The general tone of the writing is less of an outright fantasy and more of an alternate history. The point of divergence from normal history is not provided, although hints are given about how the faerie history intersects with human history (Adolf Hitler, the Great Famine of Ireland, and Thomas Jefferson are examples). In the books, Jefferson gave the Unseelie and Seelie courts asylum after the European courts exiled them—however with the caveat that they could not set themselves up as gods or make war on one another, by doing so they would risk being evicted from US soil.