The Grantville Gazette
Encyclopedia
The Grantville Gazette is the first of a series of professionally selected and edited paid fan fiction anthologies set within the 1632 series
inspired by Eric Flint
's novel 1632
. The electronically published the Grantville Gazettes
, which are reaching long novel length with regularity, now make up the majority of the series in terms of words in print. Flint as series owner and editor accounts all as canonical. The Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) recognizes published stories within the Gazettes as qualified credentials for membership—which membership requires a writer to have three published works as prerequisites.
and resultant 1632 series
share a common theme, which is to ask the "What if?" questions common to and characteristic of the science fiction
genre
: "What if a mysterious cosmic event occurred which juxtaposed the location of a whole populated region of West Virginia
with a matching portion of early modern Germany
?" Flint added the additional query to his premise: "What if the two places also switched their respective places in time so that the region from our here-now traveled back in space-time to the land and peoples of 369 years ago?" The series lands a fictional town of about 3,000 souls (Grantville, West Virginia) in Germany amidst the chaos and disorders of the Thirty Years War.
The story deals with the decision to smuggle information about antibiotics to hostile forces besieging Amsterdam
, where Rebecca Stearns is trapped. It features Anne Jefferson, introduced in S. L. Viehl
's Ring of Fire
short story "A Matter of Consultation". As well as presenting the moral and ethical issues implicit in aiding the enemy, the story focuses heavily on artist and diplomat Pieter Paul Rubens, whose portrait of Jefferson forms the book's cover art. The events of this story are referenced in 1634: The Baltic War
and other works in the series.
The story focus on the farmer girl, Anna Braun, who fled from mercenaries that bowled over Police Chief Dan Frost and signaled the arrival of conflict and war at the opening of 1632. It is a poignant story that was just barely cut from Ring of Fire
according to Flint in the forward, mainly because Ms. Jones already had another tale in the collection, but also because of space considerations—Ring of Fire is nearly 800 pages. The story also turns to the task of elaborating on her families fate, and introduces a lovable if idiosyncratic farmer who finds a new family this side of the Ring of Fire.
The story focus on Paul Santee, a reclusive ex-combat noncom
Vietnam War
veteran and gun collector, who lives isolated in the outskirts of Grantville. Set in the weeks immediately after the Ring of Fire, Santee remained unaware of his current situation until being met by Eddie Cantrell, who is one of several out-reach workers who are combing the remote regions around Grantville to make sure everyone is informed about the Grantville Emergency Committee's edicts, and soliciting resources for the Allocation Committee to manage. Furthermore, Santee learned that he is wanted by Frank Jackson into joining Grantville's established army as a trainer of cadre, as his one of the few people who has more combat and years of general military experience than everyone else in town put together. Initially Santee flatly refused reentering into military service.
Reality intrudes when a band of men ransacks his remote cabin in which Santee forced to realize just how much times have changed and that he is now dependent upon others. He takes on a position under Jackson and with the assistance of Eddie Cantrell begins to collect and organize the spare arms in the city, organizes an ammunition reloading program and trains residents who need help learning how to use their weapons. Going out with Cantrell to test fire and evaluate different load combinations in the three calibers selected for use by the New United States Army, the two stumble upon and combating brigands raiding a nearby farm. The down-timer Germans had chopped down several trees behind the battlefield of the Battle of the Crapper to gauge and evaluate the penetration power of the Grantvillers' firearm
s, and used the knowledge to create an armored (timberclad) wagon. Under fire from Santee and Cantrell, eight of the rogue ex-mercenaries use the timberclad wagon to begin to close on the position of the two Americans. Realizing their bullets will not penetrate, a wounded Santee bravely orders Cantrell to return to the arsenal and return with an elephant gun
while he holds them in check himself. Santee and Cantrell managed to eliminate the brigands with the acquired elephant gun.
"The Sewing Circle" takes a canonical look at the meshing of the resource limited 'New United States' with the extant economy of war torn central Germany. Four American teenagers set themselves the goal of launching a new industry, waging an uphill battle against adult skepticism as well as the intrinsic difficulty of the project itself. Armed with a father who has become part of Grantville's Finance Subcommittee the one girl has a dinner conversation involving "Federal Reserve [Bank] Fairies", who magically make more money and regulate the economy.
Another part is to convince the Germans and all the other down-timers that they are real, because they perform a very important function and it only works really well if most people believe in them.
Grantville, newly arrived in 1631 has some fast talking to do to have its money stand up and be negotiable specie. On thing which is surprisingly salable is things with plastics, particularly dolls that a rich nobleman might buy a favorite daughter.
Soon after, the four Junior High classmates, meet along the banks of a creek. Two, Brent and Trent Partow, are twin brothers, are mechanically inclined and the fourth, David Bartley, is smitten by the lass, the carrot-topped Sarah, who pines for one of the twins. Just to add more angst to David's life, his mother is something of an overprotective loser and his father has long departed for greener pastures—and went back to his wife. The four kids realize resources are very limited, manpower is short, and that gearing down is absolutely necessary from the very beginning.
The kids' problems are just beginning. While Mrs. Higgin's Singer is nearly 100 years old, the gap between early 20th century and 17th century manufacturing technology and techniques is vast—particularly for under-experienced would-be twin engineers not yet in high school. David turns out to have a head for organizing and management, and keeps the project moving forward with an able assist from his Grandma Higgins. She eventually bankrolls a big piece of the company, while David figures out how to make it pay. Sarah has a grasp of finance beyond her years, and teams with David—which he minds, not a bit.
This story is Virginia DeMarce's second fictional foray in the series and like "Biting Time", the tale establishes some important canonical underpinnings that draw references, or are extrapolated upon in the various novel sequels. This protestant (Lutheran) Colloquy
is mentioned often in the first printed major works of the series, and occasionally crops up in the thirteen Gazettes existing solely as e-published works. The Rudolstadt Colloquy as historical background sits at the heart and center of the religious strife between Protestant sects which in our time line continued to divide the new churches even as they collectively battled the Roman Catholic dominated world and that church's Counter-reformation
, the effort to reimpose a uniform religion on all of Europe.
At the heart of the matter is the strongly held belief in the authoritarian philosophy, embraced by the nobility and churchmen alike, that a state cannot not stand without a uniform official religion. "From the perspective of the princes, religion was important in the 'here and now' because religion here and now was a way of making the population behave." To the modern mind, this seems a curious and perhaps incomprehensible point of view, but the modern man does not embrace the concept either that one class of people was explicitly set above all others and destined from birth to rule. Further, the position and power of all nobles draws from that belief and that of kings being the chosen and anointed protectors of both church and state, regardless of how well or poorly they conduct the business of taking care of the populace at large. Considered in that light, the colloquy and its results will be a major supporting event in the overall 1632 theme championing religious toleration.
In the Rudolstadt Colloquy, internal tensions within the Lutheran community are contrasted and displayed. In addition to their mainstream Lutheran church, Grantville sends representatives from two smaller up-time Lutheran sects, the Missouri Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Throughout Europe, both Catholic and Protestant countries either have heads of state attending in person or by proxy by sending a personal envoy to the long theological debate, which is chaired by the Graf
Ludwig Guenther, Count
of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
. Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt happen to be among the very nearest neighbors to Grantville's geographic position. Schwarzburg
, in the fictional canon, in fact is so close that the Ring of Fire (ROF) transfer of territory between space-time continuums actually cuts through the outlying houses of the town, and several more that did not go to West Virginia
in OTL 2000 AD, slid down the "newly formed" destabilized cliff that resulted immediately after the ROF, as is told in detail in "Schwarza Falls". Towards the end of the novel 1634: The Baltic War
, Gustavus has charged Graf Ludwig with chairing and adjudicating an even larger colloquy in the city of Magdeburg (The Magdeburg Colloquy) to settle larger issues within his new realm.
A fact article about the problems and process of identifying and culturing the correct types of mold, and processing and purifying penicillin
extract. A story in a later volume includes use of crude penicillin extract, based on real historical uses, and some culture samples found in a lab refrigerator at Grantville High School.
This essay by Karen Bergstralh discusses horse breed
s and their characteristics common and uncommon to the era of the Thirty Years' War and Europe. Work output, rates and other parameters such as strength, endurance, size, and so forth. Riding horses and even the gaits and tendencies of breeds for this or that trait are discussed in some depth.
1632 series
The 1632 series, also known as the 1632-verse or Ring of Fire series, is an alternate history book series and sub-series created, primarily co-written, and coordinated by Eric Flint and published by Baen Books...
inspired by Eric Flint
Eric Flint
Eric Flint is an American author, editor, and e-publisher. The majority of his main works are alternate history science fiction, but he also writes humorous fantasy adventures.- Career :...
's novel 1632
1632 (novel)
1632 is the initial novel in the best-selling alternate history 1632 book series written by historian, writer and editor Eric Flint. The flagship novel kicked off a collaborative writing effort that has involved hundreds of contributors and dozens of authors...
. The electronically published the Grantville Gazettes
The Grantville Gazettes
The Grantville Gazettes are anthologies of short stories set in the 1632 universe introduced in Eric Flint's novel 1632.The Gazettes started as an experiment: a professionally edited, officially sanctioned "fan magazine" published electronically...
, which are reaching long novel length with regularity, now make up the majority of the series in terms of words in print. Flint as series owner and editor accounts all as canonical. The Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) recognizes published stories within the Gazettes as qualified credentials for membership—which membership requires a writer to have three published works as prerequisites.
Series premise
The first novel, 16321632 (novel)
1632 is the initial novel in the best-selling alternate history 1632 book series written by historian, writer and editor Eric Flint. The flagship novel kicked off a collaborative writing effort that has involved hundreds of contributors and dozens of authors...
and resultant 1632 series
1632 series
The 1632 series, also known as the 1632-verse or Ring of Fire series, is an alternate history book series and sub-series created, primarily co-written, and coordinated by Eric Flint and published by Baen Books...
share a common theme, which is to ask the "What if?" questions common to and characteristic of the science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
: "What if a mysterious cosmic event occurred which juxtaposed the location of a whole populated region of West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
with a matching portion of early modern Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
?" Flint added the additional query to his premise: "What if the two places also switched their respective places in time so that the region from our here-now traveled back in space-time to the land and peoples of 369 years ago?" The series lands a fictional town of about 3,000 souls (Grantville, West Virginia) in Germany amidst the chaos and disorders of the Thirty Years War.
"Portraits"
- by Eric Flint
The story deals with the decision to smuggle information about antibiotics to hostile forces besieging Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, where Rebecca Stearns is trapped. It features Anne Jefferson, introduced in S. L. Viehl
S. L. Viehl
Sheila Kelly is an American writer. She mostly writes novels in a variety of genres and under several pseudonyms. Among them are science fiction Sheila Kelly is an American writer. She mostly writes novels in a variety of genres and under several pseudonyms. Among them are science fiction Sheila...
's Ring of Fire
Ring of Fire (anthology)
Ring of Fire is the third published book by editor-author-historian Eric Flint of the 1632 series, an alternate history series begun in the novel 1632 . The Ring of Fire is both descriptive of the cosmic event as experienced by the series' characters, but also is at times used as the name for the...
short story "A Matter of Consultation". As well as presenting the moral and ethical issues implicit in aiding the enemy, the story focuses heavily on artist and diplomat Pieter Paul Rubens, whose portrait of Jefferson forms the book's cover art. The events of this story are referenced in 1634: The Baltic War
1634: The Baltic War
1634: The Baltic War is the direct novel sequel to 1633 in the collaboratively written alternate history shared universe 1632 series by David Weber and Eric Flint...
and other works in the series.
"Anna's Story"
- by Loren Jones
The story focus on the farmer girl, Anna Braun, who fled from mercenaries that bowled over Police Chief Dan Frost and signaled the arrival of conflict and war at the opening of 1632. It is a poignant story that was just barely cut from Ring of Fire
Ring of Fire (anthology)
Ring of Fire is the third published book by editor-author-historian Eric Flint of the 1632 series, an alternate history series begun in the novel 1632 . The Ring of Fire is both descriptive of the cosmic event as experienced by the series' characters, but also is at times used as the name for the...
according to Flint in the forward, mainly because Ms. Jones already had another tale in the collection, but also because of space considerations—Ring of Fire is nearly 800 pages. The story also turns to the task of elaborating on her families fate, and introduces a lovable if idiosyncratic farmer who finds a new family this side of the Ring of Fire.
"Curio and Relic"
- by Tom Van Natta
The story focus on Paul Santee, a reclusive ex-combat noncom
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
veteran and gun collector, who lives isolated in the outskirts of Grantville. Set in the weeks immediately after the Ring of Fire, Santee remained unaware of his current situation until being met by Eddie Cantrell, who is one of several out-reach workers who are combing the remote regions around Grantville to make sure everyone is informed about the Grantville Emergency Committee's edicts, and soliciting resources for the Allocation Committee to manage. Furthermore, Santee learned that he is wanted by Frank Jackson into joining Grantville's established army as a trainer of cadre, as his one of the few people who has more combat and years of general military experience than everyone else in town put together. Initially Santee flatly refused reentering into military service.
Reality intrudes when a band of men ransacks his remote cabin in which Santee forced to realize just how much times have changed and that he is now dependent upon others. He takes on a position under Jackson and with the assistance of Eddie Cantrell begins to collect and organize the spare arms in the city, organizes an ammunition reloading program and trains residents who need help learning how to use their weapons. Going out with Cantrell to test fire and evaluate different load combinations in the three calibers selected for use by the New United States Army, the two stumble upon and combating brigands raiding a nearby farm. The down-timer Germans had chopped down several trees behind the battlefield of the Battle of the Crapper to gauge and evaluate the penetration power of the Grantvillers' firearm
Firearm
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...
s, and used the knowledge to create an armored (timberclad) wagon. Under fire from Santee and Cantrell, eight of the rogue ex-mercenaries use the timberclad wagon to begin to close on the position of the two Americans. Realizing their bullets will not penetrate, a wounded Santee bravely orders Cantrell to return to the arsenal and return with an elephant gun
Elephant gun
An elephant gun is a large caliber gun, rifled or otherwise, so named because they were originally developed for use by big-game hunters for elephants and other large dangerous game. They used black powder at first but then started using smokeless powder...
while he holds them in check himself. Santee and Cantrell managed to eliminate the brigands with the acquired elephant gun.
"The Sewing Circle"
- by Gorg Huff
"The Sewing Circle" takes a canonical look at the meshing of the resource limited 'New United States' with the extant economy of war torn central Germany. Four American teenagers set themselves the goal of launching a new industry, waging an uphill battle against adult skepticism as well as the intrinsic difficulty of the project itself. Armed with a father who has become part of Grantville's Finance Subcommittee the one girl has a dinner conversation involving "Federal Reserve [Bank] Fairies", who magically make more money and regulate the economy.
Another part is to convince the Germans and all the other down-timers that they are real, because they perform a very important function and it only works really well if most people believe in them.
Grantville, newly arrived in 1631 has some fast talking to do to have its money stand up and be negotiable specie. On thing which is surprisingly salable is things with plastics, particularly dolls that a rich nobleman might buy a favorite daughter.
Soon after, the four Junior High classmates, meet along the banks of a creek. Two, Brent and Trent Partow, are twin brothers, are mechanically inclined and the fourth, David Bartley, is smitten by the lass, the carrot-topped Sarah, who pines for one of the twins. Just to add more angst to David's life, his mother is something of an overprotective loser and his father has long departed for greener pastures—and went back to his wife. The four kids realize resources are very limited, manpower is short, and that gearing down is absolutely necessary from the very beginning.
The kids' problems are just beginning. While Mrs. Higgin's Singer is nearly 100 years old, the gap between early 20th century and 17th century manufacturing technology and techniques is vast—particularly for under-experienced would-be twin engineers not yet in high school. David turns out to have a head for organizing and management, and keeps the project moving forward with an able assist from his Grandma Higgins. She eventually bankrolls a big piece of the company, while David figures out how to make it pay. Sarah has a grasp of finance beyond her years, and teams with David—which he minds, not a bit.
"The Rudolstadt Colloquy"
- by Virginia DeMarceVirginia DeMarceVirginia Easley DeMarce is a historian who specializes in early modern European history, as well as a prominent author in the 1632 series collaborative fiction project. She has done prominent genealogical work on the origins of the Melungeon peoples.-Biography:DeMarce received her Ph.D...
This story is Virginia DeMarce's second fictional foray in the series and like "Biting Time", the tale establishes some important canonical underpinnings that draw references, or are extrapolated upon in the various novel sequels. This protestant (Lutheran) Colloquy
Colloquy (religious)
A religious colloquy is a meeting to settle differences of doctrine or dogma, also called a colloquium , as in the historical Colloquy at Poissy, and like the legal colloquy, most often with a certain degree of judging involved...
is mentioned often in the first printed major works of the series, and occasionally crops up in the thirteen Gazettes existing solely as e-published works. The Rudolstadt Colloquy as historical background sits at the heart and center of the religious strife between Protestant sects which in our time line continued to divide the new churches even as they collectively battled the Roman Catholic dominated world and that church's Counter-reformation
Counter-Reformation
The Counter-Reformation was the period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War, 1648 as a response to the Protestant Reformation.The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort, composed of four major elements:#Ecclesiastical or...
, the effort to reimpose a uniform religion on all of Europe.
At the heart of the matter is the strongly held belief in the authoritarian philosophy, embraced by the nobility and churchmen alike, that a state cannot not stand without a uniform official religion. "From the perspective of the princes, religion was important in the 'here and now' because religion here and now was a way of making the population behave." To the modern mind, this seems a curious and perhaps incomprehensible point of view, but the modern man does not embrace the concept either that one class of people was explicitly set above all others and destined from birth to rule. Further, the position and power of all nobles draws from that belief and that of kings being the chosen and anointed protectors of both church and state, regardless of how well or poorly they conduct the business of taking care of the populace at large. Considered in that light, the colloquy and its results will be a major supporting event in the overall 1632 theme championing religious toleration.
In the Rudolstadt Colloquy, internal tensions within the Lutheran community are contrasted and displayed. In addition to their mainstream Lutheran church, Grantville sends representatives from two smaller up-time Lutheran sects, the Missouri Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Throughout Europe, both Catholic and Protestant countries either have heads of state attending in person or by proxy by sending a personal envoy to the long theological debate, which is chaired by the Graf
Graf
Graf is a historical German noble title equal in rank to a count or a British earl...
Ludwig Guenther, Count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was a small historic state in present-day Thuringia, Germany with its capital at Rudolstadt.-History:Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was established in 1599 in the course of a resettlement of Schwarzburg dynasty lands...
. Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt happen to be among the very nearest neighbors to Grantville's geographic position. Schwarzburg
Schwarzburg
Schwarzburg is a municipality in the valley of the Schwarza in the district Saalfeld-Rudolstadt in Thuringia, Germany.First mentioned in 1071 as Swartzinburg. The castle was from the 12th century the seat of the Counts of Schwarzburg...
, in the fictional canon, in fact is so close that the Ring of Fire (ROF) transfer of territory between space-time continuums actually cuts through the outlying houses of the town, and several more that did not go to West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
in OTL 2000 AD, slid down the "newly formed" destabilized cliff that resulted immediately after the ROF, as is told in detail in "Schwarza Falls". Towards the end of the novel 1634: The Baltic War
1634: The Baltic War
1634: The Baltic War is the direct novel sequel to 1633 in the collaboratively written alternate history shared universe 1632 series by David Weber and Eric Flint...
, Gustavus has charged Graf Ludwig with chairing and adjudicating an even larger colloquy in the city of Magdeburg (The Magdeburg Colloquy) to settle larger issues within his new realm.
"They've Got Bread Mold, So Why Can't They Make Penicillin?"
- by Robert Gottlief
A fact article about the problems and process of identifying and culturing the correct types of mold, and processing and purifying penicillin
Penicillin
Penicillin is a group of antibiotics derived from Penicillium fungi. They include penicillin G, procaine penicillin, benzathine penicillin, and penicillin V....
extract. A story in a later volume includes use of crude penicillin extract, based on real historical uses, and some culture samples found in a lab refrigerator at Grantville High School.
"Horse Power"
- Karen Bergstralh
This essay by Karen Bergstralh discusses horse breed
Horse breed
Horse breed is a broad term with no clear consensus as to definition, but most commonly refers to selectively bred populations of domesticated horses, often with pedigrees recorded in a breed registry. However, the term is sometimes used in a very broad sense to define landrace animals, or...
s and their characteristics common and uncommon to the era of the Thirty Years' War and Europe. Work output, rates and other parameters such as strength, endurance, size, and so forth. Riding horses and even the gaits and tendencies of breeds for this or that trait are discussed in some depth.
External links
- Grantville Gazette Volume 1 free e-book