Lord Darcy" series presents a point of divergence: a monk systemizes magic rather than science, so the use of
foxglove
''Digitalis'' ( or ) is a genus of about 20 species of herbaceous perennial plants, shrubs, and biennials, commonly called foxgloves.
''Digitalis'' is native to Europe, Western Asia, and northwestern Africa. The flowers are tubular in sha ...
to treat heart disease is regarded as
superstition
A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic (supernatural), magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly app ...
. Another point of divergence occurs in 1199, when
Richard the Lionheart
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...
survives the
Siege of Chaluz and returns to England and makes the
Angevin Empire
The Angevin Empire (; ) was the collection of territories held by the House of Plantagenet during the 12th and 13th centuries, when they ruled over an area covering roughly all of present-day England, half of France, and parts of Ireland and Wal ...
so strong that it survives into the 20th century.
''
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
''Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell'' is the debut novel by British writer Susanna Clarke. Published in 2004, it is an alternate history, alternative history set in 19th-century England around the time of the Napoleonic Wars. Its premise is that m ...
'' by
Susanna Clarke
Susanna Mary Clarke (born 1 November 1959) is an English author best known for her debut novel '' Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell'' (2004), a Hugo Award-winning alternative history. Clarke began ''Jonathan Strange'' in 1993 and worked on it durin ...
takes place in an England where a separate Kingdom ruled by the Raven King and founded on magic existed in Northumbria for over 300 years. In
Patricia Wrede
Patricia Collins Wrede (; born March 27, 1953) is an American author of fantasy literature. She is known for her ''Enchanted Forest Chronicles'' series for young adults, which was voted number 84 in NPR's 100 Best-Ever Teen Novels list.
Care ...
's Regency fantasies, Great Britain has a Royal Society of Wizards.
''
The Tales of Alvin Maker
''The Tales of Alvin Maker'' is a series of six alternate history fantasy novels written by American novelist Orson Scott Card, published from 1987 to 2003, with one more planned. They explore the experiences of a young man, Alvin Miller, who re ...
'' series by
Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. , he is the only person to have won a Hugo Award for Best Novel, Hugo Award and a Nebula Award for Best Novel, Nebula Award in List of joint ...
(a parallel to the life of
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thou ...
, founder of the
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by ...
) takes place in an alternate America, beginning in the early 19th century. Prior to that time, a POD occurred: England, under the
rule
Rule or ruling may refer to:
Human activity
* The exercise of political or personal control by someone with authority or power
* Business rule, a rule pertaining to the structure or behavior internal to a business
* School rule, a rule th ...
of
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...
, had banished "makers", or anyone else demonstrating "knacks" (an ability to perform seemingly supernatural feats) to the North American continent. Thus the early American colonists embraced these gifts as perfectly ordinary, and counted on them as a part of their daily lives. The political division of the continent is considerably altered, with two large English colonies bookending a smaller "American" nation, one aligned with England, and the other governed by exiled
Cavaliers
The term ''Cavalier'' () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of Charles I of England and his son Charles II of England, Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum (England), Int ...
. Actual historical figures are seen in a much different light: Ben Franklin is revered as the continent's finest "maker", George Washington was executed after being captured, and
"Tom" Jefferson is the first president of "Appalachia", the result of a compromise between the Continentals and the
British Crown
The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...
.
On the other hand, when the "Old Ones" (fairies) still manifest themselves in England in
Keith Roberts
Keith John Kingston Roberts (20 September 1935 – 5 October 2000) was an English science fiction author. He began publishing with two stories in the September 1964 issue of ''Science Fantasy'' magazine, "Anita" (the first of a series of stor ...
's ''
Pavane
The ''pavane'' ( ; , ''padovana''; ) is a slow processional dance common in Europe during the 16th century (Renaissance).
The pavane, the earliest-known music for which was published in Venice by Ottaviano Petrucci, in Joan Ambrosio Dalza's ...
'', which takes place in a technologically backward world after a Spanish assassination of
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...
allowed the
Spanish Armada
The Spanish Armada (often known as Invincible Armada, or the Enterprise of England, ) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by Alonso de Guzmán, Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aristocrat without previous naval ...
to conquer England, the possibility that the fairies were real but retreated from modern advances makes the POD possible: the fairies really were present all along, in a secret history.
Again, in the English Renaissance fantasy ''Armor of Light'' by
Melissa Scott and Lisa A. Barnett, the magic used in the book, by Dr.
John Dee
John Dee (13 July 1527 – 1608 or 1609) was an English mathematician, astronomer, teacher, astrologer, occultist, and alchemist. He was the court astronomer for, and advisor to, Elizabeth I, and spent much of his time on alchemy, divination, ...
and others, actually was practiced in the Renaissance; positing a secret history of effective magic makes this an alternate history with a point of departure. Sir
Philip Sidney
Sir Philip Sidney (30 November 1554 – 17 October 1586) was an English poet, courtier, scholar and soldier who is remembered as one of the most prominent figures of the Elizabethan era, Elizabethan age.
His works include a sonnet sequence, ' ...
survives the
Battle of Zutphen
The Battle of Zutphen was fought on 22 September 1586, near the village of Warnsveld and the town of Zutphen, the Netherlands, during the Eighty Years' War. It was fought between the forces of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, aided ...
in 1586, and shortly thereafter saving the life of
Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe ( ; Baptism, baptised 26 February 156430 May 1593), also known as Kit Marlowe, was an English playwright, poet, and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the English Renaissance theatre, Eli ...
.
When the magical version of our world's history is set in contemporary times, the distinction becomes clear between alternate history on the one hand and
contemporary fantasy
Contemporary fantasy is a genre, subgenre of fantasy set in the present day. It is perhaps most popular for its subgenres, occult detective fiction, urban fantasy, low fantasy, supernatural fiction and paranormal fiction. Several authors note that ...
, using in effect a form of secret history (as when
Josepha Sherman
Josepha Sherman (December 12, 1946 – August 23, 2012) was an American author, folklorist, and anthologist. In 1990 she won the Compton Crook Award for the novel ''The Shining Falcon''.
Works
Series
Buffyverse
*'' Visitors'' (1999) (wi ...
's ''Son of Darkness'' has an elf living in New York City, in disguise) on the other. In works such as
Robert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein ( ; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific acc ...
's ''Magic, Incorporated'' where a construction company can use magic to rig up stands at a sporting event and Poul Anderson's ''
Operation Chaos
Operation CHAOS or Operation MHCHAOS was a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) domestic espionage project targeting American citizens operating from 1967 to 1974, established by President Lyndon B. Johnson and expanded under President Richard Nixon ...
'' and its sequel ''
Operation Luna'', where djinns are serious weapons of war—with atomic bombs—the use of magic throughout the United States and other modern countries makes it clear that this is not secret history—although references in ''Operation Chaos'' to
degaussing
Degaussing, or deperming, is the process of decreasing or eliminating a remnant magnetic field. It is named after the gauss, a unit of magnetism, which in turn was named after Carl Friedrich Gauss. Due to magnetic hysteresis, it is generally not ...
the effects of cold iron make it possible that it is the result of a POD. The sequel clarifies this as the result of a collaboration of Einstein and Planck in 1901, resulting in the theory of "rhea tics".
Henry Moseley
Henry Gwyn Jeffreys Moseley (; 23 November 1887 – 10 August 1915) was an English physicist, whose contribution to the science of physics was the justification from physical laws of the previous empirical and chemical concept of the atomic numb ...
applies this theory to "degauss the effects of cold iron and release the goetic forces." This results in the suppression of
ferromagnetism
Ferromagnetism is a property of certain materials (such as iron) that results in a significant, observable magnetic permeability, and in many cases, a significant magnetic coercivity, allowing the material to form a permanent magnet. Ferromagne ...
and the re-emergence of magic and magical creatures.
Alternate history shades off into other
fantasy subgenres
Writing genres (more commonly known as literary genres) are categories that distinguish literature (including works of prose, poetry, drama, hybrid forms, etc.) based on some set of stylistic criteria. Sharing literary conventions, they typicall ...
when the use of actual, though altered, history and geography decreases, although a culture may still be clearly the original source;
Barry Hughart
Barry Hughart (March 13, 1934 – August 1, 2019) was an American author of fantasy novels.
Background
Hughart was born in Peoria, Illinois on March 13, 1934. His father, John Harding Page, served as a naval officer. His mother, Veronica ...
's ''
Bridge of Birds
''Bridge of Birds'' is a fantasy novel by Barry Hughart, first published in 1984. It is the first of three novels in '' The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox'' series. The original draft of ''Bridge of Birds'' is included in a special s ...
'' and its sequels take place in a
fantasy world
A fantasy world or fictional world is a world created for fictional media, such as literature, film or games. Typical fantasy worlds feature magical abilities. Some worlds may be a parallel world connected to Earth via magical portals or items ...
, albeit one clearly based on China, and with allusions to actual Chinese history, such as
the Empress Wu.
Richard Garfinkle's ''
Celestial Matters'' incorporates ancient Chinese physics and Greek
Aristotelian physics
Aristotelian physics is the form of natural philosophy described in the works of the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384–322 BC). In his work ''Physics'', Aristotle intended to establish general principles of change that govern all natural bodies ...
, using them as if factual.
Alternate history has long been a staple of Japanese speculative fiction with such authors as
Futaro Yamada
was the pen name of , a Japanese author.
He was born in Yabu, Hyogo.
In 1947, he wrote a mystery short story and was awarded a prize by the magazine .
He was discovered by Edogawa Rampo and became a novelist.
He wrote many ninja (忍法帖 ''Nin ...
and
Ryō Hanmura writing novels set in recognizable historical settings with added supernatural or science fiction elements. Ryō Hanmura's 1973 ''
Musubi no Yama Hiroku'' which recreated 400 years of Japan's history from the perspective of a secret magical family with psychic abilities. The novel has since come to be recognized as a masterpiece of Japanese speculative fiction. Twelve years later, author
Hiroshi Aramata
is a Japanese author, polymath, critic, translator and specialist in natural history, iconography and cartography. His most popular novel was '' Teito Monogatari'' (''Tale of the Capitol''), which has sold over 5 million copies in Japan alone.
...
wrote the groundbreaking ''
Teito Monogatari'' which reimagined the history of
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
across the 20th century in a world heavily influenced by the supernatural.
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
's
''Pirates of the Caribbean'' series takes place in an alternate history. The filmmakers of ''
The Curse of the Black Pearl
''Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl'' (originally titled ''Pirates of the Caribbean'') is a 2003 American fantasy swashbuckler film directed by Gore Verbinski. Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and distributed by Buen ...
'' made no secret about taking liberties with the time period in which their story takes place. Producer
Jerry Bruckheimer
Jerome Leonard Bruckheimer (born September 21, 1943) is an American film and television producer. He has been active in the genres of action, drama, comedy, fantasy, horror and science fiction. After working in advertising out of college, Bruck ...
explained that the film is a fantasy, but did want to be true to the overall feel of the era, paying particular attention to the years between 1720 and 1750 "in an effort to find an approximation." Director
Gore Verbinski
Gregor Justin "Gore" Verbinski (born March 16, 1964) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for directing ''Mouse Hunt'', '' The Ring'', the first 3 ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' films, and '' Rango''. For '' ...
asserted that it takes place "roughly at the tail end of the
Golden Age of Piracy
The Golden Age of Piracy was the period between the 1650s and the 1730s, when maritime piracy was a significant factor in the histories of the North Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
Histories of piracy often subdivide the Golden Age of Piracy into th ...
, when the Morgans lived. Maybe the late 1720s." The crew went to great lengths to maintain authenticity, such as Jack Sparrow's sword being an original that dates from the 1750s.
Ann C. Crispin knew about the Pirates universe being an alternate history writing the prequel novel ''
The Price of Freedom'', with Disney's instructions for Crispin being to "stick to historical fact, unless it conflicts with established Pirates of the Caribbean continuity." Crispin made a faithful effort to do this, having done plenty of research, with ''Under the Black Flag'' by
David Cordingly
David Cordingly is an English naval historian with a special interest in pirates. He held the position of Keeper of Pictures and Head of Exhibitions at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England for twelve years.
David Cordingly organ ...
being one of the four pirate-related books she found herself using the most consistently. According to production designer
John Myhre
John Myhre (born 1959) is an American production designer who has been working in Hollywood since the late 1980s.
He received his first Academy Award nomination, for Best Art Direction, in 1998, for Shekhar Kapur's '' Elizabeth'', bringing him ...
, the filmmakers of the fourth film, ''
On Stranger Tides
''On Stranger Tides'' is a 1987 historical fantasy supernatural novel by American writer Tim Powers. It was nominated for the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, and placed second in the annual Locus poll for best fantasy novel.
Set in the e ...
'', picked the date of 1750, or in the range of the mid-1700s.
[Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Set Visit! - ComingSoon.net - Part 1](_blank)
Archived
/ref>[Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Set Visit! - ComingSoon.net - Part 2](_blank)
Archived
/ref> The film also featured Blackbeard
Edward Teach (or Thatch; – 22 November 1718), better known as Blackbeard, was an English pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of Britain's North American colonies. Little is known about his early life, but he ma ...
, based on the historical figure and an element retained from the novel ''On Stranger Tides
''On Stranger Tides'' is a 1987 historical fantasy supernatural novel by American writer Tim Powers. It was nominated for the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, and placed second in the annual Locus poll for best fantasy novel.
Set in the e ...
'' by Tim Powers
Timothy Thomas Powers (born February 29, 1952) is an American science fiction and fantasy fiction, fantasy author. His first major novel was ''The Drawing of the Dark'' (1979), but the novel that earned him wide praise was ''The Anubis Gates'' ...
. The history prior to ''On Stranger Tides'' is also slightly different from real-world history, with Blackbeard's death at Ocracoke Inlet in 1718 was considered a legend in the film, with Jack Sparrow saying he was beheaded, and that his headless body swam three times around his ship before climbing back on board. The fifth film, '' Dead Men Tell No Tales'', also took place in the 1750s, with an early draft taking place sometime the Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...
.
Television
''1983
1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...
'' is set on a world where the Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain was the political and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were countries connected to the So ...
never fell and the Cold War continues until the present (2003).
''An Englishman's Castle
''An Englishman's Castle'' is a BBC television serial first broadcast in 1978, written by Philip Mackie and directed by Paul Ciappessoni. The story was set in an alternative history 1970s, in which Nazi Germany won World War II and England is ...
'' tells the story of the writer of a soap opera in a 1970s England which lost World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. England is run by a collaborator government which strains to maintain a normal appearance of British life. Slowly, however, the writer begins to uncover the truth.
In the ''Community
A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...
'' episode "Remedial Chaos Theory
"Remedial Chaos Theory" is the fourth episode of the third season of the American television series ''Community''. The episode was written by Chris McKenna and directed by Jeff Melman. It originally aired on October 13, 2011 on NBC. It follo ...
," each of the six members of the study group rolls a die to decide who has to go downstairs to accept a pizza delivery for the group, creating 6 different alternative worlds. Characters from the worst universe, "darkest timeline," would later appear in the "prime universe".
''Confederate
A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
'' was a planned HBO series set on a world where the south won the US Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), which was formed in 1861 by states that had seceded f ...
. Social media backlash during pre-production led to the series being cancelled with no episodes produced.
'' Counterpart'' tells of a United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
agency that is responsible for monitoring passage between alternative worlds. Two of the worlds, Alpha and Prime, are locked in a cold war.
'' The Court-Martial of George Armstrong Custer'' is a 1977 telemovie where George Custer
George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars.
Custer graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Poin ...
survives the Battle of Little Bighorn and faces a court martial hearing over his incompetence.
'' C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America'' presents itself as a British TV documentary uncovering some of the dark secrets of the Confederacy on a world where the south won the US Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), which was formed in 1861 by states that had seceded f ...
.
''Dark Skies
''Dark Skies'' is an American UFO conspiracy theory–based science fiction television series. It debuted on NBC on September 21, 1996, and ended on May 31, 1997, and was later rerun by the Sci-Fi Channel; 18 episodes and a two-hour pilot epis ...
'' tells that much of history having been shaped since the 1940s by a government conspiracy with aliens. One race of aliens can take over humans, while those immune to the alien's control fight back.
''Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
s main character has visited two alternative worlds in the TV show and several in its spin off media. The Third Doctor visits a world with a fascist Great Britain on the brink of destruction in '' Inferno'', while the Tenth Doctor visits a Britain that has a President and blimps are a common form of transportation beset by Cybermen in ''Rise of the Cybermen
"Rise of the Cybermen" is the fifth episode of the second series of the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast on BBC One on 13 May 2006. The episode introduces a terrestrial reinvention of the Cyb ...
'' / ''The Age of Steel
"The Age of Steel" is the sixth episode of the second series of the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 20 May 2006 and is the second part of a two-part story. The first part, " Ris ...
''. The Seventh Doctor faces a threat from an alternative world in ''Battlefield
A battlefield, battleground, or field of battle is the location of a present or historic battle involving ground warfare. It is commonly understood to be limited to the point of contact between opposing forces, though battles may involve troop ...
'', where magic is real and the alternative version of The Doctor is hinted to be that reality's Merlin
The Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) is an interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across England. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of UK Re ...
.
''Fallout
Nuclear fallout is residual radioactive material that is created by the reactions producing a nuclear explosion. It is initially present in the radioactive cloud created by the explosion, and "falls out" of the cloud as it is moved by the ...
'' shows a 1950s retro-future world that suffers a global nuclear war on the Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
streaming service.
''Fatherland
A homeland is a place where a national or ethnic identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethnic nation ...
'' is a TV movie set in a 1960 alternative world where US President Joseph Kennedy and Adolf Hitler have agreed to meet to discuss an end to their country's Cold War 15 years after the Axis victory in World War II. However, an American reporter has discovered proof of the long denied Final Solution
The Final Solution or the Final Solution to the Jewish Question was a plan orchestrated by Nazi Germany during World War II for the genocide of individuals they defined as Jews. The "Final Solution to the Jewish question" was the official ...
threatens the meeting.
The anime '' Fena: Pirate Princess'' featured an alternate 18th century.
'' For All Mankind'' depicts an alternate timeline in which the Soviet crewed lunar program successfully lands on the Moon before the US Apollo program
The Apollo program, also known as Project Apollo, was the United States human spaceflight program led by NASA, which Moon landing, landed the first humans on the Moon in 1969. Apollo followed Project Mercury that put the first Americans in sp ...
, resulting in a continued and intensified Space Race
The Space Race (, ) was a 20th-century competition between the Cold War rivals, the United States and the Soviet Union, to achieve superior spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the ballistic missile-based nuclear arms race between t ...
.
''Fringe
Fringe may refer to:
Arts and music
* "The Fringe", or Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival
* Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival
* Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre
* Purple fri ...
'' has the father of one of the main characters cross into another reality to steal that world's version of his son after his son dies. The second world has a slightly different history, with a few different states in the United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, such as only one Carolina and Upper Michigan as a state. In addition, the 9/11 attack
The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Hijackers in the September 11 attacks#Hijackers, Nineteen terrorists hijacked four com ...
didn't take down the Twin Towers
Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two e ...
but the White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
. Also, several major DC Comics
DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
events are different, such as Superman
Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
not Supergirl
Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. Th ...
dying during ''Crisis on Infinite Earths
''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' is a 1985 to 1986 American comic book fictional crossover, crossover series published by DC Comics. Written by Marv Wolfman and penciller, pencilled by George Pérez, it was first released as a 12-issue limited ser ...
''. The incursion to steal the son has many negative effects on that world, and while the realities start out as antagonist, they eventually work together to repair the damage.
'' The Man in the High Castle,'' an adaptation of the novel of the same name, showed a world where the Axis Powers
The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...
won World War II.
'' Motherland: Fort Salem'' explores a female-dominated world in which witchcraft is real. Its world diverged from our timeline when the Salem witch trials
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in Province of Massachusetts Bay, colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused. Not everyone wh ...
are resolved by an agreement between witches and ungifted humans.
'' Noughts + Crosses'' is a British TV show set on a world where a powerful West African empire colonizes Europe 700 years before the start of the series.
'' Parallels'' was a planned TV show whose pilot was later released as a Netflix
Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
movie. The plot concerns a building which can shift realities every 36 hours and those who use the building to travel to other realities.
''The Plot Against America
''The Plot Against America'' is a novel by Philip Roth published in 2004. It is an alternative history in which Franklin D. Roosevelt is defeated in the presidential election of 1940 by Charles Lindbergh. The novel follows the fortunes of the R ...
'' is an HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
miniseries where Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, and author. On May 20–21, 1927, he made the first nonstop flight from New York (state), New York to Paris, a distance of . His aircra ...
wins the 1940 US presidential election as an anti-war candidate who moves the country toward fascism.
Primal features Spear and Fang from the Prehistoric
Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...
encountering with Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...
and Vikings
Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...
era, and in episode The Primal Theory
"The Primal Theory" is the fifth episode of second season the American adult animated action-drama '' Primal'', which aired on Adult Swim on August 12, 2022. Written by Darrick Bachman and Genndy Tartakovsky and directed by the latter, in a "de ...
where Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...
is alive in 1890 instead of 1882.
The TV show ''Sliders
Slider or Sliders may refer to:
Arts
* K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise
* '' The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex
* ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series
* ...
'' explores different possible alternate realities by having the protagonist "slide" into different parallel dimensions of the same planet Earth.
'' The Great Martian War 1913-1917''
An alternate history documentary where giant martians with machines invaded the Earth during WW1, causing huge technological upgrades and the entente and central powers fighting alongside each other.
'' SS-GB'' shows a world where the Axis Powers
The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...
quickly win World War II, killing Churchill and installing a puppet government. However, British resistance fights back.
In the various ''Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...
'' TV shows and spin off media a Mirror Universe
The Mirror Universe is the setting of several narratives in the ''Star Trek'' science fiction franchise, a parallel universe existing alongside, but separate from, the fictional universe that is the main setting of ''Star Trek''. It resembles th ...
has been encountered where Earth has an empire that subjugates other planets. Doppelgängers of the main cast of many the TV shows appear in that reality.
The ''Watchmen
''Watchmen'' is a comic book Limited series (comics), limited series by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colorist John Higgins (comics), John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 19 ...
'' series is set on a world where costumed heroes were initially welcomed but later outlawed. It is set 34 years after the events of the comic book on which the series shares a name.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...
series, ''Loki
Loki is a Æsir, god in Norse mythology. He is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mythology), Laufey (a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to the goddess Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi (son of Lo ...
'' (2021 & 2023), on Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
, shows an agency which prevents alterations to the timeline. Alternate versions of Loki from various universes appear.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...
series, '' What If...?'' (2021–2024), on Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
, shows alternate universes that depict alternate events from the MCU films.
Online
Fans of alternate history have made use of the internet from a very early point to showcase their own works and provide useful tools for those fans searching for anything alternate history, first in mailing lists
A mailing list is a collection of names and addresses used by an individual or an organization to send material to multiple recipients.
Mailing lists are often rented or sold. If rented, the renter agrees to use the mailing list only at contra ...
and usenet
Usenet (), a portmanteau of User's Network, is a worldwide distributed discussion system available on computers. It was developed from the general-purpose UUCP, Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP) dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Elli ...
groups, later in web databases and forums. The "Usenet Alternate History List" was first posted on 11 April 1991, to the Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.sf-lovers. In May 1995, the dedicated newsgroup ''soc.history.what-if'' was created for showcasing and discussing alternate histories. Its prominence declined with the general migration from unmoderated usenet to moderated web forums, most prominently AlternateHistory.com, the self-described "largest gathering of alternate history fans on the internet" with over 10,000 active members.
In addition to these discussion forums, in 1997 Uchronia: The Alternate History List was created as an online repository, now containing over 2,900 alternate history novels, stories, essays, and other printed materials in several different languages. Uchronia was selected as the Sci Fi Channel's "Sci Fi Site of the Week" twice.
Uchronia
In Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Catalan, and Galician, the words ', ', and ' are native versions of ''alternate history'', from which comes the English loanword
A loanword (also a loan word, loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language (the recipient or target language), through the process of borrowing. Borrowing is a metaphorical term t ...
''uchronia''. The English term ''uchronia'' is a neologism
In linguistics, a neologism (; also known as a coinage) is any newly formed word, term, or phrase that has achieved popular or institutional recognition and is becoming accepted into mainstream language. Most definitively, a word can be considered ...
that is sometimes used in its original meaning as a straightforward synonym
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...
for ''alternate history.'' However, it may also now refer to other concepts, namely an umbrella genre of fiction that encompasses alternate history, parallel universes in fiction
A parallel universe, also known as an alternate universe, world, or dimension, is a plot device in fiction which uses the notion of a hypothetical universe co-existing with another, typically to enable alternative narrative possibilities. The su ...
, and fiction based in futuristic or non-temporal settings.[Craveiro, Joanna (2016). A live/living museum of small, forgotten and unwanted memories: performing narratives, testimonies and archives of the Portuguese Dictatorship and Revolution (Doctoral dissertation, University of Roehampton), p. 46.][Schmid, 2020, p. 11, 28.]
See also
* 20th century in science fiction
* Alien space bats
* Alternate ending
An alternate ending (or alternative ending) is an ending of a story that was considered, or even written or produced, but ultimately discarded in favour of another resolution. Generally, alternative endings are considered to have no bearing on t ...
* Alternative future
* American Civil War alternate histories
American Civil War alternate histories are alternate history fiction that focuses on the Civil War ending differently or not occurring. The American Civil War is a popular point of divergence in English-language alternate history fiction. The ...
* Dieselpunk
Dieselpunk is a retrofuturistic subgenre of science fiction similar to steampunk or cyberpunk that combines the aesthetics of the diesel-based technology of the interwar period through to the 1950s with retro-futuristic technology and postmod ...
* Dystopian
A dystopia (lit. "bad place") is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. It is an imagined place (possibly state) in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmenta ...
* Fictional universe
A fictional universe, also known as an imagined universe or a constructed universe, is the internally consistent fictional setting used in a narrative or a work of art. This concept is most commonly associated with works of fantasy and scie ...
* Future history
A future history, imaginary history or anticipatory history is a fictional conjecture of the future used by authors of science fiction and other speculative fiction to construct a common background for stories. Sometimes the author publishes a t ...
* ''The Garden of Forking Paths
"The Garden of Forking Paths" (original Spanish title: "El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan") is a 1941 short story by Argentina, Argentine writer and poet Jorge Luis Borges. It is the title story in the collection ''El jardín de senderos que ...
''
* Historical revisionism
In historiography, historical revisionism is the reinterpretation of a historical account. It usually involves challenging the orthodox (established, accepted or traditional) scholarly views or narratives regarding a historical event, timespa ...
* Hypothetical Axis victory in World War II
A hypothetical military victory of the Axis powers over the Allies of World War II (1939–1945) is a common topic in speculative literature. Works of alternative history (fiction) and of counterfactual history (non-fiction) include stories, no ...
* Invasion literature
Invasion literature (also the invasion novel or the future war genre) is a literary genre that was popular in the period between 1871 and the World War I, First World War (1914–1918). The invasion novel was first recognised as a literary genr ...
* Jonbar hinge
* List of alternate history fiction
* Possible worlds
Possible Worlds may refer to:
* Possible worlds, concept in philosophy
* ''Possible Worlds'' (play), 1990 play by John Mighton
** ''Possible Worlds'' (film), 2000 film by Robert Lepage, based on the play
* Possible Worlds (studio)
* ''Possible ...
* Pulp novels
* Ruritanian romance
Ruritanian romance is a genre of literature, film and theatre comprising novels, stories, plays and films set in a fictional country, usually in Central or Eastern Europe, such as the " Ruritania" that gave the genre its name.
Such stories are t ...
References
Further reading
* Chapman, Edgar L., and Carl B. Yoke (eds.). ''Classic and Iconoclastic Alternate History Science Fiction''. Mellen, 2003.
* Collins, William Joseph. ''Paths Not Taken: The Development, Structure, and Aesthetics of the Alternative History''. University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...
1990.
* Darius, Julian. "58 Varieties: Watchmen and Revisionism". In
Minutes to Midnight: Twelve Essays on Watchmen
'. Sequart Research & Literacy Organization, 2010. Focuses on Watchmen as alternate history.
* Cowley, Robert, ed., '' What If? Military Historians Imagine What Might Have Been''. Pan Books
Pan Books is a British publishing imprint that first became active in the 1940s and is now part of the British-based Macmillan Publishers, owned by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group of Germany.
History
Pan Books began as an indepe ...
, 1999.
* Gevers, Nicholas. ''Mirrors of the Past: Versions of History in Science Fiction and Fantasy''. University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa.
Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...
, 1997
* Hellekson, Karen. ''The Alternate History: Refiguring Historical Time''. Kent State University
Kent State University (KSU) is a Public university, public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Kent State University at Ashtabula, Ashtabula, Kent State ...
Press, 2001
* Keen, Antony G. "Alternate Histories of the Roman Empire in Stephen Baxter, Robert Silverberg and Sophia McDougall". '' Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction'' 102, Spring 2008.
* McKnight, Edgar Vernon Jr. ''Alternative History: The Development of a Literary Genre''. University of North Carolina
The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...
at Chapel Hill, 1994.
* Morgan, Glyn, and C. Palmer-Patel (eds.). ''Sideways in Time: Critical Essays on Alternate History Fiction''. Liverpool University Press, 2019.
* Nedelkovh, Aleksandar B. ''British and American Science Fiction Novel 1950–1980 with the Theme of Alternative History (an Axiological Approach)''. 1994 , 1999 .
* Rosenfeld, Gavriel David. ''The World Hitler Never Made: Alternate History and the Memory of Nazism''. 2005
* Rosenfeld, Gavriel David. "Why Do We Ask 'What If?' Reflections on the Function of Alternate History." ''History and Theory'' 41, Theme Issue 41: Unconventional History (December 2002), 90–103. .
* Schneider-Mayerson, Matthew.
What Almost Was: The Politics of the Contemporary Alternate History Novel
. ''American Studies
American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, History of the United States, history, Society of the United States, society, and Culture of the Unit ...
'' 30, 3–4 (Summer 2009), 63–83.
* Singles, Kathleen. ''Alternate History: Playing with Contingency and Necessity''. De Gruyter
Walter de Gruyter GmbH, known as De Gruyter (), is a German scholarly publishing house specializing in academic literature.
History
The roots of the company go back to 1749 when Frederick the Great granted the Königliche Realschule in Be ...
, 2013.
External links
AlternateHistory.com
Alternate History
on TV Tropes
TV Tropes (also written as TVTropes) is a wiki founded by "Fast Eddie" in 2004 that collects and documents descriptions and examples of plot conventions and devices, which it refers to as tropes. Its contents cover many creative works and non- ...
{{Authority control
history
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
Fictional history
Nonexistent things
Science fiction genres
Speculative fiction genres