1066 Turned Upside Down
By Joanna Courtney,
Helen Hollick, Anna Belfrage, Richard Dee, G.K. Holloway,
Carol
McGrath, Alison Morton, Eliza Redgold, Annie Whitehead
With a foreword by C.C. Humphreys
Have you ever wondered what might have happened
if William the Conqueror had been beaten at Hastings in 1066? Or if Harald
Hardrada had won at Stamford Bridge? Or if Edward the Confessor had died with
an heir ready to take his crown? If so – here is the perfect set of short
stories for you.
1066 Turned Upside Down explores a variety of
ways in which that momentous year could have played out very differently.
Written by nine well-known authors the stories
will take you on a journey through the speculative ‘what
ifs?’
of England’s most famous year in
history.
What readers are saying about 1066 Upside Down:
“1066 Turned
Upside Down is the exemplar for how analytical counterfactual history should be
done, combining the best elements of fiction and non-fiction to create an
immensely impressive achievement.”
“As a
collection, the quality of the writing is exceptional and the variety of possible
outcomes presented is truly fascinating.”
“The
collection is assembled in such a way that between the ‘alternatives’
are the related facts as they happened, as far as historians and archaeologists
know – which still leaves room for these experienced writers’ imaginations.”
“A book I will
read and re-read. I heartily recommend it”
“The real joy
of a collection of stories like this is, of course, that you are likely to be
introduced to writers you may not have come across before.”
✧ Excerpt ✧
THE DRAGON-TAILED STAR
by Carol McGrath
Harold Godwinson, as Earl of Essex and then Wessex, had taken Edith Swanneck as a common-law wife. By her he had several sons and daughters – all legitimate, for this was a legal marriage, but not one blessed by the Church. Harold set his first wife aside, however, when he became King, for he needed to confirm an alliance with the earls of northern England, and the only way to do so was to take their sister as wife. It must have been hard for his sons and daughters by that first wife to accept the second. Harder still for them to realise that he was now vulnerable to outside threats and maybe even attempted murder…
Thea found a suitable saddle and bridle and harnessed Lady as the horse contentedly munched hay. Thankful that the stable boys were too busy with the king’s horses to notice her, Thea led the mare from the stables, mounted, and arranging her woollen gown so that it fell with some modesty over her legs, she trotted past a few more riders entering through the abbey gateway, her hood drawn close about her face.
‘Keep to the side! Allow way for King Harold’s thanes!’ someone called after her. Thea raised an arm in acknowledgement, then patting Lady’s neck she trotted out of the gates and, kicking into a canter, went along the Roman road until she discovered a pathway that led into the woods. She was pleased to be amongst trees without attendants, spring sunshine caressing her back, and bird song all around. No one cared about her and, after all, who would miss her for an hour or two? Grandmother Gytha would be with the king and his wife. She was a traitor, not only to Thea and her sister, packed off to Wilton Abbey for her education, but to her brothers who had been sent to the Irish court, and to her mother, the most beautiful of all mothers, Elditha of the long swan-like neck. Thinking mutinous thoughts, Thea cantered on through the woods, avoiding overhanging branches, quieting her mind with the scent of fresh grass, primroses, and dandelions clustered over banks and alongside ditches. Slowing to a walk, she glimpsed a pale blue spring sky, decorated with small clouds that drifted above the new-budded beech trees like puffs of white smoke. She met no one else as she rode along the winding deer tracks, but coming to a fast-flowing river, she realised that the shadows had lengthened and there was now a chill in the air, making the wood feel less friendly. She turned Lady around and following her mare’s hoof prints, headed back to the bishop’s grand palace.
As Thea trotted through the abbey gates the Vespers bell was ringing. If she hurried she could still attend the service. Handing Lady to a stable boy, giving sharp orders to rub her down and not to feed her too many oats, she made her way up wooden stairs to the chamber she was to share with her grandmother. She would clean her dusty boots, change her stockings and throw on her best cloak. Her gown smelt a little of horse sweat, but no one would notice. Grandmother would already be seated at the front of the abbey church. Thea planned to slip in quietly and pretend that she had been with Lady in the stables, or maybe she could say she had fallen asleep in one of the side chapels? It would only be half a lie, and after all, did it matter whether the peace of the woods, or prayer to Our Lady had quietened her unsettling anger?
Grandmother, however, was not at Vespers. She stood erect in the middle of the chamber, her face the colour of bleached linen. The countesses’ maids, equally pale-faced and weeping gathered around her. Gytha stamped her stick into the floor rushes, scattering camomile and wisps of straw. ‘Where have you been, child? Gadding about the abbey gardens, no doubt, wasting your time in idleness as your father lies ill in his chamber.’
What happens? Does Harold survive? Find out in 1066 Turned Upside Down.
✧ Purchase Links ✧
Universal Purchase Links (the link will take you to your favourite online bookstore).
1066
Turned Upside Down is a collection of eleven alternative history short stories
of a ‘what if’ nature imagined by nine well-known successful authors:
JOANNA COURTNEY Ever
since Joanna sat up in her cot with a book, she’d wanted to be a writer and cut her publication teeth on short
stories and serials for the women’s magazines before signing to PanMacmillan in 2014 for her
three-book series The Queens of the Conquest about the wives of the men
fighting to be King of England in 1066. Her second series, written for Piatkus
is Shakespeare’s Queens exploring the
real history of three of the bard’s greatest female characters – Lady Macbeth, Ophelia and Cordelia.
Joanna’s fascination with historical writing is in finding the similarities
between us and them –with an especial goal to provide a female take on some of
the greatest stories we think we know. www.joannacourtney.com
ALISON MORTON writes
the award-winning alternative fiction Roma Nova thriller series featuring
tough, but compassionate heroines. She blends her deep love of Roman history
with six years’ military service and a
life of reading crime, historical, adventure and thriller fiction. A ‘Roman nut’
since age 11, she started wondering what a modern Roman
society would be like if run by strong women. She has recently branched out
into a contemporary crime setting with Double Identity, the first of a planned
series.
www.alison-morton.com/
ANNA BELFRAGE Had Anna
been allowed to choose, she’d
have become a time-traveller. As this was impossible, Anna has authored the
acclaimed time travelling series The Graham Saga, set in 17th century Scotland
and Maryland, as well as the equally acclaimed medieval series The King’s Greatest Enemy set in 14th century England. Anna has also
published The Wanderer, a fast-paced contemporary romantic suspense trilogy
with paranormal and time-slip ingredients. His Castilian Hawk - returning to
medieval times and her most recent release, The Whirlpools of Time, a time
travel romance set against the backdrop of brewing rebellion in the Scottish
highlands. Anna has won several awards including various Gold, Silver and
Bronze Coffee Pot Book Club awards. www.annabelfrage.com
ANNIE WHITEHEAD is an
historian and prize-winning author. Her main interest in history is the period
formerly known as the ‘Dark
Ages’. Her first novel, To Be A Queen, is the story of Aethelflaed
(daughter of Alfred the Great), who came to be known as the Lady of the
Mercians. Alvar the Kingmaker, tells the story of Aelfhere of Mercia, a
nobleman in the time of King Edgar. Cometh the Hour goes further back in time
to the seventh century, to tell the story of Penda, the last pagan king of
Mercia. Annie has twice been a prizewinner in the Mail on Sunday Novel Writing
competition, she won first prize for nonfiction in the new Writing Magazine
Poetry and Prose competition, and was the inaugural winner of the HWA
(Historical Writers’ Association)/Dorothy
Dunnett Society Short Story Competition and is now a judge for that same competition.
Annie
has had two nonfiction books published. Mercia: The Rise and Fall of a Kingdom
(Amberley Books) has been an Amazon #1 Bestseller. Women of Power in
Anglo-Saxon England was published by Pen & Sword Books in 2020.
www.anniewhiteheadauthor.co.uk
CAROL
McGRATH is the author of The Daughters of Hastings
Trilogy. Her fifth historical novel, The Silken Rose, first in The Rose
Trilogy, published by the Headline Group, is set during the High Middle Ages.
It features Ailenor of Provence and was published in 2020. The Damask Rose
about Eleanor of Castile was published in 2021. The Stone Rose, Isabella of
France, follows in 2022. Carol has also written Historical Non-Fiction for Pen
& Sword.
www.carolcmcgrath.co.uk
ELIZA REDGOLD is an
author and ‘romantic academic’. Her bestselling historical fiction includes her Ladies of Legend
trilogy, starting with Naked: A Novel of Lady Godiva released internationally
by St Martin’s Press, New York. Her
historical romances are published by Harlequin Historical, London (Harper
Collins). They include Playing the Duke’s Mistress, Enticing Benedict Cole, The Scandalous Suffragette and
The Master’s New Governess. They
have been translated into multiple languages including Italian, Polish, Czech,
Danish and Swedish, and are available internationally.
www.elizaredgold.com
G.K. HOLLOWAY After
graduating from Coventry University with an honours degree in history and
politics, he worked in education in and around Bristol, England, where he now
lives. After reading a biography about Harold Godwinson, he studied the late
Anglo-Saxon era in detail. When he had enough material to weave together facts
and fiction he produced his novel. 1066 What Fates Impose, a story of family
feuds, court intrigues, assassinations, plotting and scheming, loyalty and
love, all ingredients in an epic struggle for the English crown. www.gkholloway.co.uk
HELEN HOLLICK moved
from London in 2013 and now lives on a thirteen-acre farm in North Devon,
England. Born in London, Helen wrote pony stories as a teenager, moved to
science fiction and fantasy, and then discovered the wonder of historical
fiction. Published since 1994 with her Arthurian Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy, followed by her 1066 era duo. She became a USA
Today bestseller with her story of Queen Emma: The Forever Queen (titled A
Hollow Crown in the UK), and its companion novel, Harold the King (titled I Am
the Chosen King in the U.S.A). She also writes the Sea Witch Voyages, a series
of pirate-based nautical adventures with a touch of fantasy. Commissioned by
Amberley Press she wrote a non-fiction book about pirates in fact, fantasy and
fiction and a non-fiction book about smugglers, published by Pen and Sword.
Recently
she has ventured into the ‘Cosy
Mystery’
genre with her Jan Christopher Mysteries, the first of
which is A Mirror Murder. She runs Discovering Diamonds, an independent online
review site for Historical Fiction, primarily aimed at showcasing Indie
writers.
She
occasionally gets time to write. www.helenhollick.net
RICHARD DEE was a
Master Mariner and ship’s
pilot, now living in Brixham, South Devon.
His novels include Science Fiction and Steampunk adventures, as well as
the exploits of Andorra Pett, a reluctant amateur detective. www.richarddeescifi.co.uk
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