As a lifelong costume drama addict, I really enjoyed Philippa Gregory's article in the Guardian on filming the historical novel. It's a fun read throughout, and one bit made me laugh out loud:

And then there's the sex. In 2003, my novel The Other Boleyn Girl was adapted for BBC television and the screenwriter Andrew Davies was brought in to do a bit of polishing. "What did Andrew Davies think of it?" I asked hopefully.

"What he always thinks," my producer replied. "He said: 'It needs more sex.'"

"More sex?" I queried. "Even more sex?" This was the story of Mary Boleyn, who was mistress to Henry VIII before her sister Anne Boleyn seduced him into marriage. There was already, it seemed to me, plenty of sex.

"He always says more sex."

After watching Andrew Davies's HORRIBLE new BBC adaptation of Sense and Sensibility (don't do it! if you want to see S&S, just watch Emma Thompson's movie version again. trust me on this one!), I am not at all surprised by this revelation. And I really enjoyed the rest of the article, too. You can read the full article here.

(Note: I adore Andrew Davies's BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, so I don't have anything against him as a writer in general. But his Sense & Sensibility really was dreadful.)

Meanwhile, in my own non-sexed-up historical novel news, I'm feeling really happy that yesterday I finished a brand-new chapter of Kat by Starlight for the first time in over two months. Woot! The break is officially over.