One of the problems – or, perhaps, the best things – about Gothic Horror is that it does tend to be sad. Usually, there are at least one or two characters who don’t deserve whatever is happening to them, or who have done something which is being punished in a way which does not in any way fit the crime. M.R. James’s writing is perhaps a constant reiteration of the old proverb, “curiosity killed the cat”, but curiosity in itself isn’t a bad thing; while Jonathan Harker in Bram Stoker’s Dracula finds himself in the initial dangerous situation through no fault of his own. Perhaps the saddest story in this anthology is The Lady Who Dances in the Ashes , which was first published by Sley House in Tales of Sley House 2022 . Here is the story of a man who is facing professional and financial ruin as a result of suggesting that mental health patients can be treated in the community rather than institutionalised. He is one of the most sympathetic narrators you will find in the book, but he bad...
Review
My experience of short stories is more in writing them than in reading them, although some I have read and enjoyed have stayed with me for a long time. In almost every instance, I have read a book of short stories by a specific author (Neil Gaiman's excellent offerings on this spring to mind) and, in that case, it is more akin to reading a novel.
By contrast, this is a book which brings together eight different authors, who provide their own unique perspectives and areas of expertise. The first thing I noticed about them as a list is that they are mostly female, with only one male author included. This is reflected in many of the stories, which take a very female perspective.
The concept of alternate history is one I can definitely buy into. As an author, I very nearly indulged in it myself when I was writing a historical novel and the actual history was just too sad. We all engage in alternate history on a nearly-daily basis too, thinking about the paths not taken and wondering where they might have led us.
Each of these authors has found their own little niche - their own question to ask, where a different answer would have changed the world, although in some cases - even with the change in history - the world they created seems to have found its way back to "normal".
I have a natural bias towards the first story (Vercingetorix's Virgin) in the book, written by my sister and fellow Crowvus-ite, Virginia Crow. It isn't a time period which grabs my attention particularly, but I loved the way that the women in the story develop and grow throughout.
Another favourite was Elizabeth K. Corbett's Marie Thérèse Remembers. Strong women again, you see? And I left it wanting to know more about what actually happened, because it convinced me that I could have been reading narrative non-fiction rather than an imaginative story.
Between these two bookends are a range of different ideas, some of which worked better than others - for me, at any rate. I have a personal interest in the Tudor period, and found those stories interesting and engaging. The two set during the American War of Independence (or Revolution - what do we call it?!) didn't manage to pique my imagination so well. Perhaps just a result of not knowing the history so well. The two medieval stories have a lot to offer, but I was sorry to see Empress Matilda taken out of her own story in a book which otherwise dwells on strong women through history.
For my own part, I found moving between the different authors' styles and voices to be slightly challenging, but that would be the case with any anthology.
I have no doubt that there is something in this book for everyone, and I would recommend it for anyone who enjoys historical fiction. What is abundantly clear is that each of these authors knows their own time period very well: that's the only way that they can create alternate history which is believable. And they never fail to challenge you - the reader - to ask the same What If? questions of history.
Blurb
We all know the past is the past, but what if you could change history?
We asked eight historical authors to set aside the facts and rewrite the history they love. The results couldn’t be more tantalizing.
What if Julius Caesar never conquered Gaul?
What if Arthur Tudor lived and his little brother never became King Henry VIII?
What if Abigail Adams persuaded the Continental Congress in 1776 to give women the right to vote and to own property?
Dive in to our collection of eight short stories as we explore the alternate endings of events set in ancient Rome, Britain, the United States, and France.
An anthology of the Historical Writers Forum.
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