The published books and stories from the Time Travel Diaries of James Urquhart and Elizabeth Bicester by Bruce Macfarlane.
Book 1: Out of Time
The first diaries of the humorous and sometimes romantic time travel adventures of James Urquhart, minor science lecturer living in 2015 and Elizabeth Bicester, lady of leisure, whom he stumbles upon at a cricket match at Hamgreen in 1873. Despite their banter regarding each other’s manners they manage through incredible feats of illogical deduction and with not a little help from James ll, H. G. Wells, the Martians and some strange time devices, to save the world.
Book 2: A Drift Out of Time
In this volume, they have returned home to find they are not only in an alternative future but a different aspect of themselves. To get back to their world they must travel between Mars and Earth, drifting across time and space, until eventually they reach home and discover who the Martians really are.
Book 3: A House Out of Time
Once again, the intrepid couple have “retired’ to a quiet life of ease in an alternative world after helping the Martians save the Earth and their own planet. Unfortunately, Elizabeth thought it would be a good idea to visit her ancestral home at Hamgreen to see what had become of it.
….Such is the curiosity of women.
Book 4: The Space Between Time
In these extracts from the Time Travel Diaries we find the intrepid couple enjoying a peaceful and romantic picnic by the River Rother when a motor launch turns up complete with Mr Wells.
Apparently, a certain Mr Tesla has conducted one of his electro-magnetic experiments which has fractured time and dumped everyone in an alternative world of 1895. The problem is that only a few people have noticed the difference.
Mr Wells wondered if James and Elizabeth would like to help.
Book 5: The Time Palace of Mars
If you are taking your Victorian wife to a car wash for the first time, it’s a good idea to explain beforehand that the long blue furry cloths banging on the windows are not aliens trying to abduct her.
This will give you more time to think of a reason why both of you are suddenly transported to a palace on Mars where Time stands still and you’re surrounded by twelve strangely magical statues of mythological Gods.
Luckily Mr Puddlewick, a bank teller from Threadneedle Street is on hand to help. Even though he has no idea, after attending a lecture by Mr Tesla in New York on communicating with Mars, why he is there.
All he knows, apart from what is behind the frescos on the walls of the Palace, is that he found a strange device which had a picture of Elizabeth and I with a message “Get Urquhart”. So, he pressed the Red Button.
Short Stories
The Webs of Time
Here are seven short stories from the time travel diaries of James Urquhart, minor scientist, who lived in 2015 and Elizabeth Bicester whom he met at cricket match in 1873.
They are narrated by Professor Rolleston who discovered the original diaries and who spent his life, when not hunting fairies, trying to understand their contents and the reasons for their existence.
Three of the stories, Northern Nights, A Holiday in Cornwall and the Haunted Mill, previously appeared in Three Tales Out of Time.
Beware of Faries bearing Gifts
In summer, the veranda of Elizabeth’s house at Hamgreen in West Sussex is a perfect place for weary time-travellers to relax and watch the Martian sunset
A Short Story from the Time Travel Diaries of James Urquhart and Elizabeth Bicester .
When your Victorian wife takes you back in time for dinner at her father’s house, be careful what you ask for.
My books and stories from The Time Travel Diaries are published by Aldwick Publishing and are available on Amazon and Kindle.
You can find out more on how I wrote the Time Travel Diaries here.
