Alternate Endings Anthology: A Race against Time
Today, I'd like to tell you a bit about the background to my short story, A Race against Time, which is one of eight short stories included in Alternate Endings, and anthology organised through the Historical Writers Forum.
It's not the first short story I've written that's set during the Anarchy, and I'm sure it won't be the last. It's a fascinating era to return to, with so many events vying for my attention.
But for now, let me tell you about my inspiration for A Race Against Time...
A Race against Time
What if you could change the past?
My readers and author friends will know that I am somewhat obsessed with The Anarchy, the infamous mid-12th century conflict that played out in England and Normandy, following the death of King Henry I.
Henry's only legitimate male heir, William, had pre-deceased his father, dying in the wreck of The White Ship on 25th November 1120. So by the time Henry realised, a decade later, that there would be no more legitimate sons (he had plenty of illegitimate ones!), he made the barons swear to support Matilda, his daughter, as Queen of England in her own right. Recently widowed as Holy Roman Empress, she married on Henry's orders into the despised house of Anjou, one of the causes of her problems. But she was ever the dutiful daughter. Well, mostly...
So when Henry dies, Matilda is in no hurry, seemingly secure in the knowledge that the kingdom, and the duchy of Normandy, were hers by rights. But trouble begins to brew when her cousin Stephen of Blois, Count de Boulogne, races to London to claim the throne, and he quickly gathers support from the barons. He's a man, of course! Experienced in battles, and in administration of large estates (courtesy of his rich wife, an heiress to the title of Boulogne), and generally well-liked. A popular, nice guy. Until he broke his vow!
But as Stephen's flaws become more apparent, Matilda seizes her chance and confronts him. In that, she is supported by her elder half-brother, Robert earl of Gloucester who, once firmly in her camp, never switches sides, unlike many of the English nobles who prefer to ping-pong between the two contenders – the embattled King and the formidable ex-Empress.
Thus ensue almost two decades of chaos in England, an ’Anarchy', where much of the land is ravaged by the ongoing civil war. But could all of this have been avoided? The famines, the battles, and the bloodshed?
What if...?
That's when A Race against Time takes place, right at the start of the conflict: the death of Henry I. His eldest, illegitimate son, Robert of Gloucester, is there in Normandy, as are several other nobles. But whose side are they on? Robert hatches a plan, but with Stephen on his way to London to have himself crowned King of England, can Robert garner enough support to punish his cousin's treachery?
Robert of Gloucester is my favourite historical character, the one I'd love to talk to over a very long dinner, or even better, a whole week! He is, as far as we know, Henry's oldest living son, born before or around 1090AD, and he was married off to Mabel FitzRobert, heiress to large tracts of land in Gloucester and Glamorgan, in the mid 1110s. He has several sons and daughters by his wife, but also a bunch of illegitimate children alongside them. Robert was his father's son, after all.
Steadfast, a renowned knight and battle commander, Robert of Gloucester was a strong but fair leader of men. All the right attributes for a good king. On his father's death, some nobles suggested he should claim the throne. But unlike in his grandfather William the Conqueror's days, illegitimacy was by then seen as an obstacle. Or was it?
What did Robert do to thwart Stephen's ambition? And what was Matilda's role in all this? After all, her brother was her strongest supporter...
Find out in A Race against Time!
We all know the past is the past, but what if you could change history?
We asked eight historical authors to set aside the facts and rewrite the history they love. The results couldn’t be more tantalizing.
What if Julius Caesar never conquered Gaul?
What if Arthur Tudor lived and his little brother never became King Henry VIII?
What if Abigail Adams persuaded the Continental Congress in 1776 to give women the right to vote and to own property?
Dive in to our collection of eight short stories as we explore the alternate endings of events set in ancient Rome, Britain, the United States, and France.
An anthology of the Historical Writers Forum.
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