The Churchill Memorandum by Sean Gabb

 From Kindle only

I am not normaly a fan of alternative history fiction but as Sean Gabb has written such excellent historical novels under his other guise as Richard Blake I gave it a try and am so pleased that I did.

The Churchill Memorandum is set in 1959, but not as we know it as Mr Spock might say.   The 1914-18 war has taken place as has the Russian revolution and Hitler and the Nazi Party took power in Germany but America has retreated into isolation under a puritan dictator.   Britain still has the Empire and the good fortune to keep Churchill out of Downing Street, Lord Halifax has suceeded Neville Chamberlain as Prime Minister whilst Harold Macmillan is Foreign Secretary and Edward Heath is Home Secretary.   Enoch Powell is at the India Office.   In the mid Thirties Hitler is killed in a motor accident, Goering takes his place and cuts a deal with the Jews thus Germany and not America becomes the sponsor of the Jewish State in the Middle East.   Churchill writes his memorandum following a series of meetings between Halifax and Goering where they combine to keep Russia coralled between Germany in the West and Japan in the East whist America will be encouraged to remain in isolation.  
Anthony Markham is an historian struggling to create a niche for himself as an expert on Churchill and retrieves pages of the Memorandum on a trip to America.   At New York airport he encounters a Major Stanhope who forces his company on him through assisting Markham witha problem with airport officials.   Back in England his neighbour, Dr Pakeshi, rescues him from gunmen who force their way into his flat to get their hands on the Memorandum.   From then on Markham finds himself fleeing for his life befriended and/or beaten up by a range of characters until he finds himself a key player in a plot to overthrow the government.   Along the way he finds himself in and out of the the company of the likes of Harold Macmillan, Michael Foot now leader of the British Communist Party, Edward Heath, Kenneth Tynan, Roy Jenkins, Dennis Potter, Robin Day and Nicholas Kaldor.   Enoch Powell is described by Gabb as having a Midlands accent!   Not really Mr Gabb.
To get the best out of this book some knowledge of recent British history, both political and cultural, is a great advantage but even without that Sean Gabb has written a really enjoyable addition to the alternative history genre.   For what it is worth I recommend it.