Bring the Jubilee

One Awesome Story

by Matthew Luecke

Bring the Jubilee, by Ward Moore, is a novella first published in the 1952. I had no idea it was so old when I first read it, included in a volume I picked up at the St. Louis airport titled, The Best Alternate History Science Fiction of the 20th Century. I loved it the first time I read it and have appreciated it every time I have picked up the volume. Why review a story more than 50 years old? Because it is such a wonderful story, rich with details so vivid you can see the scenery. Because I actually started analyzing it and looking for deeper meaning: something I haven’t done to a story since I was forced to by high school teachers. Because I really think anyone who picks it up will enjoy it.

Briefly, the novella tells the story of Hodgkins Backmaker, a boy who grows into a man after a victory by the South in the American Civil War. In Moore’s story, the South wins the Battle of Gettysburg and goes on to defeat the Northern Army led by General Meade. Hodge grows up in the United States, a third rate world power. He makes his way to New York City where he begins a self-taught course in History as a worker in a bookstore. After several years of working there, he is recruited by a commune of scholars to continue his research. He becomes one of the leading scholars of the War for Southron Independence (what the Civil War is called in that timeline). He makes the acquaintance of the leading physicist of the day Barbara Haggerswells (apparently Einstein is never born in this history) who creates a time machine. Hodge then goes back to observe the Battle of Gettysburg, but his mere presence causes the advance Southron troops from occupying Big and Little Roundtop, leading to Barbara’s grandfather getting killed and the North victory leading to the timeline we all live in.

Sound geeky? It’s not. The story is told from first person perspective, Hodge’s. The science for the time machine is told from his perspective, a historian who doesn’t understand much science. In fact, all of the different gadgetry in the alternate timeline is told from this slightly befuddled view. I have no idea how a “minible” differs from an automobile. Second, some alternate history stories simply are “Hey, let’s find something in history, change it, and see how cool that is!” without any kind of character development or “good” story telling.

As I said before, this story is story telling at its finest. It never hurries, but you never get bored. Ward Moore also tackles the question of whether we have free will, are simply fated to do what we do, or if there is some type of middle ground. The bookstore owner espouses the view that we simply do what we are fated to do. The Haitian ambassador to the United States (interested yet?), a deeply religious man, believes not in unlimited free will or chaos, but that chaos tempered by God. Barbara, through her actions and warnings about altering the past while time-traveling, represents unlimited free will. Hodge? He never comes out and says exactly what he believes. At varying stages of the story, he goes back and forth in his belief. At times, he seems to be caught up in events he can’t control and playing out actions fated for him, such as when he unwittingly runs guns (interested yet?). There are times of chaos, such as when he witnesses bandits robbing Spanish nobility (interested yet?) or riding his father’s horse the wrong way.

I think Moore’s answer, and what seems to be applicable to my own life, is that each of us has free will when we actively choose and try to control our lives. It is so easy to get caught up in only reacting to what is presented to us that it seems easy to believe we have no choice. Hodge certainly experiences long periods of his life where he gets caught up in events seemingly beyond his control. But, we are free when we actively attempt to change our lives. Hodge is at his most free when he leaves his home town for New York City, when he attempts to get accepted at Universities, and when he studies at the commune of scholars. But, ultimately we are left with the unanswered question of what truly is the answer. Was Hodge fated to change history? Was his decision to go back to watch the Battle of Gettysburg completely of his own free will? Is it a combination?