Thanks all for the replies. It more or less confirmed what I thought.

I've been doing some other reading and I think I can get some of the fascinating bits into a different thesis.

Unfortunately I think its either the supervisor or the fascinating topic. Don't get me wrong, the topics I could do with my favoured supervisor would be interesting and some of the skills would transfer relatively easily (like learning Latin :-( ). It's just I've procrastinated long enough on choosing topic, because of this dilemma.

The more I think about it, the more certain I am that I should go with the supervisor. It's history - the other topic isn't going anywhere!

Thanks for the replies. It's funny - I've spoken to several potential supervisors, and they all emphasize the importance of the topic.

Now I'm more certain I can stop thinking about that fascinating topic. Thanks again.

I'm planning to do a history-related PhD through the Open University. I took the related course last year, and got on really well with my tutor. She seems quite keen to be my supervisor, and there are some other advantages to working with her. However, she hasn't given me much guidance about possible topics, beyond saying it has to interest me.

While thinking about the general area, someone else suggested a topic which I would find fascinating. However I would have to have a different supervisor, who I have been warned is a pain to work with. Apparently her students always complain about her. I haven't met them, and know nothing more about them.

So, which is better? The supervisor I can work well with? Or the fascinating topic?