Human Nature (novel): Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox Story | {{ImageLinkNovel}} | ||
|image= NA38 humannature.jpg | {{Infobox Story SMW | ||
|series=[[Virgin New Adventures]] | |image = <gallery> | ||
|range = Virgin New Adventures | NA38 humannature.jpg|1995 | ||
Human Nature e-book cover.jpg|2002 | |||
DW-Human-Nature Large.jpg|2015 | |||
</gallery> | |||
|series = [[Virgin New Adventures]] | |||
|range = Virgin New Adventures | |||
|number in range = 38 | |number in range = 38 | ||
|number= 38 | |number = 38 | ||
|adapted into= Human Nature (TV story) | |adapted into = Human Nature (TV story) | ||
|doctor=John Smith (Seventh Doctor) | |doctor = John Smith (Seventh Doctor){{!}}John Smith | ||
| | |featuring = Bernice Summerfield{{!}}Benny | ||
| | |featuring2 = Joan Redfern | ||
| | |featuring3 = Wolsey | ||
| | |featuring4 = Alexander Shuttleworth | ||
|enemy= The [[Aubertide]]s | |featuring5 = Death (mythology) | ||
|setting= {{il|[[Crex]], the [[Augon System]]|[[Farringham]], [[Norfolk]], [[England]], [[April]] [[1914]]}} | |featuring6 = Seventh Doctor | ||
|writer= | |enemy = The [[Aubertide]]s | ||
|read by= [[Lisa Bowerman]] | |setting = {{il|[[Crex]], the [[Augon System]]|[[Farringham]], [[Norfolk]], [[England]], [[April]] [[1914]]}} | ||
|cover= [[Bill Donohoe]] | |writer = Paul Cornell | ||
|publisher= Virgin Books | |read by = [[Lisa Bowerman]] | ||
|release date= | |cover = [[Bill Donohoe]] | ||
|format= Paperback Book; 16 Chapters, 256 Pages | |publisher = Virgin Books | ||
|isbn= ISBN 0-426-20443-3 | |release date = 18 May 1995 | ||
|prev= Sanctuary (novel) | |format = Paperback Book; 16 Chapters, 256 Pages | ||
|next= Original Sin (novel) | |isbn = ISBN 0-426-20443-3 | ||
|prev = Sanctuary (novel) | |||
|next = Original Sin (novel) | |||
}}{{prose stub}} | }}{{prose stub}} | ||
{{you may|Human Nature (TV story)|n1 = its TV adaptation}} | {{you may|Human Nature (TV story)|n1 = its TV adaptation}} | ||
'''''Human Nature''''' was the thirty-eighth novel in the ''[[Virgin New Adventures]]'' series. It was released as an ebook on the BBC's website in November 2002. One of the most highly regarded New Adventures, it formed the basis of [[Paul Cornell]]'s two part story ''[[Human Nature (TV story)|Human Nature]]'' / ''[[The Family of Blood (TV story)|The Family of Blood]]'' for the [[Series 3 (Doctor Who)|third series]] of [[BBC Wales]]' ''[[Doctor Who]]''. | '''''Human Nature''''' was the thirty-eighth novel in the ''[[Virgin New Adventures]]'' series. It was released as an ebook on the BBC's website in November 2002. One of the most highly regarded New Adventures, it formed the basis of [[Paul Cornell]]'s two part story ''[[Human Nature (TV story)|Human Nature]]'' / ''[[The Family of Blood (TV story)|The Family of Blood]]'' for the [[Series 3 (Doctor Who 2005)|third series]] of [[BBC Wales]]' ''[[Doctor Who]]''. | ||
== Publisher's summary == | == Publisher's summary == | ||
| Line 41: | Line 48: | ||
The Doctor's friend Benny is enjoying her holiday in the same town. But then she meets a future version of the Doctor, and things start to get dangerous very quickly. With the Doctor she knows gone, and only a suffragette and an elderly rake for company, can Benny fight off a vicious alien attack? And will Dr Smith be able to save the day? | The Doctor's friend Benny is enjoying her holiday in the same town. But then she meets a future version of the Doctor, and things start to get dangerous very quickly. With the Doctor she knows gone, and only a suffragette and an elderly rake for company, can Benny fight off a vicious alien attack? And will Dr Smith be able to save the day? | ||
''An adventure set in Britain on the eve of the First World War, featuring the Seventh Doctor as played by Sylvester McCoy and his companion Bernice Summerfield. This book was the basis for the Tenth Doctor television | ''An adventure set in Britain on the eve of the First World War, featuring the Seventh Doctor as played by Sylvester McCoy and his companion Bernice Summerfield. This book was the basis for the Tenth Doctor television story ''Human Nature / The Family of Blood'' starring David Tennant.'' | ||
== Plot == | == Plot == | ||
| Line 74: | Line 81: | ||
* [[Clive Alton]] (a Time Lord) | * [[Clive Alton]] (a Time Lord) | ||
* [[Hadleigh-Scott]] | * [[Hadleigh-Scott]] | ||
* [[Hutchinson ( | * [[Hutchinson (Human Nature)|Hutchinson]] | ||
* Captain [[Merryweather (novel character)|Merryweather]] | * Captain [[Merryweather (novel character)|Merryweather]] | ||
* [[Phipps (Human Nature)|Phipps]] | * [[Phipps (Human Nature)|Phipps]] | ||
People of [[Farringham]] | People of [[Farringham]] | ||
* [[Jill (Human Nature | * [[Jill (Human Nature)|Jill]] and [[Jenny (Human Nature novel character)|Jenny]] | ||
* Mrs [[Windrush (Human Nature)|Windrush]] | * Mrs [[Windrush (Human Nature)|Windrush]] | ||
* Mr [[Hodges]] | * Mr [[Hodges (Human Nature)|Hodges]] | ||
* [[Constance Harding]] | * [[Constance Harding]] | ||
* Mr [[Sangster]] | * Mr [[Sangster]] | ||
| Line 88: | Line 95: | ||
* Constable [[Bickerston]] | * Constable [[Bickerston]] | ||
* [[Nathan Bottomley]] | * [[Nathan Bottomley]] | ||
* [[Horace]] | * [[Horace (Human Nature)|Horace]] | ||
* [[Richard Hadleman]] | * [[Richard Hadleman]] | ||
| Line 108: | Line 115: | ||
* [[Nemesis]] | * [[Nemesis]] | ||
== | == Worldbuilding == | ||
=== Astronomical objects === | === Astronomical objects === | ||
* The [[Aubertide]]s state that [[Earth]] is in the arm of [[Mutter's Spiral]] in the [[Stellarian Galaxy]], whilst [[Gallifrey]] is at the core. | * The [[Aubertide]]s state that [[Earth]] is in the arm of [[Mutter's Spiral]] in the [[Stellarian Galaxy]], whilst [[Gallifrey]] is at the core. | ||
| Line 135: | Line 142: | ||
* [[Clive Alton]] is a [[Time Lord]], undercover as a student to ensure the situation remains under control. | * [[Clive Alton]] is a [[Time Lord]], undercover as a student to ensure the situation remains under control. | ||
* John and Joan often play [[whist]]. | * John and Joan often play [[whist]]. | ||
=== Influences === | |||
* [[Paul Cornell]] was heavily inspired by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Campbell Joseph Campbell]'s ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hero_with_a_Thousand_Faces The Hero With a Thousand Faces],'' in particular the stage known as the “apotheosis”, in which a hero gave up everything in order to gain enlightenment. | |||
=== Languages === | === Languages === | ||
| Line 157: | Line 168: | ||
=== Personifications of concepts === | === Personifications of concepts === | ||
* [[Death ( | * [[Death (mythology)|Death]] collects Smith as a life owed by the Doctor. | ||
=== Species === | === Species === | ||
| Line 174: | Line 185: | ||
* The novel features a sequence where Greeneye meets Bernice whilst pretending to be the [[Tenth Doctor|tenth incarnation of the Doctor]]. Coincidentally, the television adaptation featured the [[Tenth Doctor]] as portrayed by [[David Tennant]]. | * The novel features a sequence where Greeneye meets Bernice whilst pretending to be the [[Tenth Doctor|tenth incarnation of the Doctor]]. Coincidentally, the television adaptation featured the [[Tenth Doctor]] as portrayed by [[David Tennant]]. | ||
* This novel was the second to be re-released by BBCi on the official Doctor Who website in ebook form, in November 2002. It was accompanied by extensive notes and commentary from author Paul Cornell and new illustrations from artist [[Daryl Joyce]]. The ebook featured minor differences from the original text, most notably the censorship of Joan's use of the N-word. It became inaccessible in 2010. | * This novel was the second to be re-released by BBCi on the official Doctor Who website in ebook form, in November 2002. It was accompanied by extensive notes and commentary from author Paul Cornell and new illustrations from artist [[Daryl Joyce]]. The ebook featured minor differences from the original text, most notably the censorship of Joan's use of the N-word. It became inaccessible in 2010. | ||
* The novel was reprinted as part of ''The History Collection'' in [[February (releases)|February]] [[2015 (releases)|2015]], with a new cover and introduction by Cornell | * The novel was reprinted as part of ''The History Collection'' in [[February (releases)|February]] [[2015 (releases)|2015]], with a new cover and introduction by Cornell. | ||
* This novel marks the first time the Doctor is shown to kiss someone romantically, though he is [[John Smith (Seventh Doctor)|someone else]] at the time. The Doctor would not be shown to kiss someone on screen until the following year when the [[Eighth Doctor]] kisses [[Grace Holloway|Grace]] in the [[Doctor Who (TV story)|TV movie]]. | * This novel marks the first time the Doctor is shown to kiss someone romantically, though he is [[John Smith (Seventh Doctor)|someone else]] at the time. The Doctor would not be shown to kiss someone on screen until the following year when the [[Eighth Doctor]] kisses [[Grace Holloway|Grace]] in the [[Doctor Who (TV story)|TV movie]]. | ||
== Continuity == | == Continuity == | ||
* Death takes Smith as the life the Doctor promised her | * Death takes Smith as the life the Doctor promised her during [[PROSE]]: ''[[Love and War (novel)|Love and War]]''. | ||
* [[Bernice Summerfield|Benny]] is still thinking of [[Guy de Carnac]]'s death | * [[Bernice Summerfield|Benny]] is still thinking of [[Guy de Carnac]]'s death after the events of [[PROSE]]: ''[[Sanctuary (novel)|Sanctuary]]''. | ||
* Benny recalls Ace's departure | * Benny recalls Ace's departure during [[PROSE]]: ''[[Set Piece (novel)|Set Piece]]''. | ||
* Whilst discussing Benny's device, the Doctor claims he threw away the manual, just as he did when he first took control of the TARDIS. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Beginning (audio story)|The Beginning]]'') | * Whilst discussing Benny's device, the Doctor claims he threw away the manual, just as he did when he first took control of the TARDIS. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Beginning (audio story)|The Beginning]]'') | ||
* Benny isn't convinced she'll ever have children. She later had a son, [[Peter Summerfield|Peter]] | * Benny isn't convinced she'll ever have children. She later had a son, [[Peter Summerfield|Peter]] in [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Squire's Crystal (novel)|The Squire's Crystal]]''. | ||
* John Smith tells his students about [[Boudica]]'s failed revolt against the [[Roman Empire]] in [[Great Britain|Roman Britain]] in [[60]]. The [[Fourth Doctor]] and his [[companion]] [[Leela]] encountered the [[Iceni]] [[Queen]] shortly before her army's attack on the Roman capital city of [[Colchester|Camulodunum]] in the midst of the rebellion. | * John Smith tells his students about [[Boudica]]'s failed revolt against the [[Roman Empire]] in [[Great Britain|Roman Britain]] in [[60]]. In [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Wrath of the Iceni (audio story)|The Wrath of the Iceni]]'' the [[Fourth Doctor]] and his [[companion]] [[Leela]] encountered the [[Iceni]] [[Queen]] shortly before her army's attack on the Roman capital city of [[Colchester|Camulodunum]] in the midst of the rebellion. | ||
* Benny claims John's brother Jonathan has returned to Gallifrey in [[Ireland]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Hand of Fear (TV story)|The Hand of Fear]]'') | * Benny claims John's brother Jonathan has returned to Gallifrey in [[Ireland]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Hand of Fear (TV story)|The Hand of Fear]]'') | ||
* John recalls knowing a [[Barbara Wright|Barbara]] in [[Rome]] | * John recalls knowing a [[Barbara Wright|Barbara]] in [[Rome]], a memory of [[TV]]: ''[[The Romans (TV story)|The Romans]]''. | ||
* John recalls a [[The Master|man with a beard]] who always upset his experiments | * John recalls a [[The Master|man with a beard]] who always upset his experiments, a memory of the Master, first seen in [[TV]]: ''[[Terror of the Autons (TV story)|Terror of the Autons]]''. | ||
* In the story ''The Old Man and the Police Box'', John writes of how the [[Time Lord|people of Gallifrey]] can no longer have children | * In the story ''The Old Man and the Police Box'', John writes of how the [[Time Lord|people of Gallifrey]] can no longer have children, which would be explored in [[PROSE]]: ''[[Lungbarrow (novel)|Lungbarrow]]''. | ||
* The Doctor claims that Time Lords dream of what it would be like to become the opposite sex. The [[Eleventh Doctor]] would later state he knew [[the Corsair]] in both male and female incarnations, indicating they could change sex during [[regeneration]]. ([[TV]]: | * The Doctor claims that Time Lords dream of what it would be like to become the opposite sex. The [[Eleventh Doctor]] would later state he knew [[the Corsair]] in both male and female incarnations, indicating they could change sex during [[regeneration]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Doctor's Wife (TV story)}}) This was later confirmed when the Master regenerated into a woman. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Dark Water (TV story)}}) The Doctor himself eventually regenerated into a [[Thirteenth Doctor|female body]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Twice Upon a Time (TV story)}}) | ||
* Alexander is surprised to learn that Bernice received military training. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Love and War (novel)|Love and War]]'') | * Alexander is surprised to learn that Bernice received military training. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Love and War (novel)|Love and War]]'') | ||
* John says that he is [[Merlin]] | * John says that he is [[Merlin]], which was first mentioned in [[TV]]: ''[[Battlefield (TV story)|Battlefield]]''. | ||
* [[Wrightson]] briefly communicates with [[Nemesis]] as she passes by the Earth. ([[TV]]: ''[[Silver Nemesis (TV story)|Silver Nemesis]]'') | * [[Wrightson]] briefly communicates with [[Nemesis]] as she passes by the Earth. ([[TV]]: ''[[Silver Nemesis (TV story)|Silver Nemesis]]'') | ||
* John says that [[Isaac Newton|Newton]] was a very bad-tempered man. | * John says that [[Isaac Newton|Newton]] was a very bad-tempered man. His fourth incarnation mentioned meeting him before ([[TV]]: [[The Pirate Planet (TV story)|''The Pirate Planet'']]) and later met him in his [[Fifth Doctor|fifth]] ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Summer (audio story)|Summer]])'' and [[Fourteenth Doctor|fourteenth]] incarnations. ([[TV]]: [[Wild Blue Yonder (TV story)|''Wild Blue Yonder'']]) | ||
* The Doctor says he could assume the identity of John Smith again | * The Doctor says he could assume the identity of John Smith again, but that it wouldn't be the same John Smith, which would later be seen in [[TV]]: {{cs|Human Nature (TV story)}}/{{cs|The Family of Blood (TV story)}}. | ||
* John mentions living seaweed to Joan, much to her amusement. ([[TV]]: ''[[Fury from the Deep (TV story)|Fury from the Deep]]'') | * John mentions living seaweed to Joan, much to her amusement. ([[TV]]: ''[[Fury from the Deep (TV story)|Fury from the Deep]]'') | ||
* The Doctor tells Bernice about [[Oolian]]s and [[Oolis]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Original Sin (novel)|Original Sin]]'') | * The Doctor tells Bernice about [[Oolian]]s and [[Oolis]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Original Sin (novel)|Original Sin]]'') | ||
* When drawing on the Doctor's personality, John says "there's another way" ([[TV]]: ''[[Warriors of the Deep (TV story)|Warriors of the Deep]]'') and "throw away your gun". ([[TV]]: ''[[The Happiness Patrol (TV story)|The Happiness Patrol]]'') | |||
* When Wolsey enters the Doctor's TARDIS, he smells, that there was another cat there some time ago, but now it is gone. This can be interpreted as both [[Lynx (Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible)|Lynx]] ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible (novel)|Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible]]'', ''[[Cat's Cradle: Warhead (novel)|Cat's Cradle: Warhead]]'', ''[[Cat's Cradle: Witch Mark (novel)|Cat's Cradle: Witch Mark]]'') and/or [[Antranak (cat)|Antranak]] ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Eye of the Scorpion (audio story)|The Eye of the Scorpion]]'', ''[[No Place Like Home (audio story)|No Place Like Home]]'', ''[[Nekromanteia (audio story)|Nekromanteia]]''). | |||
* "Verity", who John Smith meets here, can be interpreted as an unintended vision/foreshadowing of [[Patience]] ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Cold Fusion (novel)|Cold Fusion]]'', [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Cold Fusion (audio story)|Cold Fusion]]''). | |||
== Illustrations == | == Illustrations == | ||
* Includes seventeen illustrations from the e-book by [[Daryl Joyce]], originally published on the BBC's website. | * Includes seventeen illustrations from the e-book by [[Daryl Joyce]], originally published on the BBC's website. | ||
<gallery position=center captionalign=center hideaddbutton="true" > | <gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true"> | ||
File:Human Nature prelude.jpg|(Prelude) | File:Human Nature prelude.jpg|(Prelude) | ||
File:Human Nature prologue.jpg|(Prologue) | File:Human Nature prologue.jpg|(Prologue) | ||
| Line 222: | Line 236: | ||
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true"> | <gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true"> | ||
Human Nature e-book cover.jpg|E-Book cover, designed to resemble the Past Doctor Adventures. Artwork by Daryl Joyce. | Human Nature e-book cover.jpg|E-Book cover, designed to resemble the Past Doctor Adventures. Artwork by Daryl Joyce. | ||
DW-Human-Nature Large.jpg| | DW-Human-Nature Large.jpg|2015 edition. Cover by [[Two Associates]]. | ||
</gallery> | |||
== Audiobook == | |||
* This novel was released as an audiobook on [[20 August (releases)|20 August]] [[2015 (releases)|2015]] complete and unabridged by [[BBC Audio]] and read by [[Lisa Bowerman]]. | |||
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true"> | |||
Human Nature audiobook.jpg|Audiobook cover | |||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
| Line 229: | Line 250: | ||
* {{whoniverse|na38|Human Nature}} | * {{whoniverse|na38|Human Nature}} | ||
* [http://mysite.science.uottawa.ca/rsmith43/cloister/huma.htm The Cloister Library: '''Human Nature'''] | * [http://mysite.science.uottawa.ca/rsmith43/cloister/huma.htm The Cloister Library: '''Human Nature'''] | ||
* [ | * [https://doctorwho.guide/whona38p.htm Prelude to '''Human Nature''' as published in DWM #226] | ||
* [http://doctorwho.org.nz/archive/tsv48/paulcornell.html Paul Cornell by Paul Scoones (Interview) - TSV 48] | * [http://doctorwho.org.nz/archive/tsv48/paulcornell.html Paul Cornell by Paul Scoones (Interview) - TSV 48] | ||
{{NA}} | {{NA}} | ||
{{TitleSort}} | {{TitleSort}} | ||
[[es:Human nature]] | |||
[[Category:Bernice Summerfield | [[Category:Bernice Summerfield sources]] | ||
[[Category:E-books]] | [[Category:E-books]] | ||
[[Category:Stories set in 1914]] | [[Category:Stories set in 1914]] | ||
| Line 244: | Line 266: | ||
[[Category:Stories set in Norfolk]] | [[Category:Stories set in Norfolk]] | ||
[[Category:Novels with audiobook readings]] | [[Category:Novels with audiobook readings]] | ||
Latest revision as of 20:21, 3 November 2024
- You may be looking for its TV adaptation.
Human Nature was the thirty-eighth novel in the Virgin New Adventures series. It was released as an ebook on the BBC's website in November 2002. One of the most highly regarded New Adventures, it formed the basis of Paul Cornell's two part story Human Nature / The Family of Blood for the third series of BBC Wales' Doctor Who.
Publisher's summary[[edit] | [edit source]]
1995 Virgin Books Edition[[edit] | [edit source]]
"Who's going to save us this time?"
April, 1914. The inhabitants of the little Norfolk town of Farringham are enjoying an early summer, unaware that war is on the way. Amongst them is Dr John Smith, a short, middle-aged history teacher from Aberdeen. He's having a hard time with his new post as house master at Hulton College, a school dedicated to producing military officers.
Bernice Summerfield is enjoying her holiday in the town, getting over the terrible events that befell her in France. But then she meets a future Doctor, and things start to get dangerous very quickly. With the Doctor she knows gone, and only a suffragette and an elderly rake for company, can Benny fight off a vicious alien attack? And will Dr Smith be able to save the day?
2015 BBC Books Edition[[edit] | [edit source]]
Hulton College in Norfolk is a school dedicated to producing military officers. With the First World War about to start, the boys of the school will soon be on the front line. But no one expects a war – not even Dr John Smith, the college's new house master...
The Doctor's friend Benny is enjoying her holiday in the same town. But then she meets a future version of the Doctor, and things start to get dangerous very quickly. With the Doctor she knows gone, and only a suffragette and an elderly rake for company, can Benny fight off a vicious alien attack? And will Dr Smith be able to save the day?
An adventure set in Britain on the eve of the First World War, featuring the Seventh Doctor as played by Sylvester McCoy and his companion Bernice Summerfield. This book was the basis for the Tenth Doctor television story Human Nature / The Family of Blood starring David Tennant.
Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]
to be added
Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]
Main characters[[edit] | [edit source]]
Other characters[[edit] | [edit source]]
In the beer tent
The boys at Hulton Academy
- Timothy Dean
- Anand
- Andrew Abbott
- Clive Alton (a Time Lord)
- Hadleigh-Scott
- Hutchinson
- Captain Merryweather
- Phipps
People of Farringham
- Jill and Jenny
- Mrs Windrush
- Mr Hodges
- Constance Harding
- Mr Sangster
- Alec
- Sergeant Abeland
- Constable Bickerston
- Nathan Bottomley
- Horace
- Richard Hadleman
School teachers
- George Rocastle
- Mrs Denman
- Mr Challpner
- Mr Moffat
- Miss Robertson
Soldiers outside the time barrier
Time Lords in a possible future of Gallifrey
Seen orbiting the planet
Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]
Astronomical objects[[edit] | [edit source]]
- The Aubertides state that Earth is in the arm of Mutter's Spiral in the Stellarian Galaxy, whilst Gallifrey is at the core.
Biology[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Timothy Dean becomes infected with the Doctor's Time Lord DNA and gains a second heart and a respiratory bypass system. He is hanged by his classmates, but is saved by his respiratory bypass system.
Foods and beverages[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Benny drinks six pints on the planet Crex.
- The Doctor hates pears.
- Benny refers to Mr Kipling pies. Bottomley thinks she is referring to Rudyard Kipling.
Individuals[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Herbert Asquith is the prime minister.
- Bernice Summerfield is thirty-two years old. She pretends to be Smith's niece.
- John Smith claims to be forty eight years old.
- Joan Redfern gives Wolsey to the Seventh Doctor so that he will never be alone on his travels.
- John's faked credentials claim he is from the Flavian Academy of Aberdeen.
- John plays cricket.
- Joan compares John to Walt Whitman.
- Joan's husband, Arthur, died in a war.
- Alexander Shuttleworth is Benny's landlord. His uncle fought in the Second Boer War.
- Greeneye pretends to be the tenth incarnation of the Doctor.
- Richard enlisted in the army in 1914 and earned the rank of Captain. He fought in the Battle of the Somme in July 1916.
- Timothy Dean worked in the Red Cross during World War I and died in 1995 with many children and grandchildren.
- Clive Alton is a Time Lord, undercover as a student to ensure the situation remains under control.
- John and Joan often play whist.
Influences[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Paul Cornell was heavily inspired by Joseph Campbell's The Hero With a Thousand Faces, in particular the stage known as the “apotheosis”, in which a hero gave up everything in order to gain enlightenment.
Languages[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Cruk is a profanity which Greeneye and Benny often use.
Literature[[edit] | [edit source]]
- A boy reads the magazine Boy's Own.
- Bernice finds copies of Le Morte D'Arthur and A Study in Scarlet in a bookshop.
- When speaking to Timothy about the morality of war, John quotes from Henry V.
- John writes children's stories, including The Old Man and the Police Box, about a lonely elderly man who invented a police box that was bigger on the inside. The man travelled to the planet Gallifrey and there encountered a primitive tribe and showed them many secrets of the universe.
Occupations[[edit] | [edit source]]
- John Smith and Joan Redfern work at Hulton College.
- John Smith is a history teacher.
- Joan Redfern is a science teacher. She doesn't like teaching at the school.
Organisations[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Constance is a suffragette and a member of the WSPU. She is modelling herself on Emily Davison.
- Richard Hadleman attends the local Labour group. He intends to become a local MP.
- Greeneye refers to Interventionists, members of the Celestial Intervention Agency.
- The Doctor takes the pod to the Monks of Felsecar.
Personifications of concepts[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Death collects Smith as a life owed by the Doctor.
Species[[edit] | [edit source]]
- The Aubertides are from the planet Aubris. They are shape-shifters, and reproduce asexually via buds on their backs.
- The Doctor has created a clay model of a Zygon.
Time Lords[[edit] | [edit source]]
- The Doctor claims that Time Lords dream of what it is to be able to fly, be a different sex or to have a child.
Titles[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Bernice describes herself as the current occupier of the Proxima University Chair Of Archaeology and holder of the Martian Gallantry Medal.
Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]
- A television adaptation of this story appeared in the 2007 series of Doctor Who, entitled Human Nature/The Family of Blood, with several changes in the story.
- A prelude to this novel was published in DWM 226.
- The novel features a sequence where Greeneye meets Bernice whilst pretending to be the tenth incarnation of the Doctor. Coincidentally, the television adaptation featured the Tenth Doctor as portrayed by David Tennant.
- This novel was the second to be re-released by BBCi on the official Doctor Who website in ebook form, in November 2002. It was accompanied by extensive notes and commentary from author Paul Cornell and new illustrations from artist Daryl Joyce. The ebook featured minor differences from the original text, most notably the censorship of Joan's use of the N-word. It became inaccessible in 2010.
- The novel was reprinted as part of The History Collection in February 2015, with a new cover and introduction by Cornell.
- This novel marks the first time the Doctor is shown to kiss someone romantically, though he is someone else at the time. The Doctor would not be shown to kiss someone on screen until the following year when the Eighth Doctor kisses Grace in the TV movie.
Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Death takes Smith as the life the Doctor promised her during PROSE: Love and War.
- Benny is still thinking of Guy de Carnac's death after the events of PROSE: Sanctuary.
- Benny recalls Ace's departure during PROSE: Set Piece.
- Whilst discussing Benny's device, the Doctor claims he threw away the manual, just as he did when he first took control of the TARDIS. (AUDIO: The Beginning)
- Benny isn't convinced she'll ever have children. She later had a son, Peter in PROSE: The Squire's Crystal.
- John Smith tells his students about Boudica's failed revolt against the Roman Empire in Roman Britain in 60. In AUDIO: The Wrath of the Iceni the Fourth Doctor and his companion Leela encountered the Iceni Queen shortly before her army's attack on the Roman capital city of Camulodunum in the midst of the rebellion.
- Benny claims John's brother Jonathan has returned to Gallifrey in Ireland. (TV: The Hand of Fear)
- John recalls knowing a Barbara in Rome, a memory of TV: The Romans.
- John recalls a man with a beard who always upset his experiments, a memory of the Master, first seen in TV: Terror of the Autons.
- In the story The Old Man and the Police Box, John writes of how the people of Gallifrey can no longer have children, which would be explored in PROSE: Lungbarrow.
- The Doctor claims that Time Lords dream of what it would be like to become the opposite sex. The Eleventh Doctor would later state he knew the Corsair in both male and female incarnations, indicating they could change sex during regeneration. (TV: The Doctor's Wife [+]Loading...["The Doctor's Wife (TV story)"]) This was later confirmed when the Master regenerated into a woman. (TV: Dark Water [+]Loading...["Dark Water (TV story)"]) The Doctor himself eventually regenerated into a female body. (TV: Twice Upon a Time [+]Loading...["Twice Upon a Time (TV story)"])
- Alexander is surprised to learn that Bernice received military training. (PROSE: Love and War)
- John says that he is Merlin, which was first mentioned in TV: Battlefield.
- Wrightson briefly communicates with Nemesis as she passes by the Earth. (TV: Silver Nemesis)
- John says that Newton was a very bad-tempered man. His fourth incarnation mentioned meeting him before (TV: The Pirate Planet) and later met him in his fifth (AUDIO: Summer) and fourteenth incarnations. (TV: Wild Blue Yonder)
- The Doctor says he could assume the identity of John Smith again, but that it wouldn't be the same John Smith, which would later be seen in TV: Human Nature [+]Loading...["Human Nature (TV story)"]/The Family of Blood [+]Loading...["The Family of Blood (TV story)"].
- John mentions living seaweed to Joan, much to her amusement. (TV: Fury from the Deep)
- The Doctor tells Bernice about Oolians and Oolis. (PROSE: Original Sin)
- When drawing on the Doctor's personality, John says "there's another way" (TV: Warriors of the Deep) and "throw away your gun". (TV: The Happiness Patrol)
- When Wolsey enters the Doctor's TARDIS, he smells, that there was another cat there some time ago, but now it is gone. This can be interpreted as both Lynx (PROSE: Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible, Cat's Cradle: Warhead, Cat's Cradle: Witch Mark) and/or Antranak (AUDIO: The Eye of the Scorpion, No Place Like Home, Nekromanteia).
- "Verity", who John Smith meets here, can be interpreted as an unintended vision/foreshadowing of Patience (PROSE: Cold Fusion, AUDIO: Cold Fusion).
Illustrations[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Includes seventeen illustrations from the e-book by Daryl Joyce, originally published on the BBC's website.
(Prelude)
(Prologue)
(Chapter One)
(Chapter Two)
(Chapter Three)
(Chapter Four)
(Chapter Five)
(Chapter Six)
(Chapter Seven)
(Chapter Eight)
(Chapter Nine)
(Chapter Ten)
(Chapter Eleven)
(Chapter Twelve)
(Chapter Thirteen)
(Chapter Fourteen)
(Epilogue)
Additional cover images[[edit] | [edit source]]
E-Book cover, designed to resemble the Past Doctor Adventures. Artwork by Daryl Joyce.
2015 edition. Cover by Two Associates.
Audiobook[[edit] | [edit source]]
- This novel was released as an audiobook on 20 August 2015 complete and unabridged by BBC Audio and read by Lisa Bowerman.
Audiobook cover
External links[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Human Nature at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
- The Discontinuity Guide to: Human Nature at The Whoniverse
- The Cloister Library: Human Nature
- Prelude to Human Nature as published in DWM #226
