Explanation: In Gore Vidal’s 1995 novel, The Smithsonian Institution, the great political scribe made one of his rare entries into science fiction. At the end of the war, the U.S. side wins again, and takes control of the CSA. What if the D-Day invasion had failed in 1944? Explanation: In Robert Harris’ novel Fatherland (the basis for a 1994 TV movie), Nazi Germany successfully invades Russia in 1942. What if the entire continent of South America had been united under the flag of the “Bolivarian Republic”? What if Henry VIII had stayed married to Catherine of Aragon? Of course, the idea has also been popular in fiction. Need a point in time for your alternate timeline to diverge? Alternate history or alternative history (Commonwealth English), sometimes abbreviated as AH, is a genre of fiction consisting of stories in which one or more historical events occur differently. What if the renaissance sparked a popular movement to reunite the Roman Empire? It can be variously seen as a sub-genre of literary fiction, science fiction, and historical fiction; different alternate history works may use tropes from any or all of these genres. If Dinosaurs were still alive? Steampunk 5. Best Seller in Alternate History Science Fiction. “I just changed that one thing,” said Dann, who copiously researched his book, making it “as factual as I could… By exploring Dean as he matures, I'm able to cast light on the Dean that we know.” If Dean had survived, Dann suggested, he would have inspired one of his fans, Elvis Presley, to leave rock ’n’ roll and become a serious actor (which was always his ambition). Post "what if" questions and talk about the results. What if the Russian “October Revolution” had failed? For example, what if the Confederacy had won the American Civil War, what if the Germans had won World War II, what if Al Gore had won the 2000 US Presidential Election. We have a collection of tools to help & inspire writers in their creative writing projects. In his imagined history, Henry VIII’s short-lived older brother, Arthur, has a son just before his death. Here’s a list of 50 questions to excite your imagination, invalidate your history textbooks, and infuriate your stuffy childhood history teacher. r/ HistoryWhatIf. By 1976, it is ruled by the Vatican, in the middle of a long-running Christian/Muslim cold war, and technologically regressed, as electricity is banned and scientists are frowned upon. According to the module, the Germans would not have been able to withstand the might of the British Home Guard and the RAF—and as the Royal Navy had superiority in the English Channel, they would not have been able to escape. Even Bush’s vice-president, Dan Quayle, would be propelled to the presidency after winning a debate against Bill Clinton. Effect: The end of nuclear proliferation... except in the U.S. What if the Ottoman Empire had decided to stay out of the First World War. Alternate history is usually classified as a subgenre within the broader genre of speculative fiction.In its strictest sense, an alternate history story is set on our earth, with the same laws of causality and physics.No magic or fantastic elements intrude … Effect: Republicans win every election for the next 30 years. Conspiracy theory 7. What if the Romans never converted to Christianity? What if the 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand had failed? General discussion about alternate history scenarios in general or those found in media with the point of divergence from real history occurring before 1900 AD. Paleofuturism 4. President Lindbergh, a white supremacist and anti-Semite, declares martial law, throws his opponents in prison, and allies with Nazi Germany in World War II. Disaster Alternative History: list centered in natural and human-made disasters, real, changed or completely created by the author. Instead, Nixon was elected, and “totally botched the Cuban Missile Crisis, causing World War III.” This caused devastation all around them. At one stage, he concludes that the fault lay in President Woodrow Wilson’s vision for the League of Nations. Meanwhile, a war of independence would stir in South America. Using knowledge of geography, population and other historical facts I predict what could have happened had things gone differently in history. With special thanks to David Ball. Naturally, this view of history was colored by Renouvier’s own worldview: while not strictly an atheist, he was no fan of organized religion. They find themselves in a Disney universe, where everything is sweet and wholesome (as long as you’re not Jewish); a universe inhabited only by a guy in the distance who gives out compliments; a universe where Christianity never existed, meaning that the Dark Ages didn’t happen; and a universe in which the positions of dogs and people are reversed. What if Boudica (Boadicea) had won the Battle of Watling Street? The first novel, How Few Remain (1997), introduced a world where, years after the war, the former USA is divided into two nations: the U.S. and the Confederate States of America. of American History (2003), Robert Dallek, a Kennedy biographer, suggested that Kennedy would have successfully pulled out of Vietnam, and that he would be popular enough at the end of his second term to be succeeded by his brother, the Attorney-General Robert Kennedy. Effect: One of America’s favorite rom-coms of the 1990s would have been a gritty tragedy. What if the Black Death had never occurred? Explanation: The 1963 Kennedy assassination is a popular event of alternate history, inspiring novels, stage plays and short story collections. When Christianity finally goes West, it is absorbed harmlessly into the multi-religious society. Lee Harvey Oswald didn’t shoot Kennedy, but shot Mayor McCheese instead. What if Napoleon defeated the armies of the Seventh Coalition at the Battle of Waterloo? Hot. Napoleon Bonaparte's final bid for power came to end with defeat at Waterloo in Belgium on 18 June 1815 at the hands of the Seventh Coalition – but what if he had won? Alternate history: what if Magna Carta hadn’t been written? In the South, post-war measures lead to runaway inflation, poverty, and the victory of the violent Freedom party. Bangs also survives the fate he suffered in reality, where he died of an accidental overdose in 1982, aged 33. The popular Harry Turtledove, who specializes in alternate history novels, has suggested what might have happened – in 11 volumes (so far). The USA (or what’s left of it) moves its capital to Columbus, Ohio — now called  Columbia — but can no longer afford to buy Alaska from the Russians. Some of the stories out there are a mixture of the serious and silly, but others are a plausible look at how a few key decisions could have changed the world. His presidency, the article speculated, would be so disastrous that Democrats wouldn’t occupy the White House for at least another 25 years. What if Genghis Khan had died in infancy? An example of "honorary alternate history" is the 1980s series The Zone by James Rouch about World War III in Europe. The Southern forces annex Washington, DC — renaming it the District of Dixie. London Daily Express journalist Peter Hitchens wrote a fictitious obituary, in which Kennedy survives, and goes on to become one of America’s most unpopular presidents before finally dying at age 75, mourned by almost nobody. Effect: Ronald Reagan is assassinated in 1985 (obviously). The newly fascist CSA then plans a Final Solution for the “surplus” black population. What if Alexander the Great had lived to a ripe old age? What if WWII had ended with nuclear attacks on Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich, as well as Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Osaka? Someone comes up with a different way of explaining similarities between existing religions/cultures/language groups. What if we’d been wearing pants that time the cops pulled us over? It’s an alternate history, of course, but Harris was drawing a parallel with real history: this was Stalin’s Russia with the names changed. or what if Michael Portillo had become the British Prime Minister. Explanation: After capturing France, Nazi Germany planned to invade Britain with Operation Sea Lion, in an air and naval attack across the English Channel. Byron's execution, of course, would only inspire revolution. Here’s a list of 50 questions to excite your imagination, invalidate your history textbooks, and infuriate your stuffy childhood history teacher. Determined to prevent it, he goes back in history to seek its origins. Naturally, this turns Europe into a vastly different place. Alternate History. Then there was the American supermarket tabloid The Sun. "Alternate history" is one of those sub-genres that tends to fly a bit under the radar. According to The Sun, after threatening to reveal an affair with Robert Kennedy, she was drugged, brainwashed and taken to Australia, where she lives the "simple life of a sheep rancher's wife.". Effect: World War II might have ended earlier—but Hitler would still have lost. England, however, would suffer economically, with many people starving. What if President John F Kennedy survived the assassination attempt? In a 1990 story, they “revealed” that Monroe actually was still alive. Effect: Robert Kennedy survives his assassination attempt. Explanation: Any reality envisioned by Philip K. Dick was bound to be fascinating. Alternate history or alternative history (Commonwealth English) (AH) is a genre of speculative fiction consisting of stories in which one or more historical events occur differently. What if the Vikings never went viking and just stayed at home instead? What if the US had received advanced intelligence about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor? The Soviet Union is destroyed, the People’s Republic of China collapses, and a fallout cloud over Asia kills millions of others. Sadly, it is too late for the South to rejoin the Union. And The Man in the High Castle is among the most well-known books that tackle that question. This book, with its historical commentary, made many critics take sci-fi far more seriously, showing that it was more than just alien invasions and spaceships. Finally, in our alternate history, the president spent Jan. 6 not urging his supporters to march on the U.S. Capitol to disrupt the lawful certification of … But an essay by the late Lewis H. Lapham, then editor of Harper’s Magazine, recalled a little-known confrontation in 9 AD between the Roman legions and the Germanic tribes at the Teutoburg Forest. Revisionist history Many, many alternate history ask how the world would be different if Germany had won World War II. What if Napoleon had succeeded in invading Russia? What would the NFL look like if certain events didn't take place or things that in reality didn't did? This question was asked in 1907, in an essay contest held by London's Westminster Gazette. Unlike many of Dick's later works, it has yet to be turned in to a movie, though a SyFy TV series is currently in planning stages, produced by Sir Ridley Scott. An alternate history novel is mentioned by the protagonists in which WW 3 was averted, though needless to say it doesn't have the Kennedy's being assassinated either. Rising. “Tropical Thunder” Alternate History. Set in a version of America that is ruled by Japan and Germany, with a neutral zone in between, this book is gets a little loopy, but it’s a classic of the genre. What if the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic had killed 50% of the world’s population? How to use alternative history in a sentence. Other writers have been less kind, envisioning that JFK would provoke violent anti-war marches, accidentally start World War III, or continue his affair with Marilyn Monroe (who also survives her early death) for another 30 years. Hot New Top. This happens because, in this world, Giuseppe Zangara’s attempted assassination of President-elect Roosevelt is successful. Effect: Colonization of the moon, Venus, and Mars by 1962. The stories are conjectural but are sometimes based on fact. Alternative History is what this sub is all about. Alternative history definition is - fiction that is based on history and that explores what might have happened if certain historical events, figures, etc., had been different —called also alternate history. The acclaimed 1974 novel A Midsummer Tempest, by popular science fiction and fantasy author Poul Andersen, was set in a world where Shakespeare’s plays are utterly accurate, and the Bard is renowned not as a creative genius, but as a great chronicler of history. What if Neanderthals had not become extinct? $22.99 $ 22. These stories usually contain "what if" scenarios at crucial points in history and present outcomes other than those in the historical record. What if Alfred the Great had died in a cake-related fire, causing England to remain divided into separate kingdoms? One of the most intriguing was a universe where Sinatra was never born, and is therefore unable to use his influence to get President Kennedy elected in 1960. Or get 4 … What if Australia had been discovered and colonized by the Japanese? Alternate history is arguably one of the best genres in all of popular entertainment, partly because it relies on the complexity of hard decisions and the consequences that come from them. Jonny Wilkes talks to Professor Alan Forrest about whether Napoleon's victory at Waterloo would have been enough to secure a remarkable return to power – or if it would only have delayed the … Here are some of their intriguing conclusions. (The idea of a fictitious book, telling the “real” history, was also used by Kingsley Amis in The Alteration. Fantasy worlds 3. Effect: She would win an Oscar – and be brainwashed. e.g. Somehow, we’re not convinced that they took the job seriously, as they pondered worlds where The Godfather had flopped (forcing Francis Ford Coppola’s return to directing porn movies and Al Pacino’s return to his job as a furniture removalist), Sean Connery was gay (so that, rather than James Bond, he wins stardom in camp British comedies), and, most cruelly, Keanu Reeves was born ugly (“He would have starved to death at a very young age”), among other twisted scenarios. Well-meaning as the organization was, Vidal blames it for causing Germany’s struggles in the 1920s, paving the way for the rise of Hitler. In his novel Idlewild (1995), journalist Mark Lawson devised a world where Monroe survived her “suicide attempts,” President Kennedy survived his assassination attempt, and they continued their notorious (if historically unproven) affair for another 30 years. These stories usually contain 'what if' scenarios at crucial points in history and present outcomes other than those in the historical record. A surprisingly effortless, if complex, read, its labyrinthine narrative weaves plot strands in and out of each other like silk, keeping the pages turning until the coffee goes cold. Secret history 2. Explanation: French philosopher Charles Renouvier’s book Uchronie (1876) suggested a history in which Christianity didn’t come to the west through the Roman Empire, due to a small change of events after the reign of Marcus Aurelius. Explanation: The British movie magazine Empire joined in the counterfactuals game in 2003 by suggesting some possible stories from recent Hollywood history. Meanwhile, the United States loses New York, Washington DC, San Diego, Miami and other cities. We are a community for creating and discussing a wide range of alternate timelines: large and small, ancient and recent, realistic and fanciful.If you'd like to add to our growing multiverse, the following pages will help you get started. What if Charles Darwin had sought political office? What if the French decided not to sell the Louisiana territory to the USA? In the book, a teenage math genius is mysteriously summoned to the Smithsonian Institution in 1939, where he glimpses the upcoming World War II. What if “The Babington Plot” succeeded in assassinating Queen Elizabeth the First in 1586? What if the Nile River had dried up thousands of years ago? Explanation: Shakespeare has impressed scholars not only with his literary brilliance, but also with the historical detail of his plays. It fertilised the soil for the canon to grow. Instead, the CSA is offered neither independence nor civil rights, but is kept under military rule. What if the Vikings successfully colonized the east coast of North America? Time-travel 6. Explanation: Edward Morris’s story "Imagine" (published in the magazine Interzone in 2005) is written as an article by the legendary rock journalist Lester Bangs, which reminisces about Beatlemania – and the Beatles being banned in California after John Lennon controversially states that they are “more popular than Jesus." Join. Alternate history is a subgenre of speculative fiction (or science fiction) and historical fiction that is set in a world in which history has … Effect: The Enlightenment starts early – and lasts a thousand years. That’s the nature of things: we can never truly know. Lapham suggested that, if the Romans had won, world history would have been remarkably different, with a “Roman empire preserved from ruin, Christ dying… on an unremembered cross, the nonappearance of the English language, neither the need nor the occasion for a Protestant Reformation… and Kaiser Wilhelm seized by an infatuation with stamps… instead of a passion for cavalry boots.”. card classic compact. Many of these were popular questions — What if the Americans lost the Revolutionary War? What if the British Empire had invaded and conquered China? Explanation: The previous list of alternate histories included a historian’s view of what would have happened if the Confederacy had won the Civil War. What if the edge state policy succeeded and a defensive pact was formed between Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Poland? Explanation: Marilyn Monroe’s death in 1962, at age 36, has been pondered by a few writers. The world is full of “what ifs?” What if JFK hadn’t decided to go cruising through Dallas in an open-top car? Hence, the Church of England is never founded, the Spanish Armada is never defeated (as Elizabeth I was never born), and Martin Luther reconciles with the Catholic Church, eventually becoming Pope. Looking at different options of an events actual way can help you see what was going… The plan was shelved in 1940, but some 30 years later, the Royal Military Academy of Sandhurst started a war-games module, set in a world where Sea Lion had happened. Alternate History imagines what would happen if history had gone differently. Need some inspiration for an alternate history scenario? Hitchens didn’t explain how Nixon would avoid the Watergate scandal, or where Quayle would obtain his debating skills. What if Hitler had decided not to invade Russia? What if Christopher Columbus never sailed west, and the Americas weren’t discovered until several decades later? 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