I was also going to throw in a rec for Devil and the White City, which I just read.

I read Pillars of the Earth last year and didn't really like it, although parts have stuck with me. It was too much problem-resolution-problem-resolution for me. Especially at that length. And the characters are extremely two-dimensional.

She is reading Dunnett but finding it a little slow.

Huh. I've never actually heard that complaint before, except from people bogged down in the first 200 pages of Game of Kings.

If she reads mysteries, she might like Kate Ross's Julian Kestrel mysteries, which are set in Regency-era London. City of Light was an interesting novel set in Buffalo around the time of the World's Fair. Has she read Georgette Heyer? Yes, they're romances, but they're well-written, frothy fun romances. Dorothy Sayers?

Ooooh, possibly Connie Willis' To Say Nothing of the Dog, which is officially SF -- it's a time-travel novel -- but it's got marvelous wacky stuff set in the Victorian era. I liked it lots.

I recommend Connie Willis to everyone.

History Channel had a two-hour special on the Black Death, and all I could think of was Doomsday Book, which I've only read once about fifteen years ago. Time for a reread, I think.

Damn, you made me feel old there for a moment, Kathy, until I googled and realized that Doomsday Book was only published in 1992.

It isn't my favourite of her books (as I may have mentioned here), probably a combination of the disconnect (Domesday was in 1086, not the 14th century) and familiarity with her topic, unlike Lincoln's Dreams, which was new to me, and which amazed me.

History Channel had a two-hour special on the Black Death, and all I could think of was Doomsday Book, which I've only read once about fifteen years ago. Time for a reread, I think.

I was so disappointed by it. I wanted to love it but it was really irritating to me. So I've been reluctant to try any of her other stuff.

Has she read Georgette Heyer? Yes, they're romances, but they're well-written, frothy fun romances.

I've read one by her that I enjoyed (except for some real creepy elements of anti-semitism). I can't recall the title offhand. She wrote like a million books, right? Do you have ones that you recommend?

I think the best book I've ever read about the 14th century (including the Black Death) was A Distant Mirror by Barbara TUchman. I've got a few of her history books, and they're all excellent.

I think my bias against sword & sorcery protected me, actually.

Strega, did it unfortunately protect you from reading C.L. Moore's Jirel of Joiry stories? I thought they were masterworks - Red Sonja-esque on the surface, but they really explored themes of alienation and regrets over impulsive actions in a way that Howard never dreamed about doing.

I've read one by her that I enjoyed (except for some real creepy elements of anti-semitism). I can't recall the title offhand. She wrote like a million books, right? Do you have ones that you recommend?

Heyer? I don't recall any with Jews in them, but I'm hardly the expert. Betsy would have more comprehensive recs, but I'm very fond of The Masqueraders, which is one of those gender-swapping stories. Great fun. She's just fun, you know?

did it unfortunately protect you from reading C.L. Moore's Jirel of Joiry stories?

I don't think I've even heard of them, so I guess so. It's not that I think the genre is inherently terrible, but the closer you get to pure fantasy the less it interests me for some reason. I did make an exception for Fafhrd & Mouser, though.

Of course, I still have a story you recommended years ago on my to-read list, because I'm that hopeless. Maybe I should start going to the library more often now that I've got free time again.