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Post by missyfan45 on Aug 8, 2020 14:52:44 GMT
as catsmate said in historical thing of the day st Mary's is great for research i especially like how they did "normal" stuff like bosworth field and unusual stuff like Florence near the renaissance. so this is a another thread for idea pooling from st Mary's
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Catsmate
13th Incarnation
It's complicated....
Posts: 3,753
Favourite Doctors: Thirteen, Six, Five, Two, Eight, Eleven, Twelve, One, Nine...
Traits: Eccentric, Insatiable Curiousity.
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Post by Catsmate on Aug 8, 2020 16:30:42 GMT
as catsmate said in historical thing of the day st Mary's is great for research i especially like how they did "normal" stuff like bosworth field and unusual stuff like Florence near the renaissance. so this is a another thread for idea pooling from st Mary's I'm very fond of the series and Mad Max.
The staff of St.Marys (and their associates) can crop up almost anywhere and can be adapted to the Whoniverse with a few changes. For example their time travel technique generally doesn't allow the past to be altered, nor does it seem to work beyond Earth. Likewise the Time Police, though these can be replaced by the Time Agency without too much trouble The staff themselves are generally a quirky, flawed, accident prone bunch.
The books are set in the indeterminate near future, or a slightly different near future, perhaps fitting in the period leading to the Whoniverse's WZA or the dual power blocks of Warriors of the Deep; there are references to increased space travel, a Mars settlement, the USA closing it's borders and fragmentation within the EU, but also to a half-crown being current currency, the March Uprisings [in '68, when a small group of civilians threw the Fascists out of Cardiff] the Monmouth Riots and the Battersea Barricades in the run-up to the creation of St. Marys. Technologically other than the time pods there are blasters and true projected holographics. Medical tech isn't described but seems to be better than current (they need it) but certainly not magical. Tea, alcohol and chocolate still exist and are consumed copiously. Otherwise the background is (deliberately I assume) rather undescribed.
While it may seem similar to the Oxford Series by Connie Willis, Taylor's writing is lighter and more amusing, though she's still capable of surprising twists. And her first person protagonist, Dr. Madeleine Maxwell, is an excellent and well drawn character somewhat reminiscent of Benny Summerfield (including the alcohol tolerance). There are currently nine novels and nine short stories in the series. If you're looking for a historical background the books are a mine of ideas and detail.
For example there's the teams visit to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon Nineveh and their subsequent witnessing of the assassination of Sennacherib in 681BCE by two of his sons. Requiring them to hide out in the city for several days. An excellent plotline for a pure historical scenario in the First Doctor mold.
Thirdly there's the matter of the strangely erroneous Shakespeare play, describing the execution of Elizabeth Tudor and the accession of Mary Stuart to the joint Scottish/English throne with French support. This leads Max and her team to fix an attempt to alter history. Lots of possibilities here; the Doctor (or someone else) could find the play in the future (perhaps written by himself?) and realise he has to go back and fix things. The principal antagonist is protected by the need to avoid engendering a paradox and can't simply be stopped by force. There's a good deal of useful data on the Scottish court in the period that could be borrowed. The device of hiding material in the past for retrieval in the "present" is an old one but a useful one in a Who game, a reward for a historian who'd been useful to the party perhaps?
Then there's the mystery of the "R". When Richard III's body was found one of the odd things about the discovery was the presence of a painted letter R on the ground adjacent to his grave. Ask Dr. Maxwell about that...
Or indeed about Isaac Newton, like the Doctor, she had problems with him Plus the usual problems of a time traveller; getting stranded in the Cretaceous, being pursued by Caesar's soldiers, a spot of bother at Agincourt, avoiding being raped by the Earl of Bothwell, surviving the fall of Troy and meeting Jack the Ripper. Oh and interacting with the Muse of History.
There's a visit to Camulodunum (Roman Colchester) during the Iceni rebellion in AD 60/61 that's wonderful background and captures the feel of the events well.
I did a write-up of Mad Max previously: Dr. Madeline ‘Mad Max’ Maxwell and her page on the St. Mary's wiki.
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Post by missyfan45 on Aug 8, 2020 18:01:17 GMT
yeah its great for pure historical's they visit Herodotus,Bonfire of the Vanities, as a sampler and is great for pure historical's
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