Thanks, everyone, for the tips and encouragement. Jen, do post that link if you find the episode. Or do you know the name of it? They've got a good website, easy to find stuff.
Swordplay isn't the theme of my novel, but in the late 1700s a sword was part of the gentleman's uniform and fencing part of his life.
If you don't mind, here's a brief description of the character's fencing background. If anything of it rings false, those of you who know might let me know:
The character is French, an emigre, hired to tutor the son of a west country sea officer--the low-born type who has higher hopes for his boys. The main character is not a master, but engages to teach the boy fencing because he's good enough for that much. (Many emigres taught fencing, dancing, whatever they knew, to English boys. It was a point of pride for the English to have impoverished French noblemen in one's employ.)
The character didn't begin to learn until he was fourteen. Late, but the Italian master who taught him, his cousin and his brothers said he was too skinny at twelve, so he had to wait. His constant partner growing up was his cousin, much the same age, both competitive but the cousin never won. He won at everything else, even in battles of wit, but not at fencing. In this, the MC is superior.
A duel comes up later in the show, with an army officer whose weapon of choice is the sabre. The MC challenges this man in a fit of rage, and in his heart this duel will avenge everything that happened to the MC since the start of the revolution. In other words, he's avenging the loss of his family, his property, his wealth and position, and the fact that he's had to live with uncivilized Englishmen for six years. (Sort of a running joke; there's really not much wrong with Englishmen except that they aren't French, and before he was taught there was a God to be worshipped, he was taught that there were Englsihmen to be despised. Plus, the English prefer pistols when challenging anyone from the continent.)
OK so far?
