Three Other Time Travel Novels
Brendan Doyle, time traveller, knows that, on a particular day in 1810, the poet, William Ashbless, arrived in London where he entered the Jamaica Coffee House at 10:30 and then wrote his poem, "The Twelve Hours of the Night," while seated in the coffee house. Wanting to meet and befriend Ashbless, Doyle arrives in the coffee house on time. However, Ashbless does not show up so Doyle writes the poem from memory, then remains in the nineteenth century as Ashbless...
There is more to the story than that but I have summarized the paradox and am now going to bed. Life is busy here: Robin Hood (a version of) this evening; more authentic Vikings tomorrow. It is nearly midnight.
7 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
A name like "Doyle" will always remind me of Sir Arthur and the Great Detective.
Ad astra! Sean
Accidental association.
Living in the early 19th century would be... stressful... for a modern person. Read about the "Great Stink" in 1858, for example.
Kaor, Paul and Mr. Stirling!
Paul: Oh, I knew it was just an accidental association.
Mr. Stirling: I looked up the Great Stink, and water and sewage handling was terrible up till the late 1850's! And people didn't yet understand cholera was water borne, not "miasmic." The Great Stink of 1858 finally forced a really thorough upgrading and modernization of sewage handling.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: In London, at least! Some continental European cities remained inadequately provided with sewers well into the 20th century.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Matters re sewage were bad enough before 1858, but a heat wave in the summer of that year along with less rain than usual caused the level of the Thames River to seriously drop. Huge flats of massively stinking sludge were exposed. The stench was so bad Parliament seriously considered leaving Westminster Palace. All that, plus nasty cholera outbreaks finally forced the gov't to get serious about modernizing sewage handling.
Not surprised other major cities took a lot longer to modernize sewage managing. Shillyshallying and bungling IWHBD.
Ad astra! Sean
Not to mention serious reluctance to spend money.
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