Alternative history is in general classified as a
type of science fiction, but it also bears some
relation to historical fiction. This type of writing
describes an imaginary world that is identical to
ours up to a certain point in history, but at that
point, the two worlds diverge; some important
historical event takes place in one world but not
in the other, and they go in different directions.
Alternative histories might describe worlds in
which the Roman Empire had never fallen, in
which the Spanish Armada had been victorious,
or in which the South had won the Civil War.
Or, they may suppose that some technology had
been introduced earlier in the world’s history
than actually happened. For example: What if
computers had been invented in Victorian times?
Many readers find these stories interesting
because of the way they stimulate the imagination
and get them thinking about the phenomenon
of cause and effect in history.
Alternative
history
is
in general
classified as a
type of science fiction,
but
it
also
bears
some
relation to historical fiction. This type of writing
describes
an imaginary
world
that is
identical to
ours up to a certain point in
history
,
but
at that
point, the two
worlds
diverge;
some
important
historical
event
takes place in one
world
but
not
in the other, and they go in
different
directions.
Alternative
histories
might
describe
worlds
in
which the Roman Empire had never fallen, in
which the Spanish Armada had been victorious,
or in which the South had won the Civil War.
Or, they may suppose that
some
technology had
been introduced
earlier in the
world’s
history
than actually happened.
For example
: What if
computers had
been invented
in Victorian times?
Many
readers find these stories interesting
because
of the way they stimulate the imagination
and
get
them thinking about the phenomenon
of cause and effect in
history
.