Popular Culture Review Vol. 5, No. 1, February 1994 | Page 94

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frame in the plot resolution, however, is Lord Skelbrooke's decision to
retire from his adventures upon his marriage—a classic Regency
settling down. As in Goblin Moon, Regency provides new clothes for
fantasy's lively framework.
Also worth noting are two genuine space Regencies by Walter Jon
Williams about impoverished nobleman and "allowed burglar"
Drake Maijstral, a languid gentleman with wavy locks, plenty of
lace, and a signature diamond on one finger. Williams’s foppish but
technological hero and his equally blended milieu further
demonstrate the adaptability of the frame into another well-defined
form, space opera.
The Crown Jewels (1987) and House of Shards (1988) take place in
a literal regency--the former Emperor being in cryogenic storage
while his court debates the succession. This universe is dominated by
Khosalikh High Custom, defined by "their formality, elegance,
their rigid idealism"—all compatible with Regency society. High
Custom includes numerous social rituals for greeting, dancing, dueling,
gaming, and impersonating Elvis. This social complexity results in
sentences such as, "Maijstral brushed her knuckles with his lips
before sniffing her ears" (Crown 4). Fashion and speech mark a
character as good "ton"-the word used—or as "Non-U." Maijstral's
assistant, Gregor, acquires polish by deciding "not to paint his face in
the pastel colors he had favored in his youth, and to say 'perhaps'
instead of 'maybe' and 'vetch' instead of 'clinker'" (Crown 116).
Regency ronwnce and mystery hilariously fit right into a space
going world with floating micromedia globes, semilife healing
patches, and psych-scanners (sometimes used for duels).
As in
Edgerton's novels. Regency concern for custom and its characteristic
language add texture and interest to a compatible form, while plot
elements also blend where Regency serves space fantasy. Secondary
romances and assignations barely avert disaster before being happily
resolved, while an arranged marriage is hinted at for Maijstral and
the spirited Duchess of Behn, raised on "a chorus of Duty, Duty,
Duty" (Shards 134).
The hybrid theory demonstrated here is obvious, once pointed out,
yet it explains much. It explains why Pam West's 20/20 Vision will
satisfy both science fiction and detective fans, but why Louise Erdrich
and Michael Dorris' The Crown of Columbus, its basic detection plot
laboring under a load of significance, fails as both mystery and