Editing Alternate history (section)

===In fantasy genre===
{{Original research|section|date=October 2023}}
[[File:Henry II, Plantagenet Empire.png|thumb|The [[Angevin Empire]] in 1172, before the [[point of divergence]] of [[Randall Garrett]]'s [[Lord Darcy (character)|Lord Darcy]] series]]
Many works of straight [[fantasy]] and [[science fantasy]] take place in historical settings, though with the addition of, for example, [[magic (fantasy)|magic]] or [[mythological beast]]s. Some present a secret history in which the modern day world no longer believes that these elements ever existed. Many ambiguous alternate/secret histories are set in Renaissance or pre-Renaissance times, and may explicitly include a "retreat" from the world, which would explain the current absence of such phenomena. Other stories make plan a divergence of some kind.

In [[Poul Anderson]]'s ''[[Three Hearts and Three Lions]]'' in which the [[Matter of France]] is history and the [[fairy folk]] are real and powerful. The same author's ''[[A Midsummer Tempest]]'' occurs in a world in which the [[plays of William Shakespeare|plays of]] [[William Shakespeare]] (called here "the Great Historian"), presented the literal truth in every instance. The novel itself takes place in the era of [[Oliver Cromwell]] and [[Charles I of England|Charles I]]. Here, the [[English Civil War]] had a different outcome, and the [[Industrial Revolution]] has occurred early.

[[Randall Garrett]]'s "[[Lord Darcy (character)|Lord Darcy]]" series presents a point of divergence: a monk systemizes magic rather than science, so the use of [[digitalis|foxglove]] to treat heart disease is regarded as [[superstition]]. Another point of divergence occurs in 1199, when [[Richard I of England|Richard the Lionheart]] survives the [[Château de Châlus-Chabrol|Siege of Chaluz]] and returns to England and makes the [[Angevin Empire]] so strong that it survives into the 20th century.

''[[Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell]]'' by [[Susanna Clarke]] takes place in an England where a separate Kingdom ruled by the Raven King and founded on magic existed in Northumbria for over 300 years. In [[Patricia Wrede]]'s Regency fantasies, Great Britain has a Royal Society of Wizards.

''[[The Tales of Alvin Maker]]'' series by [[Orson Scott Card]] (a parallel to the life of [[Joseph Smith]], founder of the [[Latter Day Saint movement]]) takes place in an alternate America, beginning in the early 19th century. Prior to that time, a POD occurred: England, under the [[Commonwealth of England|rule]] of [[Oliver Cromwell]], had banished "makers", or anyone else demonstrating "knacks" (an ability to perform seemingly supernatural feats) to the North American continent. Thus the early American colonists embraced these gifts as perfectly ordinary, and counted on them as a part of their daily lives. The political division of the continent is considerably altered, with two large English colonies bookending a smaller "American" nation, one aligned with England, and the other governed by exiled [[Cavaliers]]. Actual historical figures are seen in a much different light: Ben Franklin is revered as the continent's finest "maker", George Washington was executed after being captured, and [[Thomas Jefferson|"Tom" Jefferson]] is the first president of "Appalachia", the result of a compromise between the Continentals and the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|British Crown]].{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}

On the other hand, when the "Old Ones" (fairies) still manifest themselves in England in [[Keith Roberts]]'s ''[[Pavane (novel)|Pavane]]'', which takes place in a technologically backward world after a Spanish assassination of [[Elizabeth I]] allowed the [[Spanish Armada]] to conquer England, the possibility that the fairies were real but retreated from modern advances makes the POD possible: the fairies really were present all along, in a secret history.

Again, in the English Renaissance fantasy ''Armor of Light'' by [[Melissa Scott (writer)|Melissa Scott]] and Lisa A. Barnett, the magic used in the book, by Dr. [[John Dee (mathematician)|John Dee]] and others, actually was practiced in the Renaissance; positing a secret history of effective magic makes this an alternate history with a point of departure. Sir [[Philip Sidney]] survives the [[Battle of Zutphen]] in 1586, and shortly thereafter saving the life of [[Christopher Marlowe]].

When the magical version of our world's history is set in contemporary times, the distinction becomes clear between alternate history on the one hand and [[contemporary fantasy]], using in effect a form of secret history (as when [[Josepha Sherman]]'s ''Son of Darkness'' has an elf living in New York City, in disguise) on the other. In works such as [[Robert A. Heinlein]]'s ''Magic, Incorporated'' where a construction company can use magic to rig up stands at a sporting event and Poul Anderson's ''[[Operation Chaos (novel)|Operation Chaos]]'' and its sequel ''[[Operation Luna]]'', where djinns are serious weapons of war—with atomic bombs—the use of magic throughout the United States and other modern countries makes it clear that this is not secret history—although references in ''Operation Chaos'' to [[degaussing]] the effects of cold iron make it possible that it is the result of a POD. The sequel clarifies this as the result of a collaboration of Einstein and Planck in 1901, resulting in the theory of "rhea tics". [[Henry Moseley]] applies this theory to "degauss the effects of cold iron and release the goetic forces." This results in the suppression of [[ferromagnetism]] and the re-emergence of magic and magical creatures.

Alternate history shades off into other [[fantasy subgenres]] when the use of actual, though altered, history and geography decreases, although a culture may still be clearly the original source; [[Barry Hughart]]'s ''[[Bridge of Birds]]'' and its sequels take place in a [[fantasy world]], albeit one clearly based on China, and with allusions to actual Chinese history, such as [[Empress Wu of Zhou|the Empress Wu]]. [[Richard Garfinkle]]'s ''[[Celestial Matters]]'' incorporates ancient Chinese physics and Greek [[Aristotelian physics]], using them as if factual.

Alternate history has long been a staple of Japanese speculative fiction with such authors as [[Futaro Yamada]] and [[Ryō Hanmura]] writing novels set in recognizable historical settings with added supernatural or science fiction elements. Ryō Hanmura's 1973 ''[[Musubi no Yama Hiroku]]'' which recreated 400 years of Japan's history from the perspective of a secret magical family with psychic abilities. The novel has since come to be recognized as a masterpiece of Japanese speculative fiction.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sfwa.org/2011/09/top-ten-japan-all-time-best-sf-novels/ |title=Top Ten Japan All Time Best SF Novels |publisher=SFWA |date=17 September 2011 |access-date=|first = Nick|last = Mamatas}}</ref> Twelve years later, author [[Hiroshi Aramata]] wrote the groundbreaking ''[[Teito Monogatari]]'' which reimagined the history of [[Tokyo]] across the 20th century in a world heavily influenced by the supernatural.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Clute |first1=John |last2=Grant |first2=John |last3=Ashley |first3=Mike |last4=Hartwell |first4=David G. |last5=Westfahl |first5= Gary |title=The Encyclopedia of Fantasy |date=1999 |publisher=St. Martin's Griffin |location=New York |isbn=0312198698 |page=515 }}</ref>

[[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]]'s [[Pirates of the Caribbean (film series)|''Pirates of the Caribbean'' series]] takes place in an alternate history. The filmmakers of ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl|The Curse of the Black Pearl]]'' made no secret about taking liberties with the time period in which their story takes place. Producer [[Jerry Bruckheimer]] explained that the film is a fantasy, but did want to be true to the overall feel of the era, paying particular attention to the years between 1720 and 1750 "in an effort to find an approximation." Director [[Gore Verbinski]] asserted that it takes place "roughly at the tail end of the [[Golden Age of Piracy]], when the Morgans lived. Maybe the late 1720s." The crew went to great lengths to maintain authenticity, such as Jack Sparrow's sword being an original that dates from the 1750s.<ref>[http://www.keeptothecode.com/pdf/POTCprodnotes1.pdf ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' presskit] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928020320/http://www.keeptothecode.com/pdf/POTCprodnotes1.pdf |date=September 28, 2007}}, accessed December 9, 2006</ref> [[Ann C. Crispin]] knew about the Pirates universe being an alternate history writing the prequel novel ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean: The Price of Freedom|The Price of Freedom]]'',<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0bxfIb4KLc A. C. Crispin interview – The Price of Freedom – Fast Forward: Contemporary Science Fiction – YouTube]</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://michaelaventrella.com/2011/07/01/interview-with-author-a-c-crispin/ | title=Interview with author A. C. Crispin | date=July 2011 }}</ref> with Disney's instructions for Crispin being to "stick to historical fact, unless it conflicts with established Pirates of the Caribbean continuity." Crispin made a faithful effort to do this, having done plenty of research, with ''Under the Black Flag'' by [[David Cordingly]] being one of the four pirate-related books she found herself using the most consistently.<ref>Crispin, A. C. (2011). Pirates of the Caribbean: The Price of Freedom</ref> According to production designer [[John Myhre]], the filmmakers of the fourth film, ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides|On Stranger Tides]]'', picked the date of 1750, or in the range of the mid-1700s.<ref name="OST ComingSoon Set Visit 1">[http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=73513 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Set Visit! - ComingSoon.net - Part 1] - [https://web.archive.org/web/20110206080655/http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=73513 Archived]</ref><ref name="OST ComingSoon Set Visit 2">[http://www.comingsoon.net/news/interviewsnews.php?id=73740 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Set Visit! - ComingSoon.net - Part 2] - [https://web.archive.org/web/20110208003010/http://www.comingsoon.net/news/interviewsnews.php?id=73740 Archived]</ref> The film also featured [[Blackbeard]], based on the historical figure and an element retained from the novel ''[[On Stranger Tides]]'' by [[Tim Powers]].<ref name="IGN">{{cite web|url=http://movies.ign.com/dor/objects/859550/pirates-of-the-caribbean-4/videos/pop_jb_pirates4.html |title=Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Movie Interview – Bruckheimer on Pirates of the Caribbean 4 |website=IGN |date=May 24, 2010 |access-date=July 5, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100704183835/http://movies.ign.com/dor/objects/859550/pirates-of-the-caribbean-4/videos/pop_jb_pirates4.html |archive-date=July 4, 2010 |quote=IGN: So he won’t be a Blackbeard back from the dead. He’s going to be a living Blackbeard from history.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.festival-cannes.fr/assets/Image/Direct/040664.pdf |title=Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides production notes |publisher=[[Walt Disney Pictures]] |access-date=July 29, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121212060008/http://www.festival-cannes.fr/assets/Image/Direct/040664.pdf |archive-date=December 12, 2012 }}</ref> The history prior to ''On Stranger Tides'' is also slightly different from real-world history, with Blackbeard's death at Ocracoke Inlet in 1718 was considered a legend in the film, with Jack Sparrow saying he was beheaded, and that his headless body swam three times around his ship before climbing back on board.<ref>{{cite video | people = [[Rob Marshall]] (director) | title = [[Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides]] | type = Film | publisher=[[Walt Disney Pictures]] |year=2011}}</ref> The fifth film, ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales|Dead Men Tell No Tales]]'', also took place in the 1750s, with an early draft taking place sometime the [[Seven Years' War]].<ref>[http://www.wordplayer.com/archives/PIRATES5.cover.html PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES by Terry Rossio - Wordplayer.com]</ref>