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{{Infobox Novel|
{{title dab away}}
novel name= Birthright|
{{real world}}
image= [[Image:NA017_birthright.jpg|250px]]|
{{Infobox Story SMW
series=[[Doctor Who]] -<br/>[[Virgin New Adventures]] |
|image = NA017 birthright.jpg
number= 17 |
|series = [[Virgin New Adventures]]
doctor=[[Seventh Doctor]] (mostly absent in this adventure) |
|range = Virgin New Adventures
companions= [[Ace]], [[Bernice Summerfield|Benny]] |
|number in range = 17
enemy= [[Charrl|the Charrl]], [[Jared Khan]] |
|number = 17
year= Earth, London, February, [[1909]] <br> Ant'ykhon, 22,000 |
|adapted into = Birthright (audio story)
writer= [[Nigel Robinson]] |
|main character = [[Ace]], [[Bernice Summerfield|Benny]]
publisher= [[Virgin Books]] |
|featuring = [[Seventh Doctor]]
release date= August [[1993]] |
|enemy = [[Charrl]], [[Jared Khan]]
format= Paperback Book, ? Pages |
|setting= [[London]], [[1909]]; [[Antýkhon]], [[22000|22,000]]
isbn= ISBN 0426203933 |
|writer = Nigel Robinson
previous story= [[Shadowmind]] |  
|cover = [[Peter Elson]]
next story= [[Iceberg]] }}
|publisher = Virgin Books
|release date= 19 August 1993
|format = Paperback Book; 40 Chapters, 216 Pages
|isbn = ISBN 0-426-20393-3
|prev = Shadowmind (novel)
|next = Iceberg (novel)
|series2= [[Interweaving with the New Adventures|''DWM'' "New Adventures order"]]
|prev2 = Shadowmind (novel)
|next2 = Iceberg (novel)
}}{{prose stub}}
{{dab page|Birthright (disambiguation)}}
'''''Birthright''''' was the seventeenth of [[Virgin Books]]' ''[[Virgin New Adventures|New Adventures]]'' novels. It was written by [[Nigel Robinson]], published in [[1993 (releases)|1993]], and featured the [[Seventh Doctor]], [[Ace]] and [[Bernice Summerfield|Benny]]. Notably, the story focused on the companions, who are separated from the Doctor while he experienced the events of the next novel, ''[[Iceberg (novel)|Iceberg]]''.


==Publisher's Summary==
== Publisher's summary ==
''''I feel like a pawn in a blasted chess game, [[Ace]].'  'I know what you mean. Trouble is, they keep changing the chess-players.''''
"I feel like a pawn in a blasted [[chess]] game, [[Ace]]." "I know what you mean. Trouble is, they keep changing the chess-players."


The [[TARDIS]] has died. Stranded in early twentieth-century [[London]], [[Bernice Summerfield|Bernice]] can only stand and watch as it slowly disintegrates.
[[The Doctor's TARDIS|The TARDIS]] has died. Stranded in early twentieth-century [[London]], [[Bernice Summerfield|Bernice]] can only stand and watch as it slowly disintegrates.


In the East End a series of grisly murders has been committed. Is this the work of the ghostly [[Springheel Jack]] or, as Bernice suspects something even more sinister?
In the East End a series of grisly [[murder]]s has been committed. Is this the work of the ghostly [[Springheel Jack]] or, as Bernice suspects, something even more sinister?


In a tiny shop in [[Bloomsbury]], the master of a grand order of sorcerers is nearing the end of a seven-hundred year quest for a fabled magic wand.
In a tiny shop in [[Bloomsbury]], the master of a grand order of sorcerers is nearing the end of a seven-hundred year quest for a fabled magic wand.
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And on a barren world in the far-distant future the Queen of a dying race pleads for the help of an old hermit named [[Muldwych]], while Ace leads a group of guerrillas in a desperate struggle against their alien oppressors.
And on a barren world in the far-distant future the Queen of a dying race pleads for the help of an old hermit named [[Muldwych]], while Ace leads a group of guerrillas in a desperate struggle against their alien oppressors.


These events are related. Perhaps [[the Doctor]] knows how. But the Doctor has gone away.
These events are related. Perhaps the Doctor knows how. But the Doctor has gone away.


==Characters==
== Plot ==
[[Ace]]
''to be added''
* Gets stuck in 22,000.


[[Bernice Summerfield]]
== Characters ==
* Benny gets stuck in 1909.
* [[Ace]]
* Benny can't read Cyrillic.
* [[Bernice Summerfield]]
* She gets the flu.
* [[Charrl|The Charrl]]
* [[Ch'tizz|Queen Ch'tizz]]
* [[Mikhail Vladamir Popov]]
* [[Jared Khan]]
* [[Margaret Waterfield]]
* [[The Doctor (Battlefield)|Muldwych]]
* [[Ernie Wright]]
* [[Natasha Popova]]
* [[Randolph Bellingham]]
* [[Reggie Hawkins]]
* [[Charlie Jackson]]
* [[Rosa (Birthright)|Rosa]]
* [[Isk]]
* [[Chel]]
* [[Korin]]
* [[Seeba]]
* [[Skol]]
* [[Maria (Birthright)|Maria]]
* [[Herbert Asquith]]


[[Charrl|the Charrl]]
== Worldbuilding ==
=== Cults ===
* The [[Brotherhood of the New Dawn]] believes man has become decadent and evil.


[[Ch'tizz | Queen Ch'tizz]]
=== Diseases and illnesses ===
* Bernice contracts the [[flu]].


[[Muldwych]]
=== Individuals ===
* Margaret Waterfield is [[Edward Waterfield]]'s sister and [[Victoria Waterfield]]'s paternal aunt. She is murdered by Kahn's thugs.


[[Jared Khan]]
=== Languages ===
* Born 700 years ago.
* Bernice can't read [[Cyrillic]].


[[Margret Waterfield]]
=== Locations ===
* Is [[Edward Waterfield]]'s sister.
* [[Channel Tunnel]] still survives in 22,000.
* Is murdered by Kahn's thugs.


[[Muldwych]]
=== Planets ===
* Is most likely the 'Merlin' incarnation of the Doctor.
* [[Antýkhon]] is a future [[Earth]].
* Got stranded on Ant'kon for 1000 years.
* [[New Skaro]] is the new home planet of the Daleks.


==References==
=== TARDIS ===
* [[Antýkhon]] turns out to be a future [[Earth]].
* The [[Time Vector Generator]] is an ebony bar that links the exterior and interior dimensions of a [[TARDIS]].
* [[The Brotherhood of the New Dawn]] believes man has become decadent and evil.
* [[Springheel Jack]] similar to Jack the Ripper, except springheel is a Charrl which has emerged through a time portal.
* [[The Great Divide]] a temporal portal from 22,000ish to 1909.
* [[Time Vector Generator]] a ebony bar that links the exterior and interior dimensions.
* [[The Migration]] the Charrl's movement from Anty'kon to Earth.
* [[Channel Tunnel]] still survives in 22,000.
* The Charrl created 300 of the [[700 Wonders of the Universe]].
* [[New Skaro]] is mentioned as the new home planet of the Daleks.


==Notes==
=== Theories and concepts ===
* This is one of several Virgin New Adventures which were adapted by [[Big Finish]] for their first season of [[Bernice Summerfield]] audio dramas.
* The Charrl created three hundred of the [[700 Wonders of the Universe]].
* [[The Migration]] is the movement of the Charrl from Antýkhon to Earth.


* This novel is pretty much devoid of the Doctor.
=== Time travel ===
* The [[Great Divide (Birthright)|Great Divide]], a temporal portal from approximately 22,000 to 1909.
* Ace gets transported to the year [[22000|22,000]].
* Bernice gets transported to [[1909]].


==Continuity==
=== Food and beverages ===
* This novel runs parallel with the events of [[Iceberg]], with the Doctor being absent for the majority of Birthright.
* Ace used to drink [[Southern Comfort]] as a teenager.


* The Charrl and Muldwych make an appearance in [[Happy Endings]].
== Notes ==
* This is one of several Virgin New Adventures which were [[Birthright (audio story)|adapted]] by [[Big Finish Productions]] for their first season of [[Bernice Summerfield]] audio dramas.
* This novel almost does not feature the Seventh Doctor.
* [[Prelude Birthright (short story)|A prelude to this novel]] was published in [[DWM 203]].
* The jacket illustration for this book was incorrectly reproduced reversed as a full-colour page in ''[[Timeframe: The Illustrated History]]''. A second edition and paperback corrected this error.
* The cover art of ''Birthright'' was reproduced in the [[Leekley Bible]] to illustrate the brief synopsis of ''[[Ark in Space (unproduced TV story)|Ark in Space]]''.


* The Charrl are to said to have created the 300 (of the 700) wonders of the universe, first mentioned in [[Death to the Daleks]].
== Continuity ==
* This novel runs parallel with the events of [[PROSE]]: ''[[Iceberg (novel)|Iceberg]]'', with the Doctor being absent for the majority of ''Birthright''. This was the first "Doctor-lite" novel under the New Adventures banner ([[Target Books]] previously published two non-Doctor original novels, ''[[Harry Sullivan's War (novel)|Harry Sullivan's War]]'' and ''[[Turlough and the Earthlink Dilemma (novel)|Turlough and the Earthlink Dilemma]]''), and in some ways was a rehearsal for the later Doctor-less series of novels featuring Benny that began in 1996.
* The Charrl and Muldwych make an appearance in [[PROSE]]: ''[[Happy Endings (novel)|Happy Endings]]''.
* Muldwych refers to the fact that that there are only 699 of the [[700 Wonders of the Universe]] left. ([[TV]]: ''[[Death to the Daleks (TV story)|Death to the Daleks]]'')
* The Doctor also encountered a renamed future Earth in [[TV]]: ''[[The Mysterious Planet (TV story)|The Mysterious Planet]]''.
* Mikhail Vladamir Popov returns for a brief cameo in ''[[Happy Endings (novel)|Happy Endings]]'' as one of Bernice's wedding guests.
* The Doctor's eagle pedestal speaks to Benny. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Pirate Planet (TV story)|The Pirate Planet]]'')
* Ace refers to a trip she took with the Doctor to [[Africa]] "a long time ago". The hive of the Charrl resembles [[termite]] mounds which she saw there. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Prelude Birthright (short story)|Prelude: Birthright]]'')


== External links ==
* [https://doctorwho.guide/whona17p.htm Prelude to '''Birthright''' as published in DWM #203]
{{dwrefguide|who_na17.htm|Birthright}}
* {{whoniverse|na17|Birthright}}
* [http://mysite.science.uottawa.ca/rsmith43/cloister/birthright.htm The Cloister Library: '''Birthright''']
* [http://doctorwho.org.nz/archive/tsv36/btb-birthright.html Beyond the Book: Birthright by Paul Scoones (Article) - TSV 36]
* [http://www.sorddin.com/broadsword-old/issue5/interview5.html Interview with Nigel Robinson, in issue 5 of ''Broadsword'']
{{NA}}
{{TitleSort}}


==External Links==
[[Category:Bernice Summerfield sources]]
* [http://www.drwhoguide.com/who_na17.htm The Doctor Who Reference Guide detailed synopsis of '''Birthright''']
[[Category:NA novels]]
* [http://www.whoniverse.org/discontinuity/NA17.php Whoniverse Discontinuity Guide entry for '''Birthright''']
* [http://www.drwhoguide.com/whona17p.htm Prelude to '''White Darkness''' as published in DWM #203]
 
{{Virgin New Adventure Series Box | before = [[Shadowmind]] | after = [[Iceberg]]}}
 
[[Category:Virgin New Adventure Novels]]
[[Category:1993 novels]]
[[Category:1993 novels]]
[[Category:Bernice Summerfield stories]]
[[Category:NA novels with Bernice Summerfield]]
 
[[Category:Stories set in 1909]]
{{prose stub}}
[[Category:Stories set in London]]
[[Category:Stories set in 22000]]
[[Category:Seventh Doctor novels]]

Latest revision as of 20:30, 3 June 2024

RealWorld.png

prose stub
You may wish to consult Birthright (disambiguation) for other, similarly-named pages.

Birthright was the seventeenth of Virgin Books' New Adventures novels. It was written by Nigel Robinson, published in 1993, and featured the Seventh Doctor, Ace and Benny. Notably, the story focused on the companions, who are separated from the Doctor while he experienced the events of the next novel, Iceberg.

Publisher's summary[[edit] | [edit source]]

"I feel like a pawn in a blasted chess game, Ace." "I know what you mean. Trouble is, they keep changing the chess-players."

The TARDIS has died. Stranded in early twentieth-century London, Bernice can only stand and watch as it slowly disintegrates.

In the East End a series of grisly murders has been committed. Is this the work of the ghostly Springheel Jack or, as Bernice suspects, something even more sinister?

In a tiny shop in Bloomsbury, the master of a grand order of sorcerers is nearing the end of a seven-hundred year quest for a fabled magic wand.

And on a barren world in the far-distant future the Queen of a dying race pleads for the help of an old hermit named Muldwych, while Ace leads a group of guerrillas in a desperate struggle against their alien oppressors.

These events are related. Perhaps the Doctor knows how. But the Doctor has gone away.

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

to be added

Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Cults[[edit] | [edit source]]

Diseases and illnesses[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Bernice contracts the flu.

Individuals[[edit] | [edit source]]

Languages[[edit] | [edit source]]

Locations[[edit] | [edit source]]

Planets[[edit] | [edit source]]

TARDIS[[edit] | [edit source]]

Theories and concepts[[edit] | [edit source]]

Time travel[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Great Divide, a temporal portal from approximately 22,000 to 1909.
  • Ace gets transported to the year 22,000.
  • Bernice gets transported to 1909.

Food and beverages[[edit] | [edit source]]

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

v • e
Virgin Books New Adventures
Seventh
Doctor
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
Bernice
Summerfield
1997
1998
1999
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