"Divide and Rule" is a science fiction novella by American writer L. Sprague de Camp. It was first published as a serial in the magazine Unknown from April to May, 1939 and first appeared in book form in de Camp's collection Divide and Rule (Fantasy Press, 1948). The story was revised for book publication. The first stand-alone book edition of the story was published as a large-print hardcover by Thorndike Press in September 2003. An E-book edition of the story was issued by Gollancz's SF Gateway imprint on September 29, 2011 as part of a general release of de Camp's works in electronic form. The story has also appeared in the anthologies Cosmic Knights (Signet/NEL, 1985), The Mammoth Book of Classic Science Fiction: Short Novels of the 1930s (Robinson, 1988), Divide and Rule/The Sword of Rhiannon (Tor, 1990), and Great Tales of Classic Science Fiction (Galahad Books, 1990). Plot summary A future earth has been conquered by the extraterrestrial "Hoppers," aliens resembling kangaroos. To secure their dominance, the Hoppers have reserved all advanced technology for their own use and resurrected the feudal society of the European Middle Ages, which they have imposed on the earthlings to prevent them from uniting against their conquerors. The story follows one such feudal lord, Sir Howard Van Slyck, a younger son of the Duke of Poughkeepsie, whose knight-errant quest leads him by degrees to question and challenge Hopper rule. After his brother Frank is executed for engaging in scientific research he joins the Wyoming knight Lyman Haas in the anti-Hopper underground, in which he becomes privy to a conspiracy to topple the alien rulers. Reception John K. Aiken, writing in Fantasy Review, rates de Camp "very nearly at his best" in this story, and his best as "very good indeed." He considers it "[a]ltogether, as sprightly and enjoyable a [tale] as one might meet in a couple of years' reading." He appreciates the basis of de Camp's science fiction "in the behaviour of real people living in unfamiliar social set-ups, logically developed from to-day's trends or from a given premise." He does feel "that Mr. de Camp's sense of humour [can] sometimes run away with him," as in "the extremely improbable details of the feudal regime set up by the Hoppers ... but improbability is here outweighed by entertainment value and by a certain wild consistency which is supported by the reality of the