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.
Readers Comments
“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 impres-sive 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 NEEDLE CAN MEND
by Eliza Redgold
One of the most famous relics of the 11th century is the Bayeux Tapestry. It is called a tapestry, but in fact it is an embroidery. It is nearly 70 metres (230ft) long, and 50 centimetres (20in) in height, and comprises of fifty scenes stitched on linen with coloured woollen yarns. It is kept, now, in a museum near Bayeux Cathedral in Normandy, where Odo, Duke William’s half-brother, was bishop. Some say it was Odo who commanded the Tapestry made, perhaps it was, perhaps it wasn’t. We don’t know. At initial glance it seems to tell a straightforward story of the events that led to the Norman Conquest, and the Battle itself. But there is so much we do not understand: why the little figures in the upper and lower borders? Who were the few people named – Turold, the dwarf, and the woman, Alfgyva? Annoyingly, the makers did not include explanatory footnotes. The Tapestry is a beautiful thing, even today its colours are bright and vibrant. It has survived wars and fires, and the skill that went into making it is as wondrous to us now, as it must have been back then, at some time soon after October 1066. The women who stitched it – for there was more than one hand responsible for its creation – put more than just thread into those scenes. There is sadness, loyalty, and love stitched there. But who designed it? Whose was the mind behind the Tapestry’s creation?
This is how Eliza’s short story about the Tapestry starts:
‘Naked!’ I wriggled with a mixture of horror and delight as I stared up at my grandmother, my arms clutched around my knees. ‘Tell me again, Gammer.’
My grandmother laughed. In the flickering firelight she looked like a young girl as she sat and stitched. ‘I’ve told you the story a thousand times, little Elf.’
‘Tell me again,’ I begged. I hated to miss any part of the story.
‘As a Saxon noblewoman it was my right to choose whom I would marry,’ she began, as she always did. ‘That will be your right too, Edith.’
My own marriage seemed very far away. ‘You chose grandfather.’ With my own mother gone, I spent many weeks with Gammer in Coventry, in her beautiful hall.
‘Yes, I chose Leofric,’ my grandmother said. The firelight caught the glimmer of her needle as she sewed, her stitches becoming faster. ‘I didn’t want to, at first. But many Saxon women have done what I was called to do. You know the name such women are given, those who marry to end war, or to bring lands and loyalties together. They are the fripwebba. Peace weavers.’
‘Peace weavers.’ I repeated the word slowly. I’d heard of them, of course. Many a night we sat at high table in Coventry hall, listening to the gleeman. My grandmother liked to hear the tale of Beowulf and Queen Wealtheow, the first fripwebba.
My grandmother chuckled. ‘My marriage to Leofric was anything but peaceful.’
‘Because of the ride.’
‘Among other things. But who would want to marry a tame man?’
‘Why did he make you ride…naked?’ This time my voice hushed on the word, even though I knew the answer.
She was quiet for a moment, deep in thought, though she didn’t drop a stitch. ‘Because of the taxes. Leofric raised the heregild tax on the town of Coventry, to make up for funds Mercia had lost during the wars with the Danes. I knew these taxes would break my people, already threatened by famine. But Leofric would not listen. I begged him not impose the tax and to repeal the law. He refused. I persisted. I begged. Finally I declared that if he would revoke the tax I would ride in my shift as a penitent through the streets of Coventry.’
‘Wearing only your shift!’ I fingered the fine linen of my own shift beneath my tunic. It was thin, delicate. I would not like to ride in it. I preferred my leather leggings.
‘I never dreamt he would take me at my word, or that he would dare me to do worse. He commanded me to ride –’
‘Naked!’ I broke in.
Gammer laughed. ‘Your grandfather underestimated me.’
Where to Buy
Find your copy at 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 be-fore 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 se-ries 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 Merci-ans. 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 Sun-day 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 (Am-berley 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 dur-ing 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 Har-lequin 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 nov-el. 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 sci-ence 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 be-came 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, pub-lished 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 Dev-on. 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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