Winner of the World Fantasy Award and the Sidewise Award for Alternate History: A pastel-hued yet chilling alternate vision of England, The Summer Isles views the nightmare that the country has become since Germany’s victory in the Great War, through the eyes of a man whose life lies close to the heart of history
In 1918 the Allies were defeated. A closeted gay teacher, Griffin Brooke has witnessed the monumental changes his nation has undergone since being crushed by Germany’s superior fighting forces twenty-two years earlier. First came the financial collapse and crippling inflation, then the fascist uprising in the thirties that brought John Arthur to power. Now, in 1940, England has resurrected itself—but at a terrible cost. With homosexuality decreed a serious crime against the state by the dictator who was once his most avid student, Griffin has remained silent while England’s gay population has mysteriously dwindled . . . along with the nation’s Jews.
But in the twilight of his years, elevated to the role of tutor in an Oxford college, Griffin is getting anxious. Thinking back on a life lived in shadow—and on his one great love affair with a young soldier during the height of the Great War—Griffin knows that revealing a secret he has guarded for decades could have devastating consequences for Britain, the world, and especially for the fascist tyrant Arthur, who cites his former teacher as a mentor and major influence.
Review
“Projecting Nazi Germany onto the England of the [thirties] is a most effective counterfactual device; and in the opposition of the narrator, historian Geoffrey Brook, and Britain’s Fuehrer, John Arthur, MacLeod sums up very neatly the division in the British psyche at the time, between Churchillian grit and abject appeasement.” —Locus
“A brilliant writer.” —Tim Powers
From the Publisher
What would life in England look like in 1940 had the British lost World War I, replacing Germany 's role in history?
A powerfully gripping story of a closeted homosexual trying to survive in an alternate history England, Hugo finalist Ian R. MacLeod's novella The Summer Isles took readers by storm in 1998. First published in Asimov's Science Fiction, the novella explored what might happen had England become the equivalent of Nazi Germany. The novella went on to become a finalist for the 1999 Hugo Award and took home both the 1999 World Fantasy Award and the 1999 Sidewise Award for Alternate History, but has never been published in its original form... until now.
Note: We were very pleased in July to announce that our book design for The Summer Isles and its production has been entered into the 2005 Chicago Book Clinic Book and Media Show. This annual conference is an awards ceremony in an "Academy Awards" format, recognizing the best works of the publishing community in sixteen American states.
This is a limited collector's edition of 500, signed and numbered by the author.
Description:
Winner of the World Fantasy Award and the Sidewise Award for Alternate History: A pastel-hued yet chilling alternate vision of England, The Summer Isles views the nightmare that the country has become since Germany’s victory in the Great War, through the eyes of a man whose life lies close to the heart of history
In 1918 the Allies were defeated. A closeted gay teacher, Griffin Brooke has witnessed the monumental changes his nation has undergone since being crushed by Germany’s superior fighting forces twenty-two years earlier. First came the financial collapse and crippling inflation, then the fascist uprising in the thirties that brought John Arthur to power. Now, in 1940, England has resurrected itself—but at a terrible cost. With homosexuality decreed a serious crime against the state by the dictator who was once his most avid student, Griffin has remained silent while England’s gay population has mysteriously dwindled . . . along with the nation’s Jews.
But in the twilight of his years, elevated to the role of tutor in an Oxford college, Griffin is getting anxious. Thinking back on a life lived in shadow—and on his one great love affair with a young soldier during the height of the Great War—Griffin knows that revealing a secret he has guarded for decades could have devastating consequences for Britain, the world, and especially for the fascist tyrant Arthur, who cites his former teacher as a mentor and major influence.
Review
“Projecting Nazi Germany onto the England of the [thirties] is a most effective counterfactual device; and in the opposition of the narrator, historian Geoffrey Brook, and Britain’s Fuehrer, John Arthur, MacLeod sums up very neatly the division in the British psyche at the time, between Churchillian grit and abject appeasement.” —Locus
“A brilliant writer.” —Tim Powers
From the Publisher
What would life in England look like in 1940 had the British lost World War I, replacing Germany 's role in history?
A powerfully gripping story of a closeted homosexual trying to survive in an alternate history England, Hugo finalist Ian R. MacLeod's novella The Summer Isles took readers by storm in 1998. First published in Asimov's Science Fiction, the novella explored what might happen had England become the equivalent of Nazi Germany. The novella went on to become a finalist for the 1999 Hugo Award and took home both the 1999 World Fantasy Award and the 1999 Sidewise Award for Alternate History, but has never been published in its original form... until now.
Note: We were very pleased in July to announce that our book design for The Summer Isles and its production has been entered into the 2005 Chicago Book Clinic Book and Media Show. This annual conference is an awards ceremony in an "Academy Awards" format, recognizing the best works of the publishing community in sixteen American states.
This is a limited collector's edition of 500, signed and numbered by the author.