Search results

As it's a lovely day and I'm stuck in the office looking at the sunshine with very little else to do, I thought I'd post a new chapter. We're jumping ahead in time very slightly, but as the action is fairly self-contained bar the reason why Thomas Rainsborough is having a Mediterranean...

It’s worth noting that Cromwell didn’t want a Republic- very few people IOTL did, and there’s a lot of (very persuasive, in my view) evidence that the whole trial of the King was a massive cock-up which only ended in an execution because Charles was so bloody pig-headed that Parliament had no...

Not quite yet- the next post continues the action in Britain and the Netherlands, the chapter after that is a segue to Southern Europe, and the one after that is the long-overdue post looking at Ireland between 1641 and 1648. I have also skipped a chapter which is meant to look at France and the...

Glad people enjoyed that- there will be more soon. It’s worth noting that most of what I described in this post as regards the establishment of the Commonwealth happened IOTL as well, and while the recovery of Ireland was always on the cards after the execution of Charles I, the addition of...

And here's a little thing showing the great seal of the Commonwealth, plus some coins.

Chapter 34 And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why speak ye not a word of bringing the king back? 2 Samuel 19: 10. _____________________________________________ (Taken from “Bloody Charles” by Michael Fraser, Free Press 1945) “The death of Charles I is...

He'll certainly be influenced by Frondeur notions, that's for sure... Now, even though technically speaking I should be posting the next chapter on precisely this- the Fronde- I'm going to skip that one for now in favour of resuming the action in Britain, immediately post-regicide...

As of February 1648, John Locke is 16 and in the middle of his studies at Westminster School; nothing too different there from OTL at this point. Thomas Hobbes, meanwhile, is in Frondeur Paris, desperate to leave in case the city is attacked by the forces of the Queen and Cardinal Mazarin, but...

Completely- it's tempting to post the segment I've completed as it is a bit of a standalone interlude similar to the chapter on Brazil I posted earlier, but I think it's a little too far in the future to be worth the effort. One of the bonuses of writing a TL with fairly self-contained...

Nothing's happened yet with St Helena ITTL; just as OTL, the English and the Dutch are both sniffing around the place, but nobody's established a permanent settlement yet, and nobody is likely to do so in the immediate future, as everyone has more pressing concerns. Given the importance of the...

Indeed; even if the explosions are small by modern nuclear standards, the explosion at Torrington was still a pretty big bang, and smaller accidents, such as the ones I described when writing about TTL's fire of London, were actually pretty common. I've really been enjoying learning about the...

I think the situation can be summed up by saying that William has the men but no money, while the States have plenty of money, but no army. If the Stadtholder wants to keep his force in the field, he’ll have to resort to increasingly unscrupulous methods to do so, and this will make a peaceful...

I'll post to reply to people tomorrow but in the meantime, here's the promised map which hopefully clarifies a little of what's going on.

So, a couple of maps and pictures to add context. First up, a map of Amsterdam from the period, giving a sense of its size and also its fortifications. If you click on the picture you get the massive detailed version. Then, a picture showing what the battle of the Raging Ball might...

Chapter 32 Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down...

Fair point. I wasn’t really trying to go for anything in particular (cue Peter Snow- “Just a bit of fun! Just a bit of fun!”), and the poster is a bit of a giveaway, I agree. I figured that most people would get the reveal before it came up in the text. Couldn’t resist it though! It’s...

Good point! I think he means in terms of getting a decent majority. I’ll amend… Whoever wins it’s not going to be pretty; I think Brown could probably topple Kilroy in the end, but not in such a way as to actually benefit himself. Either way it’ll be brutal, messy and deeply unedifying for...

So, the second in my occasional series of stand-alone vignettes regarding alternative Prime Ministers; hopefully not too ridiculous compared to the last one, although certainly with more homo-eroticism.... Part 1 can be found here. "It's good to share, but sometimes it pays to shaft" ****...

Glad you enjoyed it- was quite fun to write. Pankhurst was a fascinating woman- you don't get that many conservative lesbian feminist evangelical christian terrorists, after all! I honestly think that she's the best candidate if you want to go for an early female PM- certainly has a better...

Glad you liked it! Just a bit of fun really; nothing too involved but it's an idea I've had bouncing around in my head for a while. It's nice to have a quick break from the 17th century. 500 or so people change their votes during the 1918 General Election, allowing Christabel Pankhurst to...