An interesting topic to be discussed or
pondered over
pondered over
What If...?
by
Richard Tearle
Most of you who are reading this
(for which I thank you) will be aware of the recent anthology '1066 Turned
Upside Down' in which nine prominent authors – all experts on that period –
posed the question, 'What If...' A question which they answered with a short
story based on that premise, each one with an alternative version of the known
facts and examining what might conceivably have happened – but didn't. Suppose
William had been shipwrecked or never made it to Pevensey. Or a foreign power – albeit a fictional one
in this case – had intervened and acted as mediators. If the battle had been
delayed by a week, giving Harold a rest and enabling his forces from the north
to reinforce his growing army.
On such slender cords, real
history hangs.
Obtain from Amazon e-book only |
There is no doubt that the true
outcome of the Norman invasion changed the direction in which England was
going. Whether for better or worse in the long run is another matter however, (and another Reader's Voice topic perhaps?)
So lets play a game, you and I.
What other events in British history might have taken these islands into
entirely different realms? Literally.
The most obvious one, to me, is
the outcome of Bosworth field. My
immediate thoughts were 'Ha ha – no Tudors!' But what might have forced
a different result? Another shipwreck involving Henry Tudor's fleet before the
actual landing at Milford Haven? Stanley deciding not to switch sides at the
crucial moment? Richard reaching and slaying Tudor and surviving the battle?
Interesting, for Richard died without any heirs – but had he survived, would he have been able to produce the 'missing' princes? Or not? With a secure country, how would Richard have proceeded? Or would the so-called Wars of the Roses continued?
Interesting, for Richard died without any heirs – but had he survived, would he have been able to produce the 'missing' princes? Or not? With a secure country, how would Richard have proceeded? Or would the so-called Wars of the Roses continued?
Allow me to throw some more at
you:
What if ... Boudicca had been overall victorious over the Romans?
What if ... King Alfred had been slain by the Vikings?
What if … Elizabeth I had married Robert Dudley (or anyone else for that matter) and had children?
What if ... King Alfred had been slain by the Vikings?
What if … Elizabeth I had married Robert Dudley (or anyone else for that matter) and had children?
What if … the Gunpowder
Plot had succeeded?
What if … Waterloo had
been lost?
What if … The Japanese had
not attacked Pearl Harbour and thus brought America into the Second World War?
Answers, please, on the back of a
Twenty Pound Note to the usual address *laugh*
Except, of course, there are no
answers Which is why we ask, 'What If...'
There you are then, readers and
writers alike, the Gauntlet has been thrown down: what events might have radically
changed British history had one small thing have changed?
Discuss.
And, is there, dear authors, another anthology
in there somewhere?
© Richard Tearle
P.S. from Helen: One What If for modern times... What If Edward VIII had not abdicated the throne... given that he and Wallis Simpson produced no children - Queen Elizabeth II would still have become Queen, albeit at a much later date and age!
The Bad-Boy Hero by Helen Hollick
Do we still love Ruritania? by Alison Morton
Jane Eyre? Rebel Woman by Lucienne Boyce
Covers. Are they important? Hosted by Anna Belfrage
Where are the Women? A woeful lack of Statues by Helen Hollick
Hooray For Hollywood by Richard Tearle
Fact v Fiction by Helen Hollick
When Characters Invade Your Life by Helen Hollick
Those Troublesome Typos by Helen Hollick
What If....? by Richard Tearle
The Bad-Boy Hero by Helen Hollick
Do we still love Ruritania? by Alison Morton
Jane Eyre? Rebel Woman by Lucienne Boyce
Covers. Are they important? Hosted by Anna Belfrage
Where are the Women? A woeful lack of Statues by Helen Hollick
Hooray For Hollywood by Richard Tearle
Fact v Fiction by Helen Hollick
When Characters Invade Your Life by Helen Hollick
Those Troublesome Typos by Helen Hollick
What If....? by Richard Tearle
I love these What If scenarios - and would add a few of my own: What if Anne Boleyn had given Henry VIII a healthy son? What if Henry's elder brother Arthur had lived? Likewise, what if Charles I's elder bother had lived and become king? Moving closer to modern times, and perhaps appositely for this, Remembrance Sunday, imagine if Archduke Franz Ferdinand had survived the assassination attempt...
ReplyDeleteThanks Annie - thanks for replying: all good ones!!
DeleteAs the author of the "foreign power – albeit a fictional one in this case – [which] intervened and acted as mediators", I have to stick my oar in!
ReplyDeleteFor Romans, the big what if is if G J Caesar had not met his death in 44 BC. Eleven years earlier, in 55 BC, he crossed into Britain, claiming that the Britons had aided one of his enemies the previous year. His intelligence was duff, though. He gained a beachhead on the coast, but couldn't advance further; it's always a question of logistics when invading! He returned the following year with a larger force, advanced inland and established some alliances. However, the whatnot of fate intervened in the shape of poor harvests in Gaul which led to widespread revolts there. So Caesar was forced to leave Britain for the last time in 54 BC. Would Britannia have been different if he had succeeded or at least conquered a fair bit of the island?
Thank you, Alison - and this has to be the ultimate 'What If', doesn't it? "1066 And All That" has it that there are only two important dates in British History - 55BC and 1066 itself. If events had changed at this early time, would the Britain we know today have ever evolved? How different would it have been? makes your head hurt, doesn't it!
Delete