Lord Darcy is a

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

in a

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

alternate history Alternate history (also referred to as alternative history, allohistory, althist, or simply A.H.) is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history. As ...

, created by

Randall Garrett Gordon Randall Phillip David GarrettGarrett, Randall
in ''

whodunnit A ''whodunit'' (less commonly spelled as ''whodunnit''; a colloquial elision of "Who asdone it?") is a complex plot-driven variety of detective fiction in which the puzzle regarding who committed the crime is the main focus. The reader or viewer ...

s; magic is never used to "cheat" a solution, and indeed, the mundane explanation is often obscured by the leap to assume a magical cause.

Title character

Lord Darcy is the Chief Forensic Investigator or Chief Criminal Investigator for the Duke of Normandy (Prince Richard, the brother of the king), and sometime Special Investigator for the High Court of Chivalry. An Englishman, he lives in

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

, but spends very little time there. The audience learns that he speaks Anglo-French with an English accent, and that he speaks several languages and dialects fluently. His full name is never given; he is always referred to by his title as the Lord of Arcy (i.e., Lord d'Arcy or Lord Darcy), even by his friends. He dresses in the style of an English aristocrat. He thinks of himself as English and yet Arcy seems to be a French place name. How he comes to be addressed as a "Lord" is never explained, though he seems deferential when dealing with other Peers such as Dukes, Counts, and a Marquis. In ''

Too Many Magicians ''Too Many Magicians'' is a novel by Randall Garrett, an American science fiction author. One of several stories starring Lord Darcy, it was first serialized in ''Analog Science Fiction'' in 1966 and published in book form the same year by Doubl ...

'' Darcy is said to be a cousin of the Marquis of London. There are two conflicting reports of Lord Darcy's age. In " The Muddle of the Woad" he's described as a few years older than the King, who's ten years older than the Duke of Normandy, who was 19 years old in " The Eyes Have It", which is set in 1963. This places Lord Darcy's date of birth around 1931. However, he's described in " The Spell of War" as an 18-year-old lieutenant in the autumn of the War of '39, which would make him about ten years older. His assistant is Master Sean O'Lochlainn, a sorcerer who undertakes magical forensic work. Master Sean is highly proud of Irish magic and its superiority to those of other countries (especially to Polish magic).

Works

'' is the only Lord Darcy novel written by Randall Garrett: it first appeared in ''

Analog Analog or analogue may refer to: Computing and electronics * Analog signal, in which information is encoded in a continuous variable ** Analog device, an apparatus that operates on analog signals *** Analog electronics, circuits which use analog ...

'' magazine from August to November 1966 and was issued in book form by Doubleday in 1967. This was followed by two short story collections: '' Murder and Magic'' (1979), and '' Lord Darcy Investigates'' (1981), containing stories that had appeared in ''Analog'', ''Fantastic'' and other magazines. Garrett's extended illness and death prevented him from writing more Lord Darcy tales as he had intended. Two more Lord Darcy novels, '' Ten Little Wizards'' (1988), and ''

A Study in Sorcery ''A Study in Sorcery'' is an alternate history novel by Michael Kurland featuring Randall Garrett's fictional detective character Lord Darcy (character), Lord Darcy. It was first published in paperback by Ace Books in 1989; a trade paperback edit ...

'' (1989), were written by Garrett's friend

Michael Kurland Michael Joseph Kurland (born March 1, 1938) is an American author, best known for his works of science fiction and detective fiction. Kurland lives in San Luis Obispo, California. Writing career Kurland's early career was devoted to works of sc ...

after Garrett's death. The two titles were manifestly modeled on those of famous detective novels by, respectively,

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...

and

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...

. This is similar to the way that ''Too Many Magicians'' was modeled on a famous novel by

Rex Stout Rex Todhunter Stout (; December 1, 1886–October 27, 1975) was an American writer noted for his detective fiction. His best-known characters are the detective Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin, who were featured in 33 novels and ...

(whose

Nero Wolfe Nero Wolfe is a brilliant, obese and eccentric fictional armchair detective created in 1934 by American mystery (fiction), mystery writer Rex Stout. Wolfe was born in Principality of Montenegro, Montenegro and keeps his past murky. He lives in a ...

and Archie Goodwin have counterparts in the novel's universe in the Marquis de London and his Special Investigator, Lord Bontriomphe). In the eleventh chapter of '' Ten Little Wizards'', Kurland sets Lord Darcy's rank in the peerage as a

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

Short stories

# " The Eyes Have It" (1964) # "

A Case of Identity A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient ...

" (1964) # " The Muddle of the Woad" (1965) # "A Stretch of the Imagination" (1973) # "

Matter of Gravity In classical physics and general chemistry, matter is any substance that has mass and takes up space by having volume. All everyday objects that can be touched are ultimately composed of atoms, which are made up of interacting subatomic parti ...

" (1974) # "

The Ipswich Phial ''The'' is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the ...

" (1976) # "

The Sixteen Keys ''The'' is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the ...

" (1976) # "

The Bitter End The Bitter End is a 230-person capacity nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually s ...

" (1978) # "

The Napoli Express ''The'' is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the ...

" (1979) # " The Spell of War" (1979)

Novel

* ''

'' (1967, )

Novels by Michael Kurland

* '' Ten Little Wizards'' (1988, ) * ''

'' (1989, ) Also: Michael Kurland's 1969 novel ''

The Unicorn Girl ''The Unicorn Girl'' is a science fiction novel by Michael Kurland, originally released in 1969, that follows the adventures of two men from San Francisco in the 1960s after they meet a mysterious young woman looking for her missing unicorn. This ...

'' features protagonists who jump into a series of alternate timelines — and one of the timelines they land in is Lord Darcy's. However, while several minor characters from the Lord Darcy series appear in ''The Unicorn Girl'', neither Lord Darcy nor Master Sean are featured.

Collections

* '' Murder and Magic'' (1979, ) contains short stories 1, 2, 3, and 4 * '' Lord Darcy Investigates'' (1981, ) contains short stories 5, 6, 7, and 9 *'' Lord Darcy'' (1983) omnibus edition containing: **''Murder and Magic'' (see above) **''Too Many Magicians'' (see above) **''Lord Darcy Investigates'' (see above) *'' Lord Darcy'' 2002 edition () **Includes all ten short stories, and ''Too Many Magicians''.

Reception

In 1999, Randall Garrett won the

Sidewise Award for Alternate History The Sidewise Awards for Alternate History were established in 1995 to recognize the best alternate history stories and novels of the year. Overview The awards take their name from the 1934 short story " Sidewise in Time" by Murray Leinster, in w ...

Special Achievement Award for the Lord Darcy series. The Lord Darcy series is described in

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (''SFE'') is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo Award, Hugo, Locus Award, Locus and BSFA Award, British SF Awards. Two print editions appea ...

as Garrett's "most impressive solo work".

Darcy's world

Magic

Magic is a scientific discipline, codified in the fourteenth century by Saint Hilary Robert, much involved with higher mathematics and possessed of theoretical and experimental underpinnings as sophisticated as those of real world physics and chemistry. Licensed Sorcerers, possessed of the Talent and properly trained, achieve a wide range of effects. Healing by the laying on of hands is effective and a commonplace treatment for disease and injury; thanks to the efficacy of the Healers, it is common for people to live to the age of 100 and not rare for people to live to 125. Black magic is not a categorically different type of magic, but a matter of symbolism and intent, at least in the Anglo-French sphere, as the Kingdom of Italy requests extradition of a woman for black magic when her actual offense was no more than unlicensed magic. However, the effect of symbolism and intent can be substantial; one character, a Witch-Smeller, is capable of detecting its effects on the black magician and his victims. Although magic is a central part of all the stories, none of the murders Lord Darcy investigates are directly caused by magic. All the homicides are committed by mundane means.

Social structure

France and the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

are combined into a single state as the Anglo-French Empire, and Russia, Italy, and Germany continue as loose collections of small states. Society is stratified, with the most important government positions held by nobles, who dispense justice and still maintain private soldiers. The Church is powerful and a central component of everyone's life (there had never been a

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

, or it took a very different form, as some of the worst abuses of the late-Medieval/Renaissance Catholic Church seem to have been eliminated or minimized). However, serfdom is as dead as in the real world, and the rights of the common people appear to be somewhat well protected. Anglo-French regard themselves as fortunate in comparison to the subjects of the Polish King, who are reported to be living under a terrible tyranny. The characters all live in the Anglo-French domain, but include a Polish refugee, who was accused by the Italian government of black magic and is compelled to spy for Poland by a threat to her uncle.

Education

Little is mentioned of education, although

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

continues. Lord Darcy is mentioned as being a graduate of the fictional Magog College (1954). A fictional St. Thomas' Academy is also mentioned.

Technology

Technology and physical sciences have suffered somewhat with the emphasis on magic. Physics has not been codified as a science; the one example of an investigator into the discipline is an eccentric on a par with the members of the real world Flat Earth Society. Most mechanical devices are approximately those of the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

. Characters travel by horse-drawn carriage and steam train and employ revolving pistols and bolt-action rifles; buildings are illuminated with gas lights. An electric torch, with magical parts, is "a fantastic device, a secret of His Majesty's Government." Messages can be sent by an electrical device called the "teleson", but the principles by which it operates are not well understood, and the technology to lay teleson lines underwater or over water has not yet been developed and so it is impossible to communicate across the

Channel Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Australia in Queensland and pa ...

. Food is sometimes preserved in

icebox An icebox (also called a cold closet) is a compact non-mechanical refrigerator which was a common early-twentieth-century kitchen appliance before the development of safely powered refrigeration devices. Before the development of electric refrig ...

es; a magical "food preservator" has been invented, but preservators are expensive and rare because the stasis spell used is expensive to maintain, requiring the services of a specialist Journeyman or Master-grade magician. Sorcery is commonly employed in murder investigations, in much the same fashion as forensic science in the real world. Medical technology is not as advanced as in the real world, because Healers are so effective, indeed the use of drugs with a genuine but non-magical benefit ("may cover a wound with moldy bread... or give a patient with heart trouble a tea brewed 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 ...

") is regarded as little more than superstition.

International situation

The Anglo-French Empire was established by the

Plantagenets The House of Plantagenet ( /plænˈtædʒənət/ ''plan-TAJ-ə-nət'') was a royal house which originated from the French county of Anjou. The name Plantagenet is used by modern historians to identify four distinct royal houses: the Angevi ...

, whose dynasty has continued to rule and continues to use the

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...

as a royal residence, with

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

far weaker than in the real world timeline.

Richard I Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199), known as Richard the Lionheart or Richard Cœur de Lion () because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior, was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ru ...

returned to England after he was wounded at the siege of Chaluz, but he later recovered and ruled well, but

John Lackland John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empi ...

never held the throne and died in exile. Richard then went on to a decisive victory in the Anglo-French War, which, in real world history, King John lost. Richard dethroned the Capetian Dynasty and made himself and his successors Kings of France as well as of England, both kingdoms being ruled from London, while

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

was left into the 20th century a provincial town that broods over its lost glory. The

Duchy of Normandy The Duchy of Normandy grew out of the 911 Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between Charles the Simple, King Charles III of West Francia and the Viking leader Rollo. The duchy was named for its inhabitants, the Normans. From 1066 until 1204, as a r ...

remained attached to the English crown and never separated from it. Richard died in 1219 and was succeeded by his nephew

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

, whose reign was remembered as a Golden Age and sometimes confused in the popular imagination with that of

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

. The present king, 750 years later, is "John IV, by the Grace of God, King and Emperor of England, France, Scotland, Ireland ll the Anglo-French Empire New England orth America and New France outh America Defender of the Faith, et cetera". To judge by the Irishman who has a central role in the stories, the Irish in this timeline do not feel particularly oppressed under the Anglo-French throne and have no inclination to become independent. Ireland seems to have been spared traumatic periods of foreign colonisation and dispossession, and since everybody is Catholic, it has no problems of rival religious-ethnic communities. Moreover, the Irish are considered especially skilled in Magic, a source of upwards social mobility and prestige. The king is also

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

, exercising loose sovereignty over the many small German and Italian states. However, his actual exercise of sovereignty is limited by the ability of German states to call upon the

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

for help. The chronologically-first but not the first-written Lord Darcy story takes place during a military confrontation between Anglo-French and Polish forces on the soil of

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. In Italy, the King-Emperor is more of a

constitutional monarch Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. ...

, with an Italian Parliament seemingly holding much more power than the one in London (in a story set in Italy, a local policeman emphasizes that his oath of office is to the Parliament, rather than to the King). There is no mention, however, of whether the Parliament is appointed or elected or by whom. Italy being united implies that the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

was, like in real world history, deprived at some time of its Temporal power over the city of Rome and its environs, but there is no mention of when and how that happened. Poland is a major power and the chief rival of the Anglo-French, and both exist in a situation of

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

; some of the stories are spy thrillers in which Lord Darcy is pitted against Polish agents and takes on some of the attributes of

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

(with some magic ingredients added, such as a spell used to make him fall madly in love with a beautiful female Polish agent). Hungary is part of the Polish Empire (the University of Buda-Pest is mentioned as one of Poland's major institutes of learning), which seems to extend southwards into the Balkans. It is stated that Kiev is part of the Polish Empire, as well as most of the Ukrainian steppe. The Russias are no more than a set of fractious statelets, which might unify in the face of Polish aggression but as yet have failed to do so (it had been close to that situation in some periods of real world history, as during the Polish-Muscovite War (1605–1618)). The main strategy of the Anglo-French is to bottle up the Poles and deny them access to the world's oceans. There is mention of a war in the 1940s (roughly equivalent to

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 ...

but of a much more limited extent) in which the Polish Navy was decisively beaten. Since then, an alliance with the

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

ms at the exit from the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

and with the Roumelians ( Byzantines) at the exit from the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

denies passage to Polish warships, but they try to circumvent this blockade and build an ocean-going navy with the help of some

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

n states. As noted, the Byzantine Empire continues to exist and is, at least at times, an Anglo-French ally, but it is a minor power corresponding to real world Greece, with its main importance being the control of the strategic

Dardanelles The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey th ...

. The Osmanlis rule a realm beyond it that has apparently never spread beyond

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

. The Kingdoms of Castile and

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

never united into a single Spanish realm and were never of much account, and

Southern Spain Spain is a country located in southwestern Europe occupying most (about 82 percent) of the Iberian Peninsula. It also includes a small exclave inside France called Llívia, as well as the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Isla ...

is still predominantly Muslim (one story features a suave Muslim from

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

residing in London). Since the Point of Departure, which set the alternate history off is the survival of

Richard the Lion Heart Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199), known as Richard the Lionheart or Richard Cœur de Lion () because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior, was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ru ...

until 1219 and his success in eliminating the Capetians and making himself King of France, the

Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...

of 1204, which fatally crippled the Byzantine Empire in real world history, presumably never took place in this history. Also, with John Lackland never taking the throne, he never had a chance to behave tyrannically as a king and so there was no rebellion culminating in the

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter"), sometimes spelled Magna Charta, is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardin ...

, which may very partially explain the lack of any democratic institutions in this 20th century. (Garrett may have thus meant to imply that the villains of history sometimes have their uses.)

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

(Mechicoe in Anglo-French) is still ruled by

Aztecs The Aztecs ( ) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the ...

, who are headed by the Christianised descendants of Montezuma after they have been taken into the empire's high nobility and possess considerable autonomy. North America, the whole of which is called "New England", is in the process of being settled by Europeans, but the process is far less advanced than in real world history, with Native American tribes in the 1960s still able to offer significant resistance to whites encroaching on their land. However, there is also mention of thriving tobacco plantations, which seems to indicate that the equivalent of the

American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is census regions United States Census Bureau. It is between the Atlantic Ocean and the ...

is more thickly settled than the

American North The Northern United States, commonly referred to as the American North, the Northern States, or simply the North, is a geographical and historical region of the United States. History Early history Before the 19th century westward expansion, the ...

. Mention is made of the first European ships reaching the shores of new England in 1569."Too Many Magicians" Little is mentioned of "New France" (

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

) beyond a single mention of its jungles being a punitive posting to unruly soldiers from which it is clear that Native inhabitants are far from completely subdued there either. There are only few references to Africa. Lord Darcy's father, who was an army "

coronel Coronel may refer to: * Archaic and Spanish variant of colonel * Coronel, Chile, a port city in Chile * Battle of Coronel off the Chilean coast during World War I * The World War II German auxiliary cruiser HSK ''Coronel'', see German night fight ...

" (

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

), is mentioned as having fought in a war at

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

, which might be not exactly the same as the real world timeline's state of that name. In

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

, black states are mentioned as maintaining their independence, keeping a balance between the Anglo-French and the Poles and possessing enough technology to equip modern warships. The impression given is that Africa was not as heavily touched by

colonialism Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...

as in the real world timeline. (Presumably, that is because the Anglo-French have a whole continent at their disposal on the other side of the Atlantic and do their best to bar Polish access.)

References

External links

*
Listing
on SciFan * Usenet - Rec.arts.sf.written: Postings 5-40 and 105-108.
"References in Lord Darcy (was Purple's name....)"
April–May 1999 {{DEFAULTSORT:Darcy, Lord Alternate history book series Alternate history characters Book series Fictional gentleman detectives Fictional lords and ladies Literary characters introduced in 1964 Sidewise Award for Alternate History–winning works