Mock
August 28th, 2006, 06:04 PM
I was trying to think of a good historical fiction storyline. I thought up two, both in different time periods, and I'm having trouble deciding between them. Conveniently, the only two people who I've asked have voted 1-1. And I assume most people here are more interested in writing fantasy than history, so there might be a bit of a more unbiased opinion.
They deal with either the Hundred Years' War or the Napoleonic Wars, the second option being the first story in a planned series. The first deals with more psychology and emotion, while the second is more of a fun thing.
(It's copied/pasted from Microsoft Word.)
Richard of Guildford, orphaned at the age of thirteen, had long abandoned street life to join the English army. But when Scottish forays intensify, Richard deserts. His lifestyle drastically declines when he turns to spending time in a wild city tavern as a bouncer. But then an old friend calls on him and, bound by his honor and enticed by plunder, Richard sets out once again for war. He has yet to uncover the honorable fighter within.
Sir William has made his fortune defending England against Scottish warriors raiding the border. Noticed by Edward, the Duke of York, for his valor in combat, he is recruited as one of the aristocrat’s guards, and the two men become close comrades. William eagerly joins the English army that crosses the sea to invade France, but what he finds is a desperate war against the far superior French army.
Fernand, a peasant from Metz, is a fresh conscript in the French army. Though only an infantryman, he is a vigorous servant of king and country. When he meets Caroline, the maiden of a nobleman from Bordeaux, he devotes himself to her protection against her cruel master, as well as the rising English foe. But when Fernand witnesses the horrors of battle, and the brutal competence of France’s adversary, he knows it will be a bloody conflict . . . and one that will forever leave a scar on the participating nations and all their inhabitants, soldiers and civilians alike.
***
Less than a year has passed since Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned Emperor of France. Having secured much of the European continent, he now turns his eye to Great Britain, the last barrier in the way of world supremacy. But before he can reach English soil he must incapacitate its Royal Navy, which blockades his ports and rules the seas. Resolute in removing his utmost enemy, Napoleon develops a plan that will undoubtedly turn the tables and lead to an invasion of Britain.
A bold Welsh agent intercepts a covert French message and races back to London, where he reveals the Emperor’s plans to Parliament: Napoleon plans to assassinate the Ottoman governor of Egypt and, in the ensuing turmoil, seize control of the Nile. With a vast naval base established on the far side of the Mediterranean, he will be able to pincer the British fleet, and annex Gibraltar. From there, he will overrun the outmanned and outnumbered Royal Navy, and acquire safe passage over the English Channel.
The young spy Vincent Waterhouse—along with the intrepid Welshman—hurries to defend the governor against Napoleon’s assassins. Success means Vincent will carve his fortune in the sands of Egypt. Failure means the fall of Egypt . . . and the enslavement of Europe.
They deal with either the Hundred Years' War or the Napoleonic Wars, the second option being the first story in a planned series. The first deals with more psychology and emotion, while the second is more of a fun thing.
(It's copied/pasted from Microsoft Word.)
Richard of Guildford, orphaned at the age of thirteen, had long abandoned street life to join the English army. But when Scottish forays intensify, Richard deserts. His lifestyle drastically declines when he turns to spending time in a wild city tavern as a bouncer. But then an old friend calls on him and, bound by his honor and enticed by plunder, Richard sets out once again for war. He has yet to uncover the honorable fighter within.
Sir William has made his fortune defending England against Scottish warriors raiding the border. Noticed by Edward, the Duke of York, for his valor in combat, he is recruited as one of the aristocrat’s guards, and the two men become close comrades. William eagerly joins the English army that crosses the sea to invade France, but what he finds is a desperate war against the far superior French army.
Fernand, a peasant from Metz, is a fresh conscript in the French army. Though only an infantryman, he is a vigorous servant of king and country. When he meets Caroline, the maiden of a nobleman from Bordeaux, he devotes himself to her protection against her cruel master, as well as the rising English foe. But when Fernand witnesses the horrors of battle, and the brutal competence of France’s adversary, he knows it will be a bloody conflict . . . and one that will forever leave a scar on the participating nations and all their inhabitants, soldiers and civilians alike.
***
Less than a year has passed since Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned Emperor of France. Having secured much of the European continent, he now turns his eye to Great Britain, the last barrier in the way of world supremacy. But before he can reach English soil he must incapacitate its Royal Navy, which blockades his ports and rules the seas. Resolute in removing his utmost enemy, Napoleon develops a plan that will undoubtedly turn the tables and lead to an invasion of Britain.
A bold Welsh agent intercepts a covert French message and races back to London, where he reveals the Emperor’s plans to Parliament: Napoleon plans to assassinate the Ottoman governor of Egypt and, in the ensuing turmoil, seize control of the Nile. With a vast naval base established on the far side of the Mediterranean, he will be able to pincer the British fleet, and annex Gibraltar. From there, he will overrun the outmanned and outnumbered Royal Navy, and acquire safe passage over the English Channel.
The young spy Vincent Waterhouse—along with the intrepid Welshman—hurries to defend the governor against Napoleon’s assassins. Success means Vincent will carve his fortune in the sands of Egypt. Failure means the fall of Egypt . . . and the enslavement of Europe.