"Shalten's flat in Paris was large and luxurious, but on the Left Bank overlooking the Boulevard St Germain. Had he chosen that street purposely? He did have a devious sense of humor." (p. 119)
I don't get the joke. Why "...but on the Left Bank..."? This district, on the left bank of the Seine, is noted for its artistic and intellectual life. Shalten of the Time Patrol enjoys the Bohemianism and his neighbors are used to eccentrics.
Anderson presents his usual multi-sensory description: a warm afternoon in autumn, smoke, horse droppings, trees changing color, busy shops and cafes, an era that will last for another twelve years. Shalten's cluttered bric-a-brac etc "...declared a solidity that had endured and accumulated since the Congress of Vienna." (ibid.)
At the Congress of Vienna, 1814-1815, European ambassadors agreed a settlement following the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, like the League of Nations in 1919 and the United Nations in 1945. Britannia ruled the waves from 1805 to 1945 thanks to Nelson's victory at Trafalgar. Thus, Anderson's references both to the Congress of Vienna and to the "...dozen years [after which] this world would crash to ruin" (ibid.) evoke a century of consolidation followed by the First World War. Everard's reflections continue into the future:
"...California, 1987. That was quite another world, remote as a dream - a nightmare?" (pp. 119-120)
15 comments:
Greetings, Paul.
As to the joke, perhaps it is that war with Germany will put an end to the Belle Epoque?
Best Regards, Nicholas
Hi, Paul!
I'm puzzled by the map you chose for illustrating this piece. It t does not accurately show Europe as it was in our 1902. A few anomalies: the Germanic Confederation is shown (with the Austrian part of the Habsburg Empire as part of it), not the German Empire we had in 1902; Italy is still shown as divided into many states; Greece is shown as part of the Ottoman Empire, etc.
If I had to guess, I would say this map reflects the Europe of 1820, not 1902.
Sean
Sean,
You are right. The map is meant to represent the Congress of Vienna, not 1902! I agree that it was confusing to use it to illustrate a post entitled "1902 AD."
Paul.
Hi, Paul!
Aha! You meant the Europe we saw immediately after the Congress of Vienna. Got it!
Sean
Sean,
Everard reflected that Shalten's cluttered bric-a-brac "...declared a solidity that had endured and accumulated since the Congress of Vienna." This made me focus on that Congress as having established a measure of European stability that was due to be shattered in 1914.
Paul.
Hi, Paul!
And we are STILL tormented by the chaos and upheavals stemming from those accursed assassinations in Sarajevo. Recent events, such as the crisis in Ukraine, gives me no reason to believe we have yet bettered the work of the Congress of Vienna.
I'm tempted to think I would be grateful if a Manuel Argos was to arise!
Sean
Sean,
Too easy! We have got to sort it all out ourselves - somehow.
Paul.
Hi, Paul!
I certainly hope so, despite my pessimism. In his Technic History, Anderson showed the Solar Commonwealth and then the Polesotechnic League arising out of the chaos of the 20th/21st centuries precisely because leaders and their peoples somehow were able to resolve their problems sufficiently well to put a stop to those chaos Maybe we shall see.
Hmmm, it does makes me wonder if Poul Anderson might have written a Time Patrol story where he had to thwart an attempt to prevent the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand. Despite the fact that might very likely have prevented most of the bloody nightmares of the 20th century, it would have also aborted the line of development leading to the Danellians. So, I can see Manse Everard and his associates sadly but resolutely allowing Francis Ferdinand to be assassinated.
Sean
Sean,
I think that "Pessimism of the intellect; optimism of the will" is a good slogan: understand how bad things are but there is always something that can be done.
Paul.
Hi, Paul!
Certainly, we have a duty to try to help hold things together, even if we suspect failure is likely. Sort of like the legendary Dutch boy desperately plugging leaks in the dike with his fingers, for lack of anything better.
Sean
Oddly enough, my story "A Slip in Time" for the Poul Anderson memorial anthology is set in the Time Patrol continuity and deals precisely with an attempt to prevent the assassination of Franz Ferdinand.
S. M. Stirling,
Great to hear from you! I am really looking forward to the memorial anthology and want EVERYONE to discuss it here, not just me. If you can significantly continue the Time Patrol series, you will have my eternal gratitude.
Paul.
Dear Mr. Stirling,
I'm very pleased, as I'm sure Dr. Shackley is, to "meet" an SF writer as prominent as you in this blog. I have read and enjoyed many of your books.
And the astonishing coincidence that I speculated about Poul Anderson writing a Time Patrol story where Manse Everard had to thwart an attempt to prevent the "doomed inheritor" (as Edward Crankshaw called Francis Ferdinand) from NOT being assassinated--a topic you chose for your story in MULTIVERSE, makes me even more eager to get my copy of that book.
It's my hope, when you are not too busy, that you will sometimes leave a note here!
Sean M. Brooks
As I read Sean's speculation, I thought 'haven't I read just that story?' .
Thank you to Mr. Stirling for the story.
IIRC it is set in the 1920s of the alternate timeline in which the assassination does not occur, & someone we know as Kemal Attaturk takes part in the action.
Kaor, Jim!
And one of the things that esp. interested me about Stirling's "A Slip In Time" was how he showed Austria-Hungary as the dominant partner in the Triple Alliance of A-H, Germany, and Ottoman Turkey. And showing us how wily the Austrians were!
Ad astra! Sean
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