Just Finished Reading: 1066 Turned Upside Down by Various Authors (FP: 2016) [200pp] 

The events of 1066, and not just the all-important Battle of Hastings, were pivotal in English and, arguably, European history. But Hastings in particular was a very close-run thing after long hours of intense fighting. On several occasions it looked like the Normans had been beaten – but what if they had been, or what if the famous battle hadn’t taken place at all? It’s always a fun game, looking back at historical events and wondering: what if? This is especially so when the thinkers both know their subject and are willing to push the boat out (or set it afire) to examine the possibilities. Here we have 11 intriguing examples of what if – including one with an actual (wrist mounted) Time Machine. To say that they were fun is an understatement. 

From the obvious: What if Harold and the Anglo-Saxons had won at Hastings to the more interesting questions – many of which hadn’t previous crossed my mind! - the reader is presented with some pretty good (and I think often historically reasonable) alternatives. What if, for instance, after Edward the Confessors death in 1066 rather than Harold Godwinson gaining the throne, it was Edward's young great-nephew Edgar the Ætheling? What difference would that have made? What if the Norwegian King Harald Hardrada had been defeated at the Battle of Fulford and so Harold and his army were ready for William’s invasion forces? What if Harold, rather than victorious at Stamford Bridge had actually been defeated and killed and Hardrada had been declared King of England? Would William have still invaded? One of my favourite stories in this excellent collection was the time-traveller tale where Harold was distracted just at the right/wrong moment that changed everything. Unfortunately, for a pedant like me, the consequences didn’t make a whole lot of logical sense but the *idea* behind it was still fun! 

If you have any interest in 1066 or have ever wondered ‘What if’ around the many possibilities of that profound year, then this is most definitely the book for you. Don’t worry if you’re not a Science-Fiction person. There’s only one tale with a SF component and that is lightly applied. The rest are, by and large, straight alt-history scenarios without a time-machine to be seen or heard. Most enjoyable and definitely recommended.