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The Age of Sail & Steam was a generation in which the world saw a pairing of old and new technologies before one would render obsolete the other. My stories of Napoleon's South America are set in an alternate history that revolves around that period of time. In my world, Napoleon Bonaparte escaped final exile, put off his great reward by two decades, and the Napoleonic Wars continued on, moving from the Old World to the New. Inspired by the stories of C. S. Forester, James Clavell, Bernard Cornwell, Richard Woodman, and many others, I wanted to carry the great naval adventures of the Napoleonic Wars into the Age of Sail & Steam.
My inspiration came from a brief passage in Donald Thomas’ Cochrane, Britannia’s Last Sea King, a highly detailed and engaging examination of Lord Thomas Cochrane's extraordinary life. Cochrane lived the sort of life that one would not find credible were it presented as a work of fiction. Cochrane's mind was fertile and energetic. One of the seeds it bore was an idea to set the exiled Bonaparte loose upon Latin America in the midst its struggles for independence. Among others were the use of rockets and mustard gas in warfare and the possibilities of the steam engine.
I'm no historian, just an enthusiastic amateur. With that in mind, I make no serious attempt to predict 'What If . . .,' only to write a 'ripping good yarn'; a setting in which the Napoleonic adventures could continue into the Age of Sail and Steam - the great sea battles of the early nineteenth century fought using paddle wheel steamers.
While many of the most significant overall historical events have changed, I do my homework and try to remain faithful to the cultural and societal context and historical details that would not be effected by Napoleon's South America. I also try to reasonably and logically extrapolate those details that would be changed. As for those details that do not seem reasonably extrapolated or are just plain wrong, hearing about those from my readers is the fun of writing them. I try to create logical reasons for these issues within the context of my world, but I am also happy to admit when I get it wrong - well, maybe not happy. Comments and criticisms, constructive or otherwise are appreciated.
My books are published by Third Millennium Publishing and can be purchased from their web site. They are also available through Amazon.com and are in Amazon Kindle format.
I am a member of the Historical Novel Society, http://www.historicalnovelsociety.org/. For those with an interest in historical fiction, please visit their web site.
Click here to buy Scott Langley's books
