A sneak preview of my new timeline...
- Thread starter EdT
- Start date
On the whole, I beg to differ, but it's hard to tell from his short career. I rejoice at the POD, nonetheless because it may encourage another of my late Victorian favs, Joseph Chamberlain. And of course, you know that Winston's antic are going to be great!
Can't wait for it!
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The shortness of his career should tell you all you need to know about his political judgement.
I must confess I am a bit Macmillan-esque today.
I believe recent history has demonstrated that that is no obstacle at all to becoming Prime Minister
Recent history?
Can't agree more with all of those. Randolph was a ridiculous opportunist, with some very dangerous ideas. Which is why he makes an interesting subject for a TL of course
I do think that British politics throws mavericks like Churchill (both of them really), Mosley, Powell etc up occasionally; all of them have the potential to be massively influential, but in OTL the majority of them don't quite make it to high office. This is probably for the best.
I see the thing I'm writing now very much as a spiritual prequel to "A Greater Britain"; indeed, I do have vague notions of having a sort of trilogy of TLs based on the subject of British political mavericks. I'd love to do an Enoch Powell one, but I think that the superlative "If Gordon Banks had Played" has more then matched anything that I could produce. I have a third subject in mind should I want to do another TL however...
Another EdT work...I can't bloody wait!
You may have to wait for a little while I'm afraid- I'm still in the late planning stages of the TL at present, although I will hopefully begin writing sections soon. I intend to get as much done as possible before I start publishing it this time, as otherwise I risk running out of momentum and not finishing the thing in one go!
Thande
Donor
I'm intrigued now. Same sort of era as Powell, I assume?
Alternatively, I'd be interested to see your treatment of the opposite, a prominent OTL politician not gaining high office. The possibility of John Smith not dying and Blair remaining obscure has been raised before, for example, but I don't think anyone's ever done a proper timeline about it...
I'm going to do it. When I finally get my act together...
[Doing it, actually, just haven't got my nose down to grindstone yet.]
Thande
Donor
I wouldn't say Mosley was obscure, more that people tend to dismiss him as "that fascist bloke" and ignore his earlier career. I think the major purpose of EdT's other work was to challenge our hindsight assumptions (he said as much in the introduction).
maverick
Banned
And that was what I've always liked about his work...
I'm just saying that there are some guys that never served in a cabinet and never had a real chance, despite their talent or capabilities (like Mosley) and others like RAB Butler and Lord Halifax...obscure characters getting into power is always a fascinating topic, nonetheless, and I always try to use it, as anyone should...
If we're talking about mavericks, then the obvious choice would be 'Alan Clark - PM' (Which I would just love to see as a good TL, btw.)
I think it's probably for the best that he never rose to real prominence in OTL, but it's a fucking disgrace that he never got into the Cabinet under Thatcher. (frankly) Shows you just how constrained (or willing to be constrained) Thatcher really was in a lot of areas. I'm sure he would never have got Defence under anyone but the most die-hard PM, because the military establishment would have just kicked up too much of a fuss. Of course, he didn't help his own cause on many an occassion...
btw, my second project which I have in mind is an SDP-wank which I've taken suggestions on before, I believe, so I call first dibs on David Owen.
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That sounds like a very interesting TL... Looking forward to that too!
I have a few candidates in mind. One is a little too recent (and would be a bit silly from the point of view of OTL, although plausible in my eyes), and the other two are a little further back. Neither are obvious lost PMs...
Well, he dd get a cameo in AGB for precisely this reason! A Clark premiership would be 'fun', although I pity whoever would have to clear up the mess afterwards!
btw, my second project which I have in mind is an SDP-wank which I've taken suggestions on before, I believe, so I call first dibs on David Owen.
Thatcher loses the Falklands or something, I assume? Of course, David Penhaligon's death is probably butterlfied away...
Thande
Donor
If it's anything like the last one, the TL will run from the date of the POD to exactly fifty years later.
The PoD's in 1876 and things will really start to diverge from the mid 1880s onwards. I haven't quite decided when it will run until, but the main narrative will probably end around the turn of the century. Let's go for "1876-1905ish" - I'll probably also have an epilogue featuring Winston set in the 1920s or 1930s.
That's the one...