Pavane (novel)
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
Pavane by Keith Roberts is an alternate history science fiction novel first published by Rupert Hart-Davis Ltd in 1968.
Comprising a cycle of linked stories set in Dorset, England, it depicts a 1968 in which the Roman Catholic Church still has supremacy; in its timeline, Protestantism was destroyed during wars triggered by the assassination of Queen Elizabeth I.
The social effects include a continuing feudal system and bans on innovation, particularly electricity, leading to a roughly mid-19th century technology with steam traction engines and mechanical semaphore telegraphy. Outlying areas are dangerous, with wild animals and occasional manifestations of the 'Old Ones' or 'People of the Hills' (supposed fairies) who leave crab-symbol graffiti. The stories take place at a period when the possibility of revolution is rumoured.
The location and flavour, nostalgic yet tragic in outlook, resemble a science-fictional equivalent of the fictionalized Wessex of Thomas Hardy (as in the Hardy stories, there are place-name differences; for instance, in Pavane Dorchester retains its Roman name, Durnovaria). Real geographical locations play a major role: Golden Cap is the site of a semaphore station, and the ruined ("slighted") castle at Corfe is a key presence in the book.
After a brief Prologue explaining the back-story, the stories are: The Lady Margaret (a lonely steam haulier meets a friend from his past); The Signaller (an apprentice semaphore operator is assigned to a remote station); The White Boat (not in all editions; a discontented fisher girl is obsessed with a mysterious yacht); Brother John (a monk becomes disaffected by the practices of the Inquisition); Lords and Ladies (a woman's bitter memories are evoked at the deathbed of the haulier from the first story); Corfe Gate (an aristocrat is involved in a regional rebellion). The final Coda is set some years after the events of the stories).
The title alludes to the stately and melancholy dance, the Pavane, the book being divided thematically into measures and a Coda.
External links
Pavane (http://www.randomhouse.com/delrey/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780345440914&view=excerpt) Del Rey Online excerpt, Prologue and part of The Lady Margaret.
Pavane (http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/nonfiction/pavane.htm) Infinity Plus review.
Pavane (http://www.uchronia.net/bib.cgi/label.html?id=robepavane) Uchronia: The Alternate History List detailed summary and international bibliography (contains minor spoilers).
