Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth; Courtesy of Flickr/Tony Hisgett

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde vividly reimagines world history and the intellectual hierarchies that hold power over our society. In Fforde's world, which contains more advanced technology and a shared understanding and passion for literature, alternative regimes have carved out new political power structures unseen by the world today. The primary political difference lies in the continued existence of the Crimean War — which, starting in 1854, saw the alliance of Britain, France, Turkey, and Sardinia against Russia ("Crimean War").