence, outer space Regencies.
Sorcery and Cecilia by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
Privilege of the Sword and Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner
The Lace and Blade anthologies, edited by Deborah J. Ross (see also The Feathered Edge, same editor)
Coronets and Steel by Sherwood Smith
Liavek and subsequent volumes, edited by Will Shetterly and Emma Bull
A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold
Armor of Light and Point of Hope by Melissa Scott and Lisa Barnett
Stranger at the Wedding by Barbara Hambly
I'm always on the lookout for more good stuff. Do you have any favorites? I've read most of the standards (Nine Princes, etc.) but the ones noted above are the books and stories I reread.