Dominion (Sansom novel)
 First edition cover | |
| Author | C. J. Sansom |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Political thriller |
| Genre | Alternate history |
| Publisher | Macmillan |
Publication date | 25 October 2012 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Hardback |
| Pages | 608 |
| ISBN | 978-0230744165 |
Dominion is a 2012 alternate history novel by British author C. J. Sansom. It is a political thriller set in the early 1950s against the backdrop of a Britain that has become a satellite state of Nazi Germany.[1] The point of divergence from actual history is that Lord Halifax, rather than Winston Churchill, succeeded Neville Chamberlain as Prime Minister in May 1940 leading to an armistice with Germany.[1]
Awards
[edit]Dominion won the 2013 Sidewise Award for Alternate History, Long Form.[2][3]
Controversy
[edit]Sansom's fictionalised portrayal of some historical figures such as Lord Beaverbrook, Oswald Mosley, Enoch Powell and Marie Stopes as members of a collaborationist puppet government caused some controversy. Allan Massie for The Daily Telegraph, however, defended the portrayal by arguing that "in the make-believe world of counter-factual history, a novelist is entitled to take a different line" and that having a younger version of Powell be as such was "not inherently improbable."[4]
A review in The Guardian conceded that some individuals are depicted in light that is less than favourable in the fictional work: "Because they are dead, defamation is no legal risk, but there may still be moral jeopardy. Beyond the possible unhappiness of the descendants of Beaverbrook and Enoch Powell at their actions in this book, feminist and Scottish readers respectively may gasp at the suggestion that Marie Stopes is advising the Ministry of Health on eugenic sterilisation and that the Scots Nats have enthusiastically signed up to the Hitler agenda".[5]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b C. J. Sansom (19 October 2012). "My nightmare of a Nazi Britain". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
- ^ Silver, Steven H (1 July 2013). "Sidewise Award Nominees". SF Site. Archived from the original on 9 January 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
- ^ Glyer, Mike (31 August 2013). "2013 Sidewise Awards". File 770. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
- ^ Allan Massie (7 January 2013). "Enoch Powell was no fascist. But it's not ridiculous for an author to imagine him in a pro-Nazi government". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 January 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
- ^ "Dominion by CJ Sansom – review". the Guardian. 6 December 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
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- 2012 British novels
- Novels by C. J. Sansom
- Alternate Nazi Germany novels
- Crime and thriller fiction set in alternate histories
- Thriller novels
- Novels set in the 1950s
- Sidewise Award for Alternate History–winning works
- Cultural depictions of Oswald Mosley
- Macmillan Publishers books
- 2010s thriller novel stubs
- 2010s historical novel stubs
- Alternate history novel stubs
- 2010s speculative fiction novel stubs