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{{Infobox Story SMW
{{Infobox Story
|image           = The Scarlet Empress.jpg
|image = The Scarlet Empress.jpg
|range          = BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures
|name = The Scarlet Empress
|number in range = 15
|series = [[BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures]]
|series         = [[BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures]]
|number = 15
|number         = 15
|doctor = Eighth Doctor
|doctor         = Eighth Doctor
|companions = [[Samantha Jones|Sam Jones]]
|companions     = [[Sam Jones|Sam]]
|enemy = [[Empress (The Scarlet Empress)|The Empress]]
|featuring      = [[Iris Wildthyme]]
|setting = {{il|[[Hyspero]], [[Abbasid Era]], Third Decade|[[Hyspero]], Town of [[Fortalice]], c[[9968]]AD}}
|enemy           = [[Scarlet Empress]]
|writer = [[Paul Magrs]]
|setting         = [[Hyspero]]; [[Abbasid Era]], Third Decade
|publisher = BBC Books
|writer         = Paul Magrs
|cover=[[Black Sheep]]
|publisher       = BBC Books
|release date = [[7 September (releases)|7 September]] [[1998 (releases)|1998]]
|cover           = [[Black Sheep]]
|format = Paperback Book, 288 Pages
|release date   = 7 September 1998
|isbn = ISBN 0-563-40595-3
|format         = Paperback Book; 33 Chapters, 283 Pages
|prev = Vanderdeken's Children (novel)
|isbn           = ISBN 0-563-40595-3
|next = The Janus Conjunction (novel)}}
|prev           = Vanderdeken's Children (novel)
'''''The Scarlet Empress''''' is the fifteenth [[BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures]] novel. It was written by [[Paul Magrs]]. It features the [[Eighth Doctor]] and [[Samantha Jones]]. It is also the first full length novel to feature [[Iris Wildthyme]], a Time Lady who first appeared in [[PROSE]]: ''[[Old Flames (short story)|Old Flames]]''.  
|next           = The Janus Conjunction (novel)
}}{{prose stub}}
{{you may|Doctor Who and the Scarlet Empress|n1=the novel as it exists within the DWU}}
'''''The Scarlet Empress''''' was the fifteenth novel in the [[BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures]] series. It was written by [[Paul Magrs]], released [[7 September (releases)|7 September]] [[1998 (releases)|1998]] and featured the [[Eighth Doctor]] and [[Sam Jones]].
 
It was also the first full-length novel to feature [[Iris Wildthyme]], a Time Lady who first appeared in the short story ''[[Old Flames (short story)|Old Flames]]''.
 
It was named after the [[Marlene Dietrich]] film {{W|The Scarlet Empress|of the same name}}, a trend which continued with Magrs' next Doctor Who novel ''[[The Blue Angel (novel)|The Blue Angel]]''.


== Publisher’s summary ==
== Publisher's summary ==
Arriving on the almost impossibly ancient planet of [[Hyspero]], a world where magic and danger walk hand in hand, the Doctor and Sam are caught up in a bizarre struggle for survival.
Arriving on the almost impossibly ancient planet of [[Hyspero]], a world where magic and danger walk hand in hand, [[Eighth Doctor|the Doctor]] and [[Sam Jones|Sam]] are caught up in a bizarre struggle for survival.


Hyspero has been ruled for thousands of years by the [[Scarlet Empress]]es, creatures of dangerous powers — powers that a member of the Doctor’s own race is keen to possess herself: the eccentric time traveller and philanderer known only as [[Iris Wildthyme]].
Hyspero has been ruled for thousands of years by the [[Scarlet Empress]]es, creatures of dangerous powers — powers that a member of the Doctor's own race is keen to possess herself: the eccentric time traveller and philanderer known only as [[Iris Wildthyme]].


As the real reasons for Iris’s obsession become clear, the Doctor and Sam must embark on a perilous journey across deserts, mountains, forests and oceans. Both friends and foes are found among spirits, [[Djinn (mythology)|djinns]], alligator men and golden bears — but in a land where the magical is possible, is anything really as it seems?
As the real reasons for Iris's obsession become clear, the Doctor and Sam must embark on a perilous journey across deserts, mountains, forests and oceans. Both friends and foes are found among spirits, [[Djinn (mythology)|djinns]], alligator men and golden bears — but in a land where the magical is possible, is anything really as it seems?


== Plot ==
== Plot ==
Line 32: Line 40:
== Characters ==
== Characters ==
* [[Eighth Doctor]]
* [[Eighth Doctor]]
* [[Samantha Jones|Sam Jones]]
* [[Sam Jones]]
* [[Iris Wildthyme]]
* [[Iris Wildthyme]]
* The [[Scarlet Empress]]
* [[Gila]]
* [[Gila]]
* The [[Cybernetic Duchess]]
* The [[Cyborg Duchess]]
* [[Angela]]
* The [[Spider (The Scarlet Empress)|spider]]
* The [[Mock Turtle]]
* The [[Spider Duchess]]
* The [[Giant Spider]]
* Major [[Angela (The Scarlet Empress)|Angela]]
* [[Cassandra (The Scarlet Empress)|Cassandra]]
* The [[Mock Turtle (The Scarlet Empress)|Mock Turtle]]
* [[Cassandra (The Scarlet Empress)|The first Scarlet Empress]]
* The current [[Scarlet Empress]]
* [[Julia (The Scarlet Empress)|Julia]]
* [[Executioner]]
* [[Executioner]]
* [[Our Lady of the Flowers]]
* [[Our Lady of the Flowers]]
* [[Giselle (The Scarlet Empress)|Giselle]]
* [[The Vizier]]
* [[Brewis]]


== References ==
== Worldbuilding ==
* The Doctor, Sam and Iris visit Hyspero in [[9968]].
=== Books ===
=== Books ===
* [[Aja'ib]] is a book of fantastic stories, tales and adventures.
* ''[[Aja'ib]]'' is a book of fantastic stories, tales and adventures.


=== Culture ===
=== Culture ===
* [[Romana II|Romana]] once dragged the Doctor to an [[opera]] in [[Milan]].
* [[Romana II]] once dragged the Doctor to an [[opera]] in [[Milan]]. After that they went to see the [[Alpha Centauran|soprano hermaphrodites]] of [[Alpha Centauri (planet)|Alpha Centauri]].
* Sam sings [[ABBA]] songs with Iris on their road trip.
* Sam sings [[ABBA]] songs with Iris on their road trip.


=== The Doctor ===
=== The Doctor ===
* [[Eighth Doctor|The Doctor]] describes himself as an [[ethnomethodologist]] and his job as being keeping everyone out of the trap of genre-death.
* The Doctor describes himself as an [[ethnomethodologist]].
* The Doctor is "an inveterate underliner (of books), a scribbler in margins, a very unpassive reader".  
* The Doctor recalls "jumping off an [[Ice Warrior]] ship over Central [[London]]. Scuba diving with [[Zygon]]s. Causing havoc once again on [[Skaro]]."
* The Doctor recalls "jumping off an [[Ice Warrior]] ship over Central [[London]]. Scuba diving with [[Zygon]]s. Causing havoc once again on [[Skaro]]."
* Iris was not fond of the [[Seventh Doctor]]. She describes him to his immediate successor as "a portentous little feller, swaggering around, thinking he’s got all the world’s darkest secrets under his hat." Furthermore, she thinks that he was "a pretentious old thing" who "got on [her] nerves" as he regarded himself as the Guardian of Forever and Time's Champion.
* Iris was not fond of the [[Seventh Doctor]].


=== Foods and beverages ===
=== Foods and beverages ===
* Iris consumes a variety of [[alcohol]], mostly [[gin]].
* Iris consumes a variety of [[alcohol]], mostly [[gin]].
* Sam drinks too much of the crystallised [[Alcohol#Wine|wine]].
* Sam drinks too much of the crystallised [[Alcohol#Wine|wine]].
* Gila buys some [[fish]]. They all come with names.
* Gila buys some [[fish]].
* The Doctor offers the Mock Turtle a [[jelly baby]] prior to travelling through the vortex in Iris' bus.
* The Doctor offers the Mock Turtle a [[jelly baby]] prior to travelling through the vortex in Iris' bus.


=== Gallifrey ===
=== Gallifrey ===
* Iris was mentions that she's met some of her other selves via [[time scoop]]: "Seven of me were taken to the [[Death Zone]] on [[Gallifrey]]. Someone had reactivated the Games they used to play there. Each of my selves, present, past and future, was given a relevant companion and playmate, and we were forced to battle our separate, and then collective ways, past [[Ice Warrior]]s, [[Ogron]]s, [[Sea Devil]]s, [[Zarbi]], [[Mechanoid]]s and [[Quark]]s, to get to the [[Dark Tower]]...It was that devil [[Morbius]] behind it all. The rogue was after [[Rassilon]]'s gift of immortality."
* Iris was mentions that she's met some of her other selves via [[time scoop]].
* The Doctor and Iris both know that the Death Zone is no larger than [[North Wales]].
* The Doctor and Iris both know that the Death Zone is no larger than [[North Wales]].
* On [[Gallifrey]], [[regeneration]] is treated the same way that [[sex]] is treated on [[Earth]].
* On [[Gallifrey]], [[regeneration]] is treated the same way that [[sex]] is treated on [[Earth]].
Line 73: Line 86:
* The Doctor and Iris met [[Oscar Wilde]] in [[Paris]] just after Wilde's imprisonment.
* The Doctor and Iris met [[Oscar Wilde]] in [[Paris]] just after Wilde's imprisonment.
* The Doctor and [[Jo Grant]] met with Iris and they met [[Gertrude Stein]] and [[Pablo Picasso]] just after the Doctor and Jo had left [[Spiridon]].
* The Doctor and [[Jo Grant]] met with Iris and they met [[Gertrude Stein]] and [[Pablo Picasso]] just after the Doctor and Jo had left [[Spiridon]].
* [[Gila]] is known as "the Alligator Man". He turns back into an alligator when time does a circle.
* Only the heart of the [[Cyborg Duchess]] is flesh. She joins with the giant spider to become a symbiotic creature.
* Only the heart of the [[Cybernetic Duchess]] is flesh. She joins with the giant spider to become a symbiotic creature.
* The Mock Turtle was locked in [[stasis]] in ice on a plinth over looking the ocean. He's mildly [[telepathy|telepathic]]. His hind legs are hooves.
* [[Angela]] is known as "the Bearded Lady". She was/is a major. She has a luxurious long beard and rules over the hairless bears.
* The [[Mock Turtle]] was locked in [[stasis]] in ice on a plynth over looking the ocean. He's mildly [[telepathy|telepathic]]. His hind legs are hooves.
* The [[Giant Spider]] guards the door to the lift between the levels of Hypsero.
* Sam doesn't like [[Pink Floyd]].
* Sam doesn't like [[Pink Floyd]].


=== Iris Wildthyme & The Doctor ===
=== Iris Wildthyme and the Doctor ===
* Iris claims to have survived "Giant Spiders on [[Metebelis Three]], the [[Cyberman (Mondas)|Cyberman]] tombs of [[Telos]], the Drashigs in feeding frenzy on their foetid swamp world."
* Iris claims to have survived "Giant Spiders on [[Metebelis Three]], the [[Cyberman (Mondas)|Cyberman]] tombs of [[Telos]], the [[Drashig]]s in feeding frenzy on their foetid swamp world."
* Iris has also recently escaped [[Xeriphas]].
* Iris has also recently escaped [[Xeriphas]].
* The Doctor thinks back over his past adventures: [[Skaro]], [[London]], [[San Francisco]], and [[House of Lungbarrow]].
* Iris refers to [[the Master]] as a "phallocentric dope".
* Sam has a dream, which is probably not a [[telepathic]] trance where she and the Doctor had just left [[Victorian]] [[London]] with several slumbering [[Skarasen]]. She notices the Doctor's [[Volkswagen Beetle]]. The Doctor in the dream shows her his "Citizens Advice Bureau" which are seven heads on spikes.
* The Doctor challenges Iris' claims, stating, "You didn't foil the [[Dalek]] [[2150s Dalek invasion of Earth|invasion]] of [[Earth]] in the [[22nd century|twenty-second century]]. I did! It was me, [[Susan Foreman|Susan]], and [[Ian Chesterton|Ian]] and [[Barbara Wright|Barbara]]! And the [[Cyberman (Mondas)|Cyber]] tombs on [[Telos]]...You weren't there Iris. You weren't to be seen!"
::"Really, Doctor, this is hardly -" ([[Third Doctor]])
* Iris replies by saying that in her version, she travelled with her "glamorous young assistant" [[Jeremy (Party Fears Two)|Jeremy]].
::"You see, my dear, it's very simple..." ([[First Doctor]])
::"I'm not exactly breaking the Laws of Time, but -" ([[Second Doctor]])
::"There were once three sisters and they lived at the bottom of a treacle well..." ([[Fourth Doctor]])
::"Only in the direst of emergencies can you -" ([[Fifth Doctor]])
::"Nice? Nice?" ([[Sixth Doctor]])
::"I saw this coming." ([[Seventh Doctor]])
* Iris claims the Doctor's [[Seventh Doctor|previous self]] was a pretentious old thing calling himself "Guardian of Forever" and "Time's Champion".
* Iris refers to [[the Master]] as a "phallocentric dope" (most likely a reference to his [[Tissue Compression Eliminator]]).
* The Doctor challenges Iris' claims, stating, "You didn't foil the [[Dalek]] [[22nd century Dalek invasion|invasion]] of [[Earth]] in the [[22nd century|twenty-second century]]. I did! It was me, [[Susan Foreman|Susan]], and [[Ian Chesterton|Ian]] and [[Barbara Wright|Barbara]]! And the [[Cyberman (Mondas)|Cyber]] tombs on [[Telos]]...You weren't there Iris. You weren't to be seen!"
* Whilst in a river with patriarchal psychic river jellyfish-like creatures, Sam is telepathically contacted by said patriarchal creatures, who tell her that the Doctor was woven on a [[loom]] and only thinks he has a [[human]] mother.
* Whilst in a river with patriarchal psychic river jellyfish-like creatures, Sam is telepathically contacted by said patriarchal creatures, who tell her that the Doctor was woven on a [[loom]] and only thinks he has a [[human]] mother.
* The Doctor recalls having [[Christmas]] dinner with Iris, [[Tegan Jovanka|Tegan]] and [[Turlough]].
* The Doctor recalls having [[Christmas]] dinner with Iris, [[Tegan Jovanka|Tegan]] and [[Turlough]].
* Iris is in her "old lady" body. She has a house in every world, time zone and planet visited (the Doctor comments, to himself, that she collects homes as he does companions).
* Iris once proposed to the Doctor in [[Venice]].
* Iris once proposed to the Doctor in [[Venice]].
* Iris once travelled with an "obtuse shape-shifter who loved nothing better than to spend much of his time as a [[Frobisher|lippy garrulous penguin]]."
* Iris once travelled with an "obtuse shape-shifter who loved nothing better than to spend much of his time as a [[Frobisher|lippy garrulous penguin]]."
* Iris's mother left her when she was quite young, with an older man, an offworlder.
* [[Kroton (Throwback: The Soul of a Cyberman)|Kroton]] the [[Cyberman (Mondas)|Cyberman]] is a friend of Iris.
* [[Kroton (Throwback: The Soul of a Cyberman)|Kroton]] the [[Cyberman (Mondas)|Cyberman]] once travelled with Iris.
* Iris [[Astral projection|astral projects]] herself around Hyspero while everyone sleeps in Major Angela's house with the bears.
* Iris [[Astral projection|astral projects]] herself around Hyspero while everyone sleeps in Major Angela's house with the bears.


Line 109: Line 108:
=== Species ===
=== Species ===
* Sam sees [[Draconian]] princes, [[Spiridon]]s in purple furs and [[Ice Warrior|Martians]] in armour on the streets of Hyspero.
* Sam sees [[Draconian]] princes, [[Spiridon]]s in purple furs and [[Ice Warrior|Martians]] in armour on the streets of Hyspero.
* The [[Iron automata]] could [[belch]] fire and were able to fry their enemies on the spot. Hidden inside each of the Iron automata was an "evil and bitter" [[Djinn]] which was determined to wreak havoc on the world.
* [[Ifrits]], [[Djinn]], [[Qutrub]], [[Kabijaj]] were mentioned by the Doctor.
* The Doctor mentions [[vampire]]s to Sam while discussing the borders between magic and science.
* The Doctor mentions [[vampire]]s to Sam while discussing the borders between magic and science.
* According to the Doctor the [[Chelonian]] version of [[Cinderella]] had to be seen to be believed.
* According to the Doctor the [[Chelonian]] version of [[Cinderella]] had to be seen to be believed.
Line 115: Line 116:
=== TARDIS ===
=== TARDIS ===
* [[Iris Wildthyme's TARDIS]] responds to Iris' voice commands.
* [[Iris Wildthyme's TARDIS]] responds to Iris' voice commands.
:* Its dimensional stabilisers are fixed with a pair of laddered tights. It follows the Doctor, Iris and the Mock Turtle under the sea to where they're regurgitated by the giant fish on a desert island.
:* She has some cassettes in her TARDIS of [[Motown]], [[ABBA]], and [[Shirley Bassey]].
:* She has some cassettes in her TARDIS of [[Motown]], [[ABBA]], and [[Shirley Bassey]].
:* In Iris's bus the [[time wind]]s come in through the windows when it's in flight.
:* In Iris's bus the [[time wind]]s come in through the windows when it's in flight.
:* The console of Iris' TARDIS is made of teak, brass and Formica.
* The Doctor can pilot Iris's TARDIS.
* Sam suggests to the Doctor the TARDIS should have a white and luminous control room and look a bit more futuristic, than the gothicness that it currently looks like.


=== Technology ===
=== Technology ===
* Sam and Gila trade a dismantled and useless [[etheric beam locator]] for some [[bread]].
* Sam and Gila trade a dismantled and useless [[etheric beam locator]] for some [[bread]].
* The Scarlet Guards have [[T-Mat]]-like devices on their belts.
* The Scarlet Guards have [[T-Mat]]-like devices on their belts.
* The Doctor pulls a crystal from his pocket that he claims is "no ordinary jewel. It is from Metebelis Three, in the Acteon galaxy," but is actually something he picked up in Portabello Road.


=== Time travel ===
=== Time travel ===
* The Doctor describes travelling through the [[Time Vortex|Vortex]] as "vworp vworp".
* The Doctor describes travelling through the [[Time Vortex|Vortex]] as "vworp vworp".
* The Doctor, Iris and the Mock Turtle catch a ride inside a giant fish that (probably) keeps them outside [[time]].


== Notes ==
== Notes ==
* This novel is often narrated in first person by Iris Wildthyme, Gila, Sam Jones and the Doctor.
* This novel is often narrated in first person by Iris Wildthyme, Gila, Sam Jones and the Doctor.
* There are numerous references to past stories.
* There are bronze and verdigris towers in Hypero. Sam also bathes in a verdigris tub (there are a few other references). ''[[Verdigris (novel)|Verdigris]]'' is a novel Paul Magrs wrote after this novel which also features Iris Wildthyme.
* Sam has a dream, which is probably not a [[telepathic]] trance where she and the Doctor had just left [[Victorian]] [[London]] with several slumbering [[Skarasen]]. She notices the Doctor's [[Volkswagen Beetle]]. The Doctor in the dream shows her his "Citizens Advice Bureau" which are seven heads on spikes.
::"Really, Doctor, this is hardly -" ([[Third Doctor]])
::"You see, my dear, it's very simple..." ([[First Doctor]])
::"I'm not exactly breaking the Laws of Time, but -" ([[Second Doctor]])
::"There were once three sisters and they lived at the bottom of a treacle well..." ([[Fourth Doctor]])
::"Only in the direst of emergencies can you -" ([[Fifth Doctor]])
::"Nice? Nice?" ([[Sixth Doctor]])
::"I saw this coming." ([[Seventh Doctor]])


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
* This is Iris Wildthyme’s first full novel appearance. She first appeared in [[PROSE]]: ''[[Old Flames]]''.
* This is Iris Wildthyme's first full novel appearance. She first appeared in [[PROSE]]: ''[[Old Flames (short story)|Old Flames]]''.
* Iris regenerates into the blonde version next seen in [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Blue Angel]]''.
* Iris regenerates into the blonde version next seen in [[PROSE]]: ''[[Femme Fatale (short story)|Femme Fatale]]''.
* There are bronze and verdigris towers in Hypero. Sam also bathes in a verdigris tub (there are a few other references). [[PROSE]]: ''[[Verdigris (novel)|Verdigris]]'' is a novel Paul Magrs wrote after this novel which also features Iris Wildthyme.
* The Doctor thinks back over his most recent adventures: [[Skaro]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[War of the Daleks (novel)|War of the Daleks]]'') [[London]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Bodysnatchers (novel)|The Bodysnatchers]]'') [[San Francisco]], ([[TV]]: ''[[Doctor Who (TV story)|Doctor Who]]'' and/or [[PROSE]]: ''[[Vampire Science (novel)|Vampire Science]]'') and the [[House of Lungbarrow]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Lungbarrow (novel)|Lungbarrow]]'')
* The Doctor thinks back over his most recent adventures: [[Skaro]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[War of the Daleks]]'') [[London]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Bodysnatchers]]'') [[San Francisco]], ([[TV]]: ''[[Doctor Who (1996)|Doctor Who]]'' and/or [[PROSE]]: ''[[Vampire Science]]'') and the [[House of Lungbarrow]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Lungbarrow]]'')
* The Doctor mentions having been put on trial, ([[TV]]: ''[[Season 23 (Doctor Who 1963)|The Trial of a Time Lord]]'') exiled, ([[TV]]: ''[[Spearhead from Space (TV story)|Spearhead from Space]]'') summoned to carry out ridiculous tasks, ([[TV]]: ''[[Genesis of the Daleks (TV story)|Genesis of the Daleks]]'', ''[[The Brain of Morbius (TV story)|The Brain of Morbius]]'') and "dragged back to your ancestral home to atone for sins that weren't even yours." ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Lungbarrow (novel)|Lungbarrow]]'')
* The Doctor mentions having been put on trial, ([[TV]]: ''[[The Trial of a Time Lord]]'') exiled, ([[TV]]: ''[[Spearhead from Space]]'') summoned to carry out ridiculous tasks, ([[TV]]: ''[[Genesis of the Daleks]]'', ''[[The Brain of Morbius]]'') and "dragged back to your ancestral home to atone for sins that weren't even yours." ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Lungbarrow]]'')
* Sam has a dream sequence which occurs just after [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Bodysnatchers (novel)|The Bodysnatchers]]''.
* Sam has a dream sequence which occurs just after [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Bodysnatchers]]''.
* While entertaining the [[Bird of paradise|birds of paradise]] the Doctor mentions many of his past adventures.
* The Doctor recalls the events of [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Dying Days]]'' (jumping off an Ice Warrior over central London), scuba diving with Zygons ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Bodysnatchers]]'') and causing havoc (again) on Skaro. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[War of the Daleks]]'')
:* When "he was sent to avert the genesis of the dreams and desires of one particular historical despot". ([[TV]]: ''[[Genesis of the Daleks (TV story)|Genesis of the Daleks]]'')
* The Doctor and Iris perform a mind-sharing ritual much like the [[Second Doctor]] and [[Third Doctor]] once did. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Three Doctors]]'')
:* When he met "the vicious slime-like beast in the pit that only [he] could befriend and talk to". ([[TV]]: ''[[The Creature from the Pit (TV story)|The Creature from the Pit]]'')
* The Doctor recalls jumping out of an [[Ice Warrior]] ship over central [[London]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Dying Days]]'')
:* When he "was forced to battle a multi-legged fiend that secreted acid from every pore in an arena watched by some million or more". ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Doctor Who and the Iron Legion (comic story)|Doctor Who and the Iron Legion]]'')
:* When he visited "the world at the edge of the cosmos where [he] fell into a puddle and met the last known and very strangest creature in the world". ([[TV]]: ''[[Planet of Evil (TV story)|Planet of Evil]]'')
:* When he "went to the centre of the world and met people for whom time had stood still". ([[TV]]: ''[[Doctor Who and the Silurians (TV story)|Doctor Who and the Silurians]]'')
:* When he encountered "the demon who lived under a church and unleashed himself one sacred night". ([[TV]]: ''[[The Dæmons (TV story)|The Dæmons]]'')
* The Doctor recalls the events of [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Dying Days (novel)|The Dying Days]]'' (jumping off an Ice Warrior over central London), scuba diving with Zygons ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Bodysnatchers (novel)|The Bodysnatchers]]'') and causing havoc (again) on Skaro. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[War of the Daleks (novel)|War of the Daleks]]'')
* The Doctor and Iris perform a mind-sharing ritual much like the [[Second Doctor]] and [[Third Doctor]] once did. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Three Doctors (TV story)|The Three Doctors]]'')


== External links ==
== External links ==
* {{dwrefguide|whobbc15.htm|The Scarlet Empress}}
{{dwrefguide|whobbc15.htm|The Scarlet Empress}}
* {{whoniverse|ED15.php|The Scarlet Empress}}
* {{whoniverse|ed15|The Scarlet Empress}}
 
* [http://mysite.science.uottawa.ca/rsmith43/cloister/scar.htm The Cloister Library: '''The Scarlet Empress''']
* [http://lifeonmagrs.blogspot.com/2013/03/fifteen-years-since-doctor-who-scarlet.html Life on Magrs: Fifteen Years Since 'Doctor Who - The Scarlet Empress.']
{{EDA}}
{{EDA}}
{{Regeneration stories}}
{{TitleSort}}
{{TitleSort}}


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[[Category:1998 novels]]
[[Category:1998 novels]]
[[Category:Iris Wildthyme novels]]
[[Category:Iris Wildthyme novels]]
[[Category:Regeneration stories]]
[[Category:Regeneration novels]]
[[Category:Stories set in the distant past]]
[[Category:Novels set on Hyspero]]
[[Category:Stories set in 9968]]
[[Category:Stories that crossover with non-DWU series]]

Latest revision as of 03:11, 3 July 2024

RealWorld.png

prose stub
You may be looking for the novel as it exists within the DWU.

The Scarlet Empress was the fifteenth novel in the BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures series. It was written by Paul Magrs, released 7 September 1998 and featured the Eighth Doctor and Sam Jones.

It was also the first full-length novel to feature Iris Wildthyme, a Time Lady who first appeared in the short story Old Flames.

It was named after the Marlene Dietrich film of the same name, a trend which continued with Magrs' next Doctor Who novel The Blue Angel.

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

Arriving on the almost impossibly ancient planet of Hyspero, a world where magic and danger walk hand in hand, the Doctor and Sam are caught up in a bizarre struggle for survival.

Hyspero has been ruled for thousands of years by the Scarlet Empresses, creatures of dangerous powers — powers that a member of the Doctor's own race is keen to possess herself: the eccentric time traveller and philanderer known only as Iris Wildthyme.

As the real reasons for Iris's obsession become clear, the Doctor and Sam must embark on a perilous journey across deserts, mountains, forests and oceans. Both friends and foes are found among spirits, djinns, alligator men and golden bears — but in a land where the magical is possible, is anything really as it seems?

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

to be added

Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Doctor, Sam and Iris visit Hyspero in 9968.

Books[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Aja'ib is a book of fantastic stories, tales and adventures.

Culture[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor[[edit] | [edit source]]

Foods and beverages[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Iris consumes a variety of alcohol, mostly gin.
  • Sam drinks too much of the crystallised wine.
  • Gila buys some fish.
  • The Doctor offers the Mock Turtle a jelly baby prior to travelling through the vortex in Iris' bus.

Gallifrey[[edit] | [edit source]]

Individuals[[edit] | [edit source]]

Iris Wildthyme and the Doctor[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Iris claims to have survived "Giant Spiders on Metebelis Three, the Cyberman tombs of Telos, the Drashigs in feeding frenzy on their foetid swamp world."
  • Iris has also recently escaped Xeriphas.
  • Iris refers to the Master as a "phallocentric dope".
  • The Doctor challenges Iris' claims, stating, "You didn't foil the Dalek invasion of Earth in the twenty-second century. I did! It was me, Susan, and Ian and Barbara! And the Cyber tombs on Telos...You weren't there Iris. You weren't to be seen!"
  • Iris replies by saying that in her version, she travelled with her "glamorous young assistant" Jeremy.
  • Whilst in a river with patriarchal psychic river jellyfish-like creatures, Sam is telepathically contacted by said patriarchal creatures, who tell her that the Doctor was woven on a loom and only thinks he has a human mother.
  • The Doctor recalls having Christmas dinner with Iris, Tegan and Turlough.
  • Iris once proposed to the Doctor in Venice.
  • Iris once travelled with an "obtuse shape-shifter who loved nothing better than to spend much of his time as a lippy garrulous penguin."
  • Kroton the Cyberman is a friend of Iris.
  • Iris astral projects herself around Hyspero while everyone sleeps in Major Angela's house with the bears.

Locations[[edit] | [edit source]]

Species[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Sam sees Draconian princes, Spiridons in purple furs and Martians in armour on the streets of Hyspero.
  • The Iron automata could belch fire and were able to fry their enemies on the spot. Hidden inside each of the Iron automata was an "evil and bitter" Djinn which was determined to wreak havoc on the world.
  • Ifrits, Djinn, Qutrub, Kabijaj were mentioned by the Doctor.
  • The Doctor mentions vampires to Sam while discussing the borders between magic and science.
  • According to the Doctor the Chelonian version of Cinderella had to be seen to be believed.
  • Iris is sick because she took high tea with a Draconian prince and ate a live Kaled mutant from the shell.

TARDIS[[edit] | [edit source]]

Technology[[edit] | [edit source]]

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

  • The Doctor describes travelling through the Vortex as "vworp vworp".

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • This novel is often narrated in first person by Iris Wildthyme, Gila, Sam Jones and the Doctor.
  • There are bronze and verdigris towers in Hypero. Sam also bathes in a verdigris tub (there are a few other references). Verdigris is a novel Paul Magrs wrote after this novel which also features Iris Wildthyme.
  • Sam has a dream, which is probably not a telepathic trance where she and the Doctor had just left Victorian London with several slumbering Skarasen. She notices the Doctor's Volkswagen Beetle. The Doctor in the dream shows her his "Citizens Advice Bureau" which are seven heads on spikes.
"Really, Doctor, this is hardly -" (Third Doctor)
"You see, my dear, it's very simple..." (First Doctor)
"I'm not exactly breaking the Laws of Time, but -" (Second Doctor)
"There were once three sisters and they lived at the bottom of a treacle well..." (Fourth Doctor)
"Only in the direst of emergencies can you -" (Fifth Doctor)
"Nice? Nice?" (Sixth Doctor)
"I saw this coming." (Seventh Doctor)

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • When "he was sent to avert the genesis of the dreams and desires of one particular historical despot". (TV: Genesis of the Daleks)
  • When he met "the vicious slime-like beast in the pit that only [he] could befriend and talk to". (TV: The Creature from the Pit)
  • When he "was forced to battle a multi-legged fiend that secreted acid from every pore in an arena watched by some million or more". (COMIC: Doctor Who and the Iron Legion)
  • When he visited "the world at the edge of the cosmos where [he] fell into a puddle and met the last known and very strangest creature in the world". (TV: Planet of Evil)
  • When he "went to the centre of the world and met people for whom time had stood still". (TV: Doctor Who and the Silurians)
  • When he encountered "the demon who lived under a church and unleashed himself one sacred night". (TV: The Dæmons)

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

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