Book Description

An ever-expanding subgenre of sf is devoted to "alternate worlds" or "alternate histories": fiction in which a crucial event goes differently than in the world we know, & history is changed. Keith Roberts's Pavane ('68) is set in a backward 20th century molded by the assassination of Queen Elizabeth I & the triumph of a militantly antiscience Catholic Church. This is a classic alternate history, in the same company as such highly regarded novels as L. Sprague De Camp's seminal Lest Darkness Fall ('41), in which a modern man slips back in time & attempts to avert the Dark Ages; Ward Moore's Bring the Jubilee ('53), set after the South wins the US Civil War; & Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle ('62), set after the Germans & Japanese win WWII. Lest Darkness Fall & The Man in the High Castle are justly famous; the other two classics, Bring the Jubilee & Pavane, are less well known, & that's a shame. One reason for Pavane's relative obscurity among American SF readers might be its British setting & author (the Moore & Dick novels are both set in the US, & De Camp, Moore & Dick were all American). Another reason might be that Pavane is a novel created from interrelated but standalone stories (6 'measures,' or novelettes, & a coda), & the stories are of varying quality. Most are wise, beautifully written & intensely visualized, especially the opener, "The Lady Margaret," & the closer, "Corfe Gate"; but "Brother John," the story of the monk-artist who witnesses Inquisition tortures & sparks an anti-Church rebellion, is far less detailed & sometimes even unclear. Another reason for the novel's obscurity may be that some of the stories/chapters have more of a fantasy feel than is typical of more recent alternate history. Also, the nature of the coda's revelations may put off some readers. Nonetheless, Pavane is an intelligent, powerful & moving work, deserving of a wide readership.--Cynthia WardPrologue (1968) story The Lady Margaret (1966) novelette (aka The Lady Anne)The Signaller (1966) novelette Brother John (1966) novelette Lords & Ladies (1966) novelette The White Boat (1966) novelette Corfe Gate (1966) novelette Coda (1968) story