regshoe

Oh wow, reading those two back to back must certainly have been something...!

I'm convinced that Sutcliff intended Conory and Midir to be read as, if not lovers (they were still boys rather than men when Midir was ostensibly killed) at least very very close friends on the verge of becoming lovers.

Yes, that's a very plausible interpretation (especially reading it on the back of Sword at Sunset, and hence knowing that it was something Sutcliff did think about in her stories). I'd be very interested in the idea of an AU where Conory isn't injured, and he's still there with the rest at the end when Midir turns up...

I've not read Knight's Fee! I will add it to the to-read list :) More Sutcliff books with non-Roman settings sounds interesting, too—she certainly had range historically.

The idea of writing Sutcliff fic is still a little intimidating to me, but I'll certainly keep an eye out for the exchange!