Fantasy History (cont.)

Developments of the twentieth century

The dystopia genre begins roughly in 1895 with H. G. Wells’ The Time Machine, although to follow a recent BBC report, time travel was already conceived by Dickens in A Christmas Carol. From a lengthy list of renowned dystopian works, mention should be made of Brave New World (Aldous Huxley), 1984 (George Orwell), Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury), and The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood). Each utilizes a speculative scheme of future history with no necessary connection to the present, thus passing beyond the niche defined by specific alterations of history. These works warn us of the dangers of authoritarian repression, sometimes accepted in conscious choice, which is a natural theme for “fantasy history” – a future somehow gone wrong.

A sub-genre unto itself, the most impressive literary candidate for “fantasy history” is The Master and Margarita, whose author Mikhail Bulgakov, one may note, was a devotee of H. G. Wells. The manifestation of Satan in the guise of Professor Woland seems almost unremarkable in the setting of Moscow of the 1930s: for this is a “present” gone wrong. The fiction places the reality – authoritarian repression that is barely alluded to – in relief. Interwoven is the story of the Crucifixion rewritten from an atheistic perspective, and the lurid Satan’s ball is based on a voluptuous American embassy party actually held in 1935, with a vastly different guest list. The events are largely supernatural, but they highlight the fabric of society.

Various recent novels explore historical alternatives in the rewriting of World War II, with drastic alterations of the outcome of the war and observations on the nature and effect of authoritarian government. They are well characterized as “alternate history.” Among them, Making History (Stephen Fry) chronicles a scientific undertaking involving traveling back in time and using chemical means to prevent Hitler’s birth from occurring, ultimately with dire and grotesque consequences. The Plot Against America (Philip Roth) speculates about a Lindbergh presidency and its possible role in introducing institutionalized antisemitism into America. Since it focuses around the author’s own family, its characterizations are well-informed and convincing despite the generally unrealistic situation.