Divide and Rule is a 1948 collection of two science fiction novellas by L. Sprague de Camp, first published in hardcover by Fantasy Press, and later reissued in paperback by Lancer Books in 1964. The collected pieces were previously published in 1939 and 1941 in the magazines Unknown and Astounding. 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... A novella is a short novel; a narrative work of prose fiction somewhat longer than a short story but shorter than a novel. ... L. Sprague de Camp from the cover of Time and Chance: an Autobiography, Donald M. Grant, 1996 Lyon Sprague de Camp, (November 27, 1907, New York City – November 6, 2000, Plano, Texas) was an American science fiction and fantasy author. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... Sinister Barrier by Eric Frank Russell Unknown (also known as Unknown Worlds) was a pulp fantasy magazine, edited by John W. Campbell, that was published from 1939 to 1943. ... Astounding Stories was a seminal science fiction magazine founded in 1930. ...

The stories in the collection both postulate futures in which Earth has reverted to feudalism, in one instance by the dictate of alien invaders and in the other as a result of the accumulation of excessive power by corporations.

Contents:

• Divide and Rule
• The Stolen Dormouse