- Paperback: 672 pages
- Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd; New edition edition (5 Aug 1993)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0450579875
- ISBN-13: 978-0450579875
- Product Dimensions: 17.6 x 11.6 x 4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (159 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 362,244 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Connie Willis laboured five years on this story of a history student in 2048 who is transported to an English village in the 14th century. The student arrives mistakenly on the eve of the onset of the Black Plague. Her dealings with a family of "contemps" in 1348 and with her historian cohorts lead to complications as the book unfolds into a surprisingly dark, deep conclusion. The book, which won Hugo and Nebula Awards, draws upon Willis' understanding of the universalities of human nature to explore the ageless issues of evil, suffering and the indomitable will of the human spirit.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
A woman travels back through time to complete her doctoral thesis - but due to an accident, she lands in the middle of the Black Plague of 1348. The Oxford she left behind is laid low by a flu released from the grave of the knight from the era she's visiting.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Harrowing but Superb,
By A Customer
This review is from: Doomsday Book (Mass Market Paperback)
There are books you read and expect to hate, this was one of those. Connie Willis ? Oh one of those "literary" SF writers! A triumph of style over readability, character & plot. Well what can I say but I was wrong. Willis time travel jaunt maybe scientifically incorrect but she has written a novel about characters I ended up caring about. The book zips along and contains real emotion. Just buy it.
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Once you start, you can't put the book down.,
This review is from: Doomsday Book (Paperback)
The evocation of the sheer nastiness of the 14th Century is brilliant. There is mounting horror as the natives of that century succumb to the Black Death over a Christmas period, witnessed by the appalled time-travelling scholar from our own near future. Some of the scenes are heartrending, as there is plenty of time to get attached to the characters before they start to become ill. In alternate chapters the contemporary situation in Oxford at Christmas is explored, where an outbreak of highly contagious and fatal flu has broken out, thereby preventing a rescue party from setting up the equipment necessary for retrieving the scholar. The quarantine, medicalisation and bureaucracy of the situation in contemporary Oxford contrasts sharply with the superstition, dubious medicines and appeals to the Almighty that exemplify the 14th Century. If it sounds unrelentingly grim; it isn't. There is a lot of humour, with fun being poked at characters who are vain and officious in BOTH centuries. Anyone who has lived in/ studied in/ visited Oxford will find much to recognise in the description of the town, especially the University. Immerse yourself in this book over a summer's day, and you will surface from it as I did: wondering why it isn't freezing cold and surprised to find that you're still healthy!
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Living history,
By
This review is from: Doomsday Book (Mass Market Paperback)
This is one of the best books I have ever read. Kivrin, a time-travelling historian, is mistakenly sent back to a Medieval village near Oxford as the Black Death is about to strike, and sees all around her succumb to the Plague. At the same time, in her home time, a flu pandemic is laying waste to Oxford, stopping any attempts to find her and bring her home. Unlikely as it may sound, this novel also contains some wonderful comic moments - William, Mrs Gaddson, Finch and the American bellringers, to name but a few. I am absolutely caught up in this story and unable to put it down every time I read it.
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