The War Between the Provinces is a series of fantasy novels by
Harry Turtledove.
The novels are a retelling of the
American Civil War in a
high fantasy setting called the Kingdom of Detina. The series focuses on the Eastern theater of the War Between the Provinces.
The names of locations have been changed, and
North and
South (and west and east) have been reversed, and, rather than skin color, hair color is used as the basis for the dehumanization. Many of the characters are based on real-world characters, and their names indicate this. Often their names are anagrams of the real-world character they are based on, or their nicknames contain their original's name.
Hand-cranked
crossbows replace guns to mirror slow reloading times, and the northern rebels have fewer
flying carpet paths (railroads) than the southern kingdom, hence giving the slave-owning side the same logistical problems that existed in the American Civil War.
King Buchan – The previous King of Detina before his death. He was the father of Avram and uncle of Geoffrey. He is based on US President
James Buchanan.
Daniel the Weaver – A Detinan statesman. Ten years before the Detinan Civil War, he worked with Henry Feet of Clay and John the Typhoon to reach a compromise that headed off a war over serfdom by satisfying both northern nobles and King Zachary the Rough and Ready. He is based on
Daniel Webster.
Henry Feet of Clay – A Detinan statesman who is based on
Henry Clay.
John the Typhoon – A Detinan statesman who is based on
John C. Calhoun.
Zachary the Rough and Ready – The King of Detina ten years before the Detinan Civil War. He is based on US President
Zachary Taylor.
Hesmucet – He was a blond king who led a war against the ethnic Detinans before they had become firmly established as the rulers of the continent. Hesmucet frustrated the expansionist intentions of the Detinans for a long time but was killed in battle. He is based on
Shawnee chief
Tecumseh, who fought the United States during the
War of 1812.
"Inward" – He was the alias of a mage from the Mother Kingdom who anonymously wrote a theory that the gods created lower creatures than humans and other modern animals and let them vie for supremacy of the physical universe without intervening on behalf of early man or anyone else. The notion was condemned as heretical by most mages, and many threats were made against "Inward", which is why he went to great lengths to keep his identity a secret. He is based on
British naturalist
Charles Darwin.
Kermit – He was an emperor on the continent across the Western Ocean from Detina. 50 years before the Detinan Civil War, Kermit waged a war against the other western kingdoms to expand his empire. His efforts were met with tremendous initial success, and he established a reputation as one of the world's all-time great military geniuses. However, he attempted to invade the massive southern kingdom of Sorb during the brutal winter months. Although Kermit's forces were able to make it to the Sorbian capital of Pahzbull, his army was forced to retreat from the city and it would never recover from the massive number of casualties that it sustained from the retreat. More men were lost to starvation and the winter temperatures than to Sorbian and allied counteroffensives. Kermit is based on
FrenchEmperorNapoleon Bonaparte.
Detinan gods
Death Lord – The Detinan god of death
Lion God – One of the two greatest in the Detinan pantheon
Red Lady – The goddess of the Native Detinan blonds
Thunderer – One of the two greatest in the Detinan pantheon
Sweet One – The Detinan goddess of love and sexuality.