Alternate History: Explain the Book

[Goats-&-Bolts]

The Half Blood Prince

A 2021 biography of Sergei Kotov, son of a Russian mother and a Ghanan nobleman father.

The book explores Kotov’s life, from his abandonment at a Soviet orphanage to his communist education and struggles with discrimination to his life in post-U.S.S.R. Russia and the sudden revelation of his true heritage, cumulating in his royal coronation and entry into African politics. Sergei would go on to participate in the 2012 presidential election in Ghana and achieve a narrow win, opening a new and unusual chapter in Ghana’s history.

A Jihad Wrapped in Purple — Historiography of Byzantium‘s Islamic Palaiologans

 

[GoshDiggityDangit]

A Jihad Wrapped in Purple — Historiography of Byzantium‘s Islamic Palaiologans

A Jihad Wrapped in Purple — Historiography of Byzantium‘s Islamic Palaiologans is a historical account of the late Palaiologan dynasty of Thessalonica, written by Stephen Carpenter in 1999. The conversion of Andronikos Palaiologos of Thessalonica to Islam in the 1420s, under increasing duress from the Ottomans, led to yet another split in the crumbling Byzantine Empire. Andronikos' forces were impressed into the Ottoman military and made to attack other Byzantines - the Thessalonian forces were conclusively defeated 1422. Andronikos was, as could be expected, essentially disowned and shunned by his family in Constantinople.

The Iron Eagle - A Soldier's Account

 

[treefreak32]

The Iron Eagle - A Soldier's Account

The diary of US Army Colonel and future President Theodore Roosevelt, a veteran of the Second Great War (1886-1893). Fought between the Entente powers of Britain, France, and the Free States of America against the US-German-Austrian-Russian Axis powers, the war was a chaotic affair. Roosevelt's account is largely considered the best account written about the American front, and is widely held as an example of honest yet optimistic war recording. The novel became a popular propaganda piece for the Free States during the 3rd and 4th Great Wars.

The Prisoner of Wight

 

[Lycaon pictus]

The Prisoner of Wight

An account of the imprisonment of General Napoleon Bonaparte, from his capture in 1798 en route to Egypt to his return to the French Republic in 1828, one year before his death and ten years after the end of the last attempt to reinstate the Bourbons by force.

The Pirates of Penzance

 

[PolishMagnet]

The Pirates of Penzance

A history of a fishermen's group in Penzance, first formed to dodge taxes on boats, which evolved into a smuggling gang and later a Cornish independence activist group named the Cornish Boatmen's Association. Referred to by its detractors as the "Pirates of Penzance", the group's hold of public imagination led to an upswing in the use of Cornish language in public, as well as support for opposing English rule. When the United Kingdom reformed into the Imperial Federation, Cornwall was recognised as a distinct community with Cornish as its language.

Mon Droit: the Red Bible

 

[John Spangler]

Mon Droit: the Red Bible

A book written during the late 1700s, commonly attributed to the Marquis De Sade. The book is basically a treaty on how society should be organized on intelligence and vampirism, with the smartest people as the ruling class, whose power and wit would then be kept by drinking the blood of the lower classes. Although most people see the book as nothing more than the ramblings of a deranged individual, over the years many cults took inspiration from the Red Bible.

Teddy Roosevelt's guide to haunted castles

 

[treefreak32]

Teddy Roosevelt's guide to haunted castles

Future FSA President Theodore Roosevelt famously referred to the seats held by aging, lifelong congressmen as "Haunted Castles". This book by Roosevelt biographer Mike Resnick chronicles how Roosevelt's Liberty party dethroned these congressmen and eventually achieved dominance over FSA politics through to the 1950s.

(OOC: I couldn't resist making the two Roosevelt books be set in the same universe!)

1784: A Satire

 

[The_Persian_Cat]

1784: A Satire

A novel written by Azra Sultan, a favourite wife of Sultan Mustafa IV of the Ottoman Empire. Written in response to European philosophical novels like Montesquieu's Persian Letters or Marana's Letters Writ By A Turkish Spy, Azra Sultan writes an epistolary novel of her own, written from the perspective of a fictional French diplomat visiting Constantinople in the Christian year 1784, and commenting on the affairs of Ottoman society. While employing a lot of the style and form of European literature of the time -- for example, this was an early use of literary prose, at a time when poetry was more respected in the Islamic world -- it was a critique of European society and its supposed "Enlightenment" at least as much as it satirised Ottoman conventions.
Azra Sultan dedicated this text sarcasticaly to Voltaire, saying "One always feels more intelligent while reading his work" -- a backhanded compliment if ever their was one. Azra Sultan -- who was born Olivia della Greca, in Ottoman Dalmatia; and who joined the Imperial Harem as a teenager -- notably wrote 1784 in her native Venetian. She did this despite being well-versed in Persian, Arabic, Turkish, and Greek, in order to ensure her work could find the Western audience it was intended to mock.

A True & Accurate Account of Nothing of Importance

 

[Imperial Inkstand-filler]

A True & Accurate Account of Nothing of Importance

A True & Accurate Account of Nothing of Importance, by Joachim Pfÿffer (1576), is the only known account of the enigmatic Neuchaff culture. Pfÿffer, born in Füssen in southern Germany, was the scion of south German and Flemish merchants of middling local importance. The young Joachim spent much of his early life working in the family business of purchasing and transporting metals mined in south Germany. In 1569, Joachim made his way to Naples, then eventually to Lisbon, where he became a part of an expedition to the Indies. In 1572, Joachim was part of an encounter on a small island with a previously unknown group of people. Joachim would go on to publish his account of this encounter as A True & Accurate Account of Nothing of Importance.

Unlike other Europeans publishing tales of foreign lands, Joachim approaches his description of the isle with the eye of a trained speculator. Although he does not understand the native language, and thus provides little of the native voice, he gives surprisingly frank descriptions of local food, drink, public ceremonies, architecture, and even religious practices. Of particular note is his lavish description of the “Khan’s Palace” of the island, revealing an eye for detail and a surprisingly sophisticated material culture.

Joachim’s publishing career would prove a failure, and A True & Accurate Account of Nothing of Importance would become virtually unknown for several centuries. In 1896, however, monks in the monastery of Innichen Abbey in South Tyrol discovered the book and supplied it to several universities. Dismissed at the time as a fanciful and fictional account, Joachim’s descriptions gained traction in 1961, when researchers from the University of Dublin discovered sophisticated masonry ruins dating from between 1300 and 1600 CE sunken off the coast of the Micronesian island of Nukaf. Several specific points of Joachim’s description appear to line up with the archaeology of this site, leading to many scholars speculating that Joachim may have legitimately interacted with this culture. The seeming collapse of this culture, seemingly due to environmental catastrophe, within 50 years of Joachim’s keen observations has made them a vital and seemingly sole source of insight.

The Vivar Cycle, or The Matter of Valencia

 

[The_Persian_Cat]

The Vivar Cycle, or The Matter of Valencia

A chanson de geste completed in 1555 by Jofré Ginovart, "the Bard of Valencia." Ginovart was writing at a time when medieval styles were falling out of fashion, being replaced by a revival of Classical styles (in what we would today call the Renaissance). What's more, the newly-unified Kingdom of Spain was actively promoting Castilianisation -- standardising the Castilian language, having all official and legal business conducted in Castilian, even going so far as to call it "Spanish" -- and thereby marginalising languages like Catalan, Basque, and so on (not to mention what they did to speakers of Arabic, Hebrew, Ladino, Mozarabic, etc).

Ginovart wrote the Matter of Valencia as a heroic epic in the Catalan language, in the style of the Matter of Rome, Matter of France, or Matter of Britain -- eschewing the Renaissance styles made fashionable by Dante and Petrarch. In it, he tells the tale of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (better known as "El Cid") -- but rather than depict him as an ideal monarch of the Reconquista or Crusades, he depicts him as an ideal medieval king, emphasising his more legendary or fantastical exploits involving fairies and giants. Ginovart also chose to highlight the cosmopolitan nature of El Cid's court; that El Cid was a most holy Christian lord, but he served all his subjects of all faiths and nations. As Arthur had his Knights of the Round Table; as Charlemagne had his Twelve Paladins; so too did El Cid win the loyalty of diverse heroes. This was controversial with the Spanish Crown, and moreso with the Inquisition.

Although Ginovart is often called the "Bard of Valencia," he actually wrote his Vivar Cycle in England, under the patronage of Queen Elizabeth I. After the failed invasion of the Spanish Armada of 1556, Ginovart's work was the subject of much interest in England. He's largely credited with keeping the medieval traditions of bards and troubadours alive in England and the rest of Protestant Northern Europe. The Vivar Cycle would also inspire one of Shakespeare's most famous historical plays: Rodrigo & Teshufin, focussing on the gallant chivalric rivalry between El Cid and Sultan Yusuf ibn Tashfin (the Almoravid sultan of Morocco & Andalusia). This would be the play which would introduce the character of Othello -- a Moorish knight whose gallantry stands in contrast to his "heathenry." Although a minor character in Rodrigo & Teshufin, Othello would be so popular that Shakespeare would give him his own spin-off, which recounts his adventures in Venice and his tragic love for a Christian woman.

Sherlock Holmes & the Half-Blood Prince

 

[Jonathan]

Sherlock Holmes & the Half-Blood Prince

The year is 1901 and Queen Victoria has died, leading to Edward to become king, however he fears that an affair at Oxford has led to a bastard boy being born, but where is the half blood Prince now?
Sherlock Holmes is recruited to find him. His search will take him all over Britain and Europe with his trusted assistant, Dr John Watson.
The discovery that the mother was Lady Caroline Gordon-Lennox, descendant of Charles II, made him a sort after claimant to the throne for the Catholic countries of Austrians and Italians, which is threatening to push the continent into War.

1984: Year of the Flies.

 

[MarquessAngewoah]

1984: Year of the Flies.

In 1934, it predicted that in 1984, there would be too many people in the world, and the world would descend into chaos, fighting over recourses and other items. It predicted the world would become filled with humans, or flies, which would overpopulate and the world would be overcrowded and the world would simply end, in a dramatic adjourning.

The Crown of Nightshades

 

[treefreak32]

The Crown of Nightshades

A work of historical fiction by 20th century Mughal writer Bhavana Tanu Chaudhri about the rise of the legendary and beloved of Shah Jahan III, and his tumultuous relationship with his wife and lover Sarfaraz Mahal, and her eventual affair with the Englishman Robert Hargreaves, and the ensuing scandal it caused. The title is derived from a poem by D.H. Lawrence[1].

[1] Not really, I just wanted an origin for the title.

American Caligula

 

[GoshDiggityDangit]

American Caligula

American Caligula is a recounting of the presidency of Andrew Jackson, 17th president of the United States. His presidency has widely been decried for his undermining of civil rights for African-Americans, and author J. W. Shephard equates the vicious racism that spread under his administration to the tyranny of Caligula. Shephard then shifts focus to Ulysses S. Grant, whom he equates to the rule of Claudius.

Them Damn Whipper-Snappers!

 

[Gentleman Johnny]

Them Damn Whipper-Snappers!

This is a satirical piece, designed to poke fun at both the older and younger generations of the modern day. While it was meant to bridge the gap between generations, instead it has only been used as a weapon by both sides to prove their point to the other. The author attempted to write more books in a similar vein, but after the disaster that was his first, he has moved on to other projects, attempting to distance himself from the tragedy.



The Battle for New York in the Great War

 

[John Spangler]

The Battle for New York in the Great War

A book by Canadian historians Geoff Kennedy jr about the eponymous battle, which saw the invading German army against the American troops. The battle ended with huge losses on both sides, and forced the Germans to retreat to their strongholds in the Carolinas. They would be later be driven out of the US, and then begrudgingly agree to a peace treaty.

Of Spaghetti and Men

 

[Nobodyydobon]

Of Spaghetti and Men

An autobiography written by Nieuw Amsterdam native and descendant of Italian immigrants Luca "Luuk" Russo. It details Russo's life in the "Foreign Quarter" of Nieuw Amsterdam, His experience working in his Father's pasta restaurant, and the prejudice he experienced as an Italian Catholic within a majority Dutch Calvinist city. The book was praised due to its capturing of life in the diverse city of Nieuw Amsterdam, and its respect given to the traditions of the city's Jewish, English and Asian minorities.

Italia and Al Siqilliya: Eternal Brothers and Rivals

 

[GoshDiggityDangit]

Italia and Al Siqilliya: Eternal Brothers and Rivals

Italia and Al Siqilliya: Eternal Brothers and Rivals is a 1997 historical recounting of the storied history of the Kingdom of Italy and the Emirate of Sicily. Separated by religion and language, the two were at any given time close trading partners or at the other's throat. However, like France and England, the two nations' incessant bickering underpinned a deep relationship. When the going got tough for Italy, Sicily could be counted on as an ally, and vice-versa. All this would come to a close when the Kingdom of Italy collapsed in 1922, and Al Siqilliya was annexed by the Ottomans in 1930.

Bertha's Big Biscayne Cookbook

 

[treefreak32]

Bertha's Big Biscayne Cookbook

Celebrity chef Bertha Washington (host of Bertha's World Kitchen on the American Broadcasting Network) released this cookbook in 2006, helping to popularize Biscayne food for Americans. It also represented a turning point politically, as it coincided with Washington's television show doing a week-long special in the Basque Republic, the first time an American show had been allowed to film in the nation following its independence in the aftermath of the third Pan-European War.

A History of Modern Imperial Architecture

 

[DeltaEnterprise252]

Book written by Carl Bade about architecture across the modern British Empire. The British Empire had endured although it would have to delegate much of its power to the local componenets each of whom had their own backgrounds that led to unique mix of designs that would be some of the most ivisted tourists locations in the world.

Rising from nothing: the Unifier