If you could go back in time...

Some people like to imagine life in the future – how we’ll work, what we’ll eat, the clothes we’ll wear. Not me, mainly because no one really has a clue. I grew up watching The Jetsons, fully expecting that by the Year 2000 we’d be flying little personal jets through cities and wearing dresses with collars that looked like Saturn’s rings. It never happened. Ripped. Off.

History, on the other hand, is more reliable, and as far as I’m concerned, infinitely more seductive. We know the clothes, the cars, the language – we can make up stories leaving out the dull bits and embellishing the juicy parts.

And history is long and varied. The time that most appeals to me mightn’t do much for you. Don’t hate me but Ancient Rome leaves me cold.

My thing is about the nineteen twenties. After I grew out of those phony Jetsons, I was seduced by The Great Gatsby. What wasn’t to love about Robert Redford in pastels? Then I was captivated by the TV adaptation of Brideshead Revisited (whatever happened to Anthony Andrews, the foppish blond boy with the bear?)

The twenties was a photogenic decade, and a daring one, so it was a natural breeding ground for great stories. There was money, crime, sex, fashion and music. Also, nice lamps. Roll them together and it’s not surprising today’s writers and filmmakers are still drawn to it.

So I’m a teensy bit excited about Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries – a new murder mystery series set in the 1920s starting on ABC1 this Friday at 8.30pm.

Phryne Fisher is a glamorous woman of the 1920s – and she’s Australian. The lady sleuth sashays through the back lanes and jazz clubs of Melbourne, fighting crime with a pearl-handled pistol and dagger sharp wit.

If (for some bizarre reason) I’m not doing my usual thing and hanging out at a jazz club or something equally cool, I’ll be glued to it.

To celebrate the screening of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, ABC1 is giving you and a friend the chance to enjoy a sumptuous, 1920’s inspired weekend at The Hotel Windsor in Melbourne. Have your hair and makeup done and enjoy their famous High Tea. For your chance to win, go to www.abc.net.au/phrynefisher and write the opening paragraph of a mystery crime novel set in the 1920s. All entries will be judged by the author of the Phryne Fisher novels, Kerry Greenwood.

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In the meantime, tell us what’s your favourite period in history?