Eight: The Right Honorable Arthur
A frustrating thing for anyone seeking to adapt this novel is how so few characters seem to have a job--or if they have one, they spend hardly any time doing it. Case in point--Arthur Holmwood, son and heir the Viscount Godalming.
Since I am positing a different timeline, one in which a kind of small scale First World War fought for three years roughly in the place of Franco-Prussian War, with Arthur, Quincey and Seward as veterans of that conflict, another notion popped up. What if Arthur Holmwood worked for British Intelligence? Does not this offer some wonderful possibilities of intrigue and paranoia, as well as giving the character a sharp focus he frankly needs?
Now in our history, much of international brinkmanship as well as espionage focused on what they then called The Great Game, i.e. the long term rivalry between the United Kingdom and the Russian Empire. Ironically enough, when war did break out in 1916 Russia and England were allies against Germany.
Presumably, much like in our history, the Ministry of War created a formal organization to coordinate and plan matters of intelligence, security and covert operations. Whatever form this takes, if one presumes Arthur Holmwood an operative of same, then he has every reason in the world to investigate evidence of a mysterious Austrian nobleman (Transylvania was part of the Austrian Empire at this point) sneaking into England. Extrapolate from there and this helps explain his insistence on keeping Quincey the gunslinger by his side (and since in this timeline, the UK probably helped the South win the Civil War, Quincey might be his opposite number in the Confederacy). More, it might create a natural rift between them and Seward, who now spends his time trying to heal the sick, most of all those suffering from what we call PTSD. He is a more frightening figure, a more worthy adversary for our Dracula--at the same time, I wonder if he would ever consider for one moment the theory their enemy had nothing whatsoever to do with politics?
To be continued
Since I am positing a different timeline, one in which a kind of small scale First World War fought for three years roughly in the place of Franco-Prussian War, with Arthur, Quincey and Seward as veterans of that conflict, another notion popped up. What if Arthur Holmwood worked for British Intelligence? Does not this offer some wonderful possibilities of intrigue and paranoia, as well as giving the character a sharp focus he frankly needs?
Presumably, much like in our history, the Ministry of War created a formal organization to coordinate and plan matters of intelligence, security and covert operations. Whatever form this takes, if one presumes Arthur Holmwood an operative of same, then he has every reason in the world to investigate evidence of a mysterious Austrian nobleman (Transylvania was part of the Austrian Empire at this point) sneaking into England. Extrapolate from there and this helps explain his insistence on keeping Quincey the gunslinger by his side (and since in this timeline, the UK probably helped the South win the Civil War, Quincey might be his opposite number in the Confederacy). More, it might create a natural rift between them and Seward, who now spends his time trying to heal the sick, most of all those suffering from what we call PTSD. He is a more frightening figure, a more worthy adversary for our Dracula--at the same time, I wonder if he would ever consider for one moment the theory their enemy had nothing whatsoever to do with politics?
To be continued
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