Beyond the Roundels

I have finally started watching The Caesars (ITV 1967/8), after a delay because I wanted a break from non-restored scratchy old 1960s b&w telly (great as it may be). I've now seen episode 1 ("Augustus"). ( Details under here, especially re. I Claudius for those who are interested )

Anyway, I looked it up on Wiki, wondering if they had any further info - I mean, it can't have been influenced by the IC TV series of course, but what about the book? Was it deliberately being written against that or not even regarding it? Wiki didn't tell me, but it did link me to this entrancingly long list of film & TV set in Ancient Rome. (And, ironically, it's missed off The Caesars, although it is on their list of Historical dramas). Has anyone set out to watch their way through the lot? It's the internet, surely someone must have done?

Which then led to me looking at their linked list historical drama films (& TV). How long would it take to watch through history by fictional series/films?

Is it just me or is the idea of taking a period and watching everything you can strangely enticing? Oh, noes, who let me out near a list? At the very least I want to copy it and tick off everything I have watched and things I know that they missed off (and am not looking at their list of all historical fiction in books, film and TV...)

So, I wrote things for Yuletide. Somewhat more than I expected...

Firstly, and most importantly, my assignment, which was for paranoidangel42. I had, when signing up initially, looked at my list of fandoms I was willing to write and said to myself I might as well have just said I'd write for Paranoidangel. And then laughed, shook my head at myself, reminded myself that Yuletide is a big exchange and added in a bunch of other fandoms... and then got assigned to Paranoidangel! (So, erm, sorry about that - you just got yet more of me instead of somebody new! I had fun writing for you, though! ♥)

Backstitch in Gold (3948 words) by lost_spook
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The House of Eliott
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Beatrice Eliott & Evangeline Eliott, Beatrice Eliott/Jack Maddox
Characters: Beatrice Eliott, Evangeline Eliott, Jack Maddox
Additional Tags: Yuletide, 1920s, Fashion & Couture, Sister-Sister Relationship, Misses Clause Challenge, Women Being Awesome
Summary:

What has been well-stitched together doesn’t easily fray at the seams.

I'd been rewatching HoE recently and was determined to write fic for it, because there's so little of it, and knew what I wanted to do - a sort of big Bea and Evie across-the-years, culminating in a fixit for the ending. But then it seemed to fall flat in various places, and the ending wasn't quite how I remembered it, thus scuppering my planned final section and I floundered for a while. (I had in my head that Bea and Evie had a big row and, actually, they don't. Evie is angry at everyone, but Bea is muted, almost defeated.) However, eventually, I beat it into shape & hopefully it wasn't too bad! (I've learned by now, though, that I pretty much always feel my assignments are terrible - until the next year, when suddenly I realise that last year's was quite good... but this year's is terrible.)

Anyway, it was fun to write Bea & Evie, and I am still very fond of the series. (Which follows the fortunes of a pair of sisters who set up a London fashion house in the 1920s and is good fun & all up on YT if anyone is interested). I did want to work in more characters, though, and more social history... and, yes, well, possibly being unrealistic? I think in my head I wanted to write a big HofE novel, that's all. At least I finally came up with a title I liked. I had the summary before the fic, but it was in danger of being posted as "Untitled House of Eliott fic" as the deadline approached. (Backstitch is the strongest stitch commonly used for sewing & in gold, obviously, but also because that's how Jack refers to Bea early on. Hmm, I'm not sure now why I changed it from "Backstitch in Gold Thread" because that makes more sense! I shall go change it back.)

( And more under the cut! )


Also I now know that it was Clocketpatch who risked complete obscurity by writing me that last minute Public Eye/Sapphire & Steel treat. (Thanks so much, Clocket! You're amazing!) My other wonderful gift was by DesertScribe, who's new to me, but whom I hope hasn't written their last S&S fic, because that one was excellent. ♥