''Napoleon Disentimed'' is a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

novel by American writer

Hayford Peirce Hayford Peirce (January 7, 1942 – November 19, 2020) was an American writer of science fiction, mysteries, and a spy thriller. He wrote numerous short stories for the science-fiction magazines ''Analog'', '' Galaxy'', and '' Omni'', as well ...

, first published by

Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles, and is the largest publisher of Chinese scien ...

in 1987. It is a humorous treatment of two standard science fiction themes, those of

time travel Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a w ...

and of parallel universes. The protagonist is a dapper, clever con man who, although born to humble origins in

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Penobscot County. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's 3rd-largest settlement, behind Portland (68,408) and Lewiston (37,121). Modern Bangor ...

, United States, calls himself Sir Kevin Dean de Courtney MacNair of MacNair. Part of it is set in two alternate universes to our own. In one of them, Napoleon won the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

and subdued Great Britain and Russia in 1806, thereafter securing global dominance for him and his descendants- a Napoleon V still sits on his world's French imperial throne in its 1980s. In another, the British royal family made different dynastic arrangements, leading to the birth of a male heir to

King William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...

rather than

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

, Frederick I, whose descendants still rule the United Kingdom- Frederick IV is the reigning monarch in its 1987. Through a complicated series of misadventures MacNair ends up impersonating

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

for the dictator's so-called "Missing Years", 1806–1808. By the end of the book he has succeeded in not only acquiring a beautiful wife and a slightly run-down château in France but in also inventing both the modern indoor flush toilet and Champagne. A sequel to ''Napoleon Disentimed'', also featuring the MacNair, is '' The Burr in the Garden of Eden''.

External links

*{{Isfdb title, id=8099 1987 American novels 1987 science fiction novels American science fiction novels Novels about time travel Tor Books books