Ruled Britannia (Paperback)

High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Ruled Britannia is an alternate history novel by Harry Turtledove, first published in hardcover and paperback by Roc Books in 2002. The book is set in the year 1597, in an alternate universe where the Spanish Armada is successful. The Kingdom of England (and apparently most of Britain) has been conquered and returned to the fold of the Roman Catholic Church under the rule of Queen Isabella, daughter of Philip II of Spain. Queen Elizabeth, deposed, is imprisoned within the Tower of London as her fellow Protestants are burned as heretics by the English Inquisition. The story is seen from the point of view of two famous playwrights: English poet William Shakespeare, and Spanish poet Lope de Vega; supporting characters include contemporaries Christopher Marlowe, Richard Burbage, and Will Kempe.