There are two things you need to know about James Urquhart, a 21st century science lecturer from Chichester, and Elizabeth Bicester, a Victorian Cambridge graduate, living comfortably at her father’s mysterious house at Hamgreen, deep in the Sussex Downs.
- They both keep diaries
- Due to a quirk in space-time they met each other at a cricket match at Hamgreen in 1873.
Leaving the diaries aside (There’s whole books written about them), how did their first meeting go?
Bearing in mind, neiither of them were aware of time travel.
Not well.
If you turn up at a cricket match, after chasing an elusive butterfly, on a hot summer’s day and see a girl in Victorian fancy dress, who looks like she’d just fallen out of a Tissot painting, DON’T ask her how many petticoat she’s wearing. NOR take your jacket off, sit down at her table in your T-Shirt, and help yourself to a cucumber sandwich. A crime, apparently, worse than a lady pouring her own drink at a Victorian soirée.
Luckily, in the confusion and stick from Elizabeh about his manners, when James made his apologies and walked off, he accidently left his phone there.
it seems James’ phone, which he had got repaired in a Magic Shop in Charing Cross, was connected to the past and the future. Thus, Elizabeth was able to contact him.
Yes. Even Victorians can learn how to use a Smart Phone. Especially girls who have achieved a Mathematical Tripos at Girton, Cambridge University. And attended many science lectures. Though the reason for the latter was NOT, as James has erroneously implied, so that Elizabeth could meet men of her own age without a chaperone!
Nevertheless, It took a while and some considerable discussion regarding each other’s customs and manners (see above) before they realised, they were from different times.
And only a little longer, (actually quite a bit longer), to fall in love.
Thus, they’d rather be at home snuggled up reading a book or watching telly.
Unfortunately, due to their inquisitive nature about saving the world from social media and a Martian invasion, they find themselves buffeted about in time and alternative universes.
This is not easy.
Trying to make sure you have the right clothes for the period is really important.
And don’t mention horse riding to James or why Elizabeth can drive a Martian space ship better than he can.
Then H G Wells keeps appearing to give them advice they didn’t know they needed. And as for the Martians, who can see the future; who knows what their plan is?
Discovery of the Time Travel Diaries

Of course, nothing would have been known about James and Elizabeth until Professor Rolleston found their diaries clasped together in the attic of Elizabeth’s home at Hamgreen.
After much work, when he wasn’t hunting fairies, he made some sense of them.
But only after he compiled their diaries in the form of narration so that James and Elizabeth could tell their own story.
The Time Travel Diaries of James Urquhart & Elizabeth Bicester are available in paperback and Kindle at Amazon.
Find out how I developed and wrote the stories and also the people and places I used.
I hope you enjoy the stories