Ruled Britannia

Ruled Britannia is an alternate history novel by Harry Turtledove, first published in hardcover and paperback by Roc Books in 2002. The book is set in the year 1597, in an alternate universe where the Spanish Armada is successful. The Kingdom of England (but apparently not Scotland) has been conquered and returned to the fold of the Roman Catholic Church under the rule of Queen Isabella, daughter of Philip II of Spain. Queen Elizabeth, deposed, i... More

Ruled Britannia is an alternate history novel by Harry Turtledove, first published in hardcover and paperback by Roc Books in 2002. The book is set in the year 1597, in an alternate universe where the Spanish Armada is successful. The Kingdom of England (but apparently not Scotland) has been conquered and returned to the fold of the Roman Catholic Church under the rule of Queen Isabella, daughter of Philip II of Spain. Queen Elizabeth, deposed, is imprisoned within the Tower of London as her fellow Protestants are burned as heretics by the English Inquisition. 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. Shakespeare is a modest upstart playwright just coming into his own when he is contacted by Nicholas Skeres on behalf of members of an underground resistance movement who are plotting to overthrow the...

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