Alternate history is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events happen differently than they did in reality, exploring fictional narratives of how the world might have developed had pivotal moments unfolded another way.
Facts
Place of Origin Notable ExampleCastello Holford's Aristopia (1895) is named as the first novel-length alternate history in English. 1 Defining TraitA subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events happen differently than they did in reality, generally requiring a point of divergence from the historical record, a resulting change, and an examination of the consequences. 1 Connections
In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: France, originated there.
Sources
1. Alternate history (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead paragraph
Alternate history (also alternative history, allohistory, althist, or simply A.H.) is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events happen differently than they did in reality.
19th century section
The first novel-length alternate history in English is Castello Holford's Aristopia (1895).
19th century section, earliest widely read example
One of the earliest works of alternate history to reach a large audience was Louis Geoffroy's Histoire de la Monarchie universelle: Napoléon et la conquête du monde (1812-1832) (History of the Universal Monarchy: Napoleon and the Conquest of the World) (1836).
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