The Nine-Day Queen (short story): Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox Story SMW
{{Infobox Story
|range                  = Virgin Decalogs
|name=The Nine-Day Queen
|series in range        = Decalog 2: Lost Property
|series=[[Virgin Decalogs]]
|series number in range = 2
|doctor=First Doctor
|number in series       = 6
|companions=[[Barbara Wright|Barbara]], [[Ian Chesterton|Ian]]
|doctor                 = First Doctor
|enemy = The [[Vrij]]
|companions             = [[Barbara Wright|Barbara]], [[Ian Chesterton|Ian]]
|setting= [[Bradgate]] and [[Islington]], [[London]], [[1553]] and [[1554]]
|featuring              = [[Jane Grey]]
|writer=[[Matthew Jones]]
|enemy                 = The [[Vrij]]
|anthology=''[[Decalog 2: Lost Property]]
|setting               = [[Bradgate]], [[Islington]], [[London]], and [[Kentish Town]], [[May]]-[[July]] [[1553]]
|prev=Housewarming (short story)
|writer                 = Matthew Jones (writer)
|next=Lonely Days (short story)
|anthology             = Decalog 2: Lost Property
|release date          = 20 July 1995
|series                = [[Virgin Decalogs|Virgin ''Decalogs'']]
|prev                   = Housewarming (short story)
|next                   = Lonely Days (short story)
}}
}}
'''''The Nine-Day Queen''''' was the sixth story in the anthology ''[[Decalog 2: Lost Property]]''. It was written by [[Matthew Jones]]. It featured the [[First Doctor]], [[Ian Chesterton]], and [[Barbara Wright]].
'''''The Nine-Day Queen''''' was the sixth story in the anthology ''[[Decalog 2: Lost Property]]''. It was written by [[Matt Jones (writer)|Matthew Jones]]. It featured the [[First Doctor]], [[Ian Chesterton]], and [[Barbara Wright]].
 
== Summary ==
== Summary ==
''to be added''
The Doctor and his friends find themselves in [[Bradgate]] after a harrowing experience in the TARDIS in which Barbara was possessed by a [[Vrij]] and tried to strangle Ian. The Vrij escaped and brought the TARDIS to the [[16th century]].
 
Barbara is nearly attacked by a wolf that is possessed by the Vrij, with Ian unable to help, but at the last minute the wolf is killed by a young girl. The man who accompanies her, the [[Duke of Northumberland]], points out her kill to the other men with them, then threatens Ian and Barbara with death if they cannot account for their presence here. They are too shaken with fear to answer, but the Doctor arrives just in time. He examines the wolf, noting that the Vrij has escaped. When the duke threatens him, the girl pretends the Doctor is the tutor she has been expecting. The duke, her uncle, escorts the trio back to the girl's home.
 
As the Doctor teaches the girl, he realises she is [[Jane Grey]], who is destined to become queen soon. He asks her why she helped him, and she states that she will help him and his friends leave, on one condition — they take her with them. Her parents want her to marry against her will.
 
As the Doctor works on a device to capture the Vrij, Barbara approaches him with concern about Jane, but as before, he reminds her that they cannot change history.
 
The wedding takes place, with the Doctor and his friends in attendance. The Doctor's tracer detects the presence of the Vrij in the church, and Barbara sees a shadow fall over Jane. They believe that the Vrij has now possessed Jane.
 
Once Jane is married, the Doctor is dismissed as her tutor. They are given [[The Doctor's townhouse (The-Nine Day Queen)|a house]] in [[Islington]], where the Doctor continues work on his device.
 
Prior to Jane's coronation, strange things begin to happen, such as ghosts and stillborn children. The Doctor believes this is a result of the Vrij stirring itself.
 
The Doctor and his friends attend the coronation. Later, the Doctor tries to get close to Jane, and he overhears her conversation with her uncle. Her uncle wants her to make her husband, his son [[Guildford Dudley|Guildford]], king, which she cannot do by law. The Doctor believes the Vrij is possessing the duke and confronts it, and it attacks him. Barbara finds the Doctor seemingly dead, but the duke has left. Barbara attempts [[first aid]], but the Doctor wakes on his own and scolds her, saying he was in a restorative [[coma]]. Jane is frightened but relieved that the Doctor is alive.
 
The Vrij has altered history. The duke has been able to raise an army of thousands against [[Mary I|Mary]]'s attempts to take the throne from Jane. He and his friends hide in the duke's room with the finished device, which will suck the Vrij into a dimensional trap. When the duke arrives, the Doctor taunts the Vrij until it attacks him and is trapped.
 
The Doctor and his friends prepare to leave the 16th century. Meanwhile, Jane steps down from the throne and is imprisoned. A year later, she is executed.


== Characters ==
== Characters ==
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* [[Ian Chesterton]]
* [[Ian Chesterton]]
* [[Jane Grey]]
* [[Jane Grey]]
* [[Katherine Grey]]
* [[Anne Grey]]
* [[Duke of Northumberland]]
* [[Guildford Dudley]]
* [[Vrij]]


== References ==
== Worldbuilding ==
* An entity from the [[Time Vortex]] called the [[Vrij]] penetrates the [[the Doctor's TARDIS|TARDIS]].
* Jane reads [[Plato]]'s ''[[Phaedo]]'' in the original [[Greek language|Greek]].
* The Vrij amplifies and feeds on arrogance and anger.
* Some people think [[Henry VIII]]'s [[ghost]] is walking the streets.
* During their year of imprisonment, Jane read the [[Bible]] to Guildford.
* In [[1985]], Barbara will write a GCSE textbook called ''[[Journeys Through History: A Sourcebook for GCSE for the Associated Exam Board]]'' with [[Ian Martin]], in which Lady Jane Grey's brief reign is covered.
* In [[1985]], Barbara will write a GCSE textbook called ''[[Journeys Through History: A Sourcebook for GCSE for the Associated Exam Board]]'' with [[Ian Martin]], in which Lady Jane Grey's brief reign is covered.


== Notes ==
== Notes ==
''to be added''
* The stories in ''Decalog 2'' have a common theme of homes owned or acquired by the Doctor. The home in this story is [[The Doctor's townhouse (The-Nine Day Queen)|the house in Islington]] given to the Doctor by the Duke.
* The Doctor uses a device which somewhat resembles the [[sonic screwdriver]]s used by his later incarnations, although this device is explicitly a tracking device used to track the [[Vrij]]. It is described as a "thin cylindrical rod", with a complex wire aerial extending at the flick of a switch and a tiny control panel. He eventually breaks the device when it starts incessantly beeping during Jane Grey's wedding ceremony.


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
* Ian and Barbara recall their first meeting with the Doctor in [[76 Totter's Lane]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[An Unearthly Child (TV story)|An Unearthly Child]]'')
* Ian and Barbara recall their first meeting with the Doctor in [[Totter's Lane]] as depicted in [[TV]]: ''[[An Unearthly Child (TV story)|An Unearthly Child]]''.
* Lady Jane Grey had previously been visited by another time traveller, [[Rani Chandra]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Lost in Time (TV story)|Lost in Time]]'')
* Lady Jane Grey was visited by another time traveller, [[Rani Chandra]], in [[TV]]: ''[[Lost in Time (TV story)|Lost in Time]]'', overlapping with the events of this story.
* Barbara thinks Jane reminds the Doctor of [[Susan Foreman|Susan]], who recently departed the TARDIS in [[TV]]: ''[[The Dalek Invasion of Earth (TV story)|The Dalek Invasion of Earth]]''.
 
{{Decalogs}}
 
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[[Category:First Doctor short stories]]
[[Category:First Doctor short stories]]
[[Category:VD short stories]]
[[Category:Decalog 2: Lost Property short stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in London]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1553]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1553]]
[[Category:Stories set in London]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1554]]
[[Category:1995 short stories]]
[[Category:Pseudo-historical stories]]

Latest revision as of 20:47, 3 November 2024

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The Nine-Day Queen was the sixth story in the anthology Decalog 2: Lost Property. It was written by Matthew Jones. It featured the First Doctor, Ian Chesterton, and Barbara Wright.

Summary[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor and his friends find themselves in Bradgate after a harrowing experience in the TARDIS in which Barbara was possessed by a Vrij and tried to strangle Ian. The Vrij escaped and brought the TARDIS to the 16th century.

Barbara is nearly attacked by a wolf that is possessed by the Vrij, with Ian unable to help, but at the last minute the wolf is killed by a young girl. The man who accompanies her, the Duke of Northumberland, points out her kill to the other men with them, then threatens Ian and Barbara with death if they cannot account for their presence here. They are too shaken with fear to answer, but the Doctor arrives just in time. He examines the wolf, noting that the Vrij has escaped. When the duke threatens him, the girl pretends the Doctor is the tutor she has been expecting. The duke, her uncle, escorts the trio back to the girl's home.

As the Doctor teaches the girl, he realises she is Jane Grey, who is destined to become queen soon. He asks her why she helped him, and she states that she will help him and his friends leave, on one condition — they take her with them. Her parents want her to marry against her will.

As the Doctor works on a device to capture the Vrij, Barbara approaches him with concern about Jane, but as before, he reminds her that they cannot change history.

The wedding takes place, with the Doctor and his friends in attendance. The Doctor's tracer detects the presence of the Vrij in the church, and Barbara sees a shadow fall over Jane. They believe that the Vrij has now possessed Jane.

Once Jane is married, the Doctor is dismissed as her tutor. They are given a house in Islington, where the Doctor continues work on his device.

Prior to Jane's coronation, strange things begin to happen, such as ghosts and stillborn children. The Doctor believes this is a result of the Vrij stirring itself.

The Doctor and his friends attend the coronation. Later, the Doctor tries to get close to Jane, and he overhears her conversation with her uncle. Her uncle wants her to make her husband, his son Guildford, king, which she cannot do by law. The Doctor believes the Vrij is possessing the duke and confronts it, and it attacks him. Barbara finds the Doctor seemingly dead, but the duke has left. Barbara attempts first aid, but the Doctor wakes on his own and scolds her, saying he was in a restorative coma. Jane is frightened but relieved that the Doctor is alive.

The Vrij has altered history. The duke has been able to raise an army of thousands against Mary's attempts to take the throne from Jane. He and his friends hide in the duke's room with the finished device, which will suck the Vrij into a dimensional trap. When the duke arrives, the Doctor taunts the Vrij until it attacks him and is trapped.

The Doctor and his friends prepare to leave the 16th century. Meanwhile, Jane steps down from the throne and is imprisoned. A year later, she is executed.

Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The stories in Decalog 2 have a common theme of homes owned or acquired by the Doctor. The home in this story is the house in Islington given to the Doctor by the Duke.
  • The Doctor uses a device which somewhat resembles the sonic screwdrivers used by his later incarnations, although this device is explicitly a tracking device used to track the Vrij. It is described as a "thin cylindrical rod", with a complex wire aerial extending at the flick of a switch and a tiny control panel. He eventually breaks the device when it starts incessantly beeping during Jane Grey's wedding ceremony.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]