Ruled Britannia

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Ruled Britannia is an alternate history novel by Harry Turtledove, published in 2002.

[edit] Plot summary

It is set in the year 1597, in an alternate universe where the Spanish Armada is successful. The Kingdom of England (and apparently most of Britain) has been conquered and converted to Catholicism under the rule of Queen Isabella, daughter of Philip II of Spain. Queen Elizabeth is imprisoned within the Tower of London as her fellow Protestants are burned as heretics by the English Inquisition.

Isabella Clara Eugenia, in this history the Spanish-imposed Queen of England

The story is seen from the point of view of two famous playwrights: English poet William Shakespeare, and Spanish poet Lope de Vega; supporting characters include contemporaries Christopher Marlowe, Richard Burbage, and Will Kempe.

[edit] The Play's the Thing

The Spanish Habsburg empire and its dominions in the alternate 1597 of the book.

The book makes several references to various plays by Shakespeare, both real and fictional. Some existing plays, such as Hamlet, As You Like It, and Love's Labours Lost are given new names (The Prince of Denmark, If You Like It, and Love's Labors Won [although the latter might be All's Well That Ends Well or even A Midsummer Night's Dream instead]), and presumably different content. As the author mentions at the end of the book, he created the play "Boudicca" from elements of Shakespere's other works.

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