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{{Infobox Novel|
{{title dab away}}
novel name= Human Nature|
{{real world}}
image= [[Image:NA38_humannature.jpg|250px]] |
{{ImageLinkNovel}}
series=[[Doctor Who]] -<br/>[[List of Virgin New Adventures Stories | Virgin New Adventures]] |
{{Infobox Story SMW
number= 38 |
|image          = <gallery>
doctor=[[Seventh Doctor]] |
NA38 humannature.jpg|1995
companions= [[Bernice Summerfield|Benny]] |
Human Nature e-book cover.jpg|2002
enemy= [[Aubertide]]s |
DW-Human-Nature Large.jpg|2015
year= [[Augon System]], [[Crex]] <br> [[Earth]], near-[[Farringham]], [[April]], [[1914]] |
</gallery>
writer= [[Paul Cornell]] |
|series          = [[Virgin New Adventures]]
publisher= [[Virgin Books]] |
|range          = Virgin New Adventures
release date= May, 1995 |
|number in range = 38
format= Paperback Book, ? Pages |
|number         = 38
isbn= ISBN 0426204433 |
|adapted into    = Human Nature (TV story)
previous story= [[Sanctuary]] |
|doctor         = John Smith (Seventh Doctor){{!}}John Smith
next story= [[Original Sin]]}}
|featuring      = Bernice Summerfield{{!}}Benny
|featuring2      = Joan Redfern
|featuring3      = Wolsey
|featuring4      = Alexander Shuttleworth
|featuring5      = Death (mythology)
|featuring6      = Seventh Doctor
|enemy           = The [[Aubertide]]s
|setting        = {{il|[[Crex]], the [[Augon System]]|[[Farringham]], [[Norfolk]], [[England]], [[April]] [[1914]]}}
|writer          = Paul Cornell
|read by        = [[Lisa Bowerman]]
|cover          = [[Bill Donohoe]]
|publisher      = Virgin Books
|release date   = 18 May 1995
|format         = Paperback Book; 16 Chapters, 256 Pages
|isbn           = ISBN 0-426-20443-3
|prev            = Sanctuary (novel)
|next            = Original Sin (novel)
}}{{prose stub}}
{{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 2005)|third series]] of [[BBC Wales]]' ''[[Doctor Who]]''.


==Publisher's Summary==
== Publisher's summary ==
''''Who’s going to save us this time?''''
=== 1995 Virgin Books Edition ===
''"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 Academy for Boys]], a school dedicated to producing military officers.  
[[April]], [[1914]]. The inhabitants of the little [[Norfolk]] town of [[Farringham]] are enjoying an early summer, unaware that [[World War I|war]] is on the way. Amongst them is [[John Smith (Seventh Doctor)|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 [[Seventh Doctor|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?  
[[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 [[Seventh Doctor|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?


==Characters==
=== 2015 BBC Books Edition ===
===Main Characters===
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...
[[Bernice Summerfield]]
* Is now 32 years old.
* Drinks six pints on the planet [[Crex]]
* She isn't convinced she'll ever have children.
* Benny's still struggling with the loss of Guy de Carnac though she doubts she loved him.
* Pretends to be Smith's niece.


[[Wolsey]]
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?
* Joan gives Wolsey to the Doctor so he'll never be alone on his travels.


Dr John Smith (the personality [[Seventh Doctor | The Doctor]] creates)
''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.''
* Smith is a history teacher.
* Proposes to Joan.
* Hates pears.
* Is 48, from [[Aberdeen]].
* His (faked) credentials claim he is from the Flavian Academy of Aberdeen.
* Has some cricketing skills.
* Writes children's stories such as: "The Old Man and the Police Box" about a world called Gallifrey and a strange inventor who teaches about police boxes.


[[Joan Redfern]]
== Plot ==
* Science teacher.
''to be added''
* Her husband Arthur died in the war.
* Doesn't like teaching at the school.


Alexander Shuttleworth (Benny's landlord)
== Characters ==
* Attends Benny's Wedding.
=== Main characters ===
* [[Bernice Summerfield]]
* [[Wolsey]]
* [[John Smith (Seventh Doctor)|John Smith]]
* [[Joan Redfern (novel character)|Joan Redfern]]
* [[Alexander Shuttleworth]]


===Other Characters===
=== Other characters ===
'''[[Aubertide]]s'''
[[Aubertide]]s
* [[August (Human Nature)|August]]
* [[Greeneye]]
* [[Laylock]]
* [[Serif]]
* [[Aphasia]]
* [[Hoff]]


August
In the beer tent
* [[Jac (Human Nature)|Jac]]
* [[Sarah (Human Nature)|Sarah]]
* [[Lucy (Human Nature)|Lucy]]


Greeneye
The boys at Hulton Academy
* Wants to shag Benny.
* [[Timothy Dean]]
* Pretends to be the Tenth Doctor. (Just not ''the Tenth Doctor'' David Tennant version)
* [[Anand]]
* [[Andrew Abbott]]
* [[Clive Alton]] (a Time Lord)
* [[Hadleigh-Scott]]
* [[Hutchinson (Human Nature)|Hutchinson]]
* Captain [[Merryweather (novel character)|Merryweather]]
* [[Phipps (Human Nature)|Phipps]]


Laylock
People of [[Farringham]]
* [[Jill (Human Nature)|Jill]] and [[Jenny (Human Nature novel character)|Jenny]]
* Mrs [[Windrush (Human Nature)|Windrush]]
* Mr [[Hodges (Human Nature)|Hodges]]
* [[Constance Harding]]
* Mr [[Sangster]]
* [[Alec (Human Nature)|Alec]]
* Sergeant [[Abeland]]
* Constable [[Bickerston]]
* [[Nathan Bottomley]]
* [[Horace (Human Nature)|Horace]]
* [[Richard Hadleman]]


Serif
School teachers
* [[George Rocastle]]
* Mrs [[Denman]]
* Mr [[Challpner]]
* Mr [[Moffat]]
* Miss [[Robertson (Human Nature)|Robertson]]


Aphasia
Soldiers outside the time barrier
* Major [[Wrightson]]
* [[Stanley (Human Nature)|Stanley]]
* [[Torrence]]
Time Lords in a possible future of Gallifrey
* [[Flavia]]
* [[Romana]]
Seen orbiting the planet
* [[Nemesis]]


Hoff
== Worldbuilding ==
=== 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.


'''In the beer tent'''
=== Biology ===
* Jac, Sarah, Lucy
* [[Timothy Dean]] becomes infected with the Doctor's [[Time Lord]] [[DNA]] and gains [[Binary cardiovascular system|a second heart]] and a [[respiratory bypass system]]. He is hanged by his classmates, but is saved by his respiratory bypass system.


'''The boys at Hulton Academy'''
=== Foods and beverages ===
* Benny drinks six pints on the planet [[Crex]].
* [[Seventh Doctor|The Doctor]] hates [[pear]]s.
* Benny refers to [[Mr Kipling]] pies. [[Nathan Bottomley|Bottomley]] thinks she is referring to [[Rudyard Kipling]].


[[Timothy Dean]]
=== Individuals ===
* Gets infected with the Doctor's Time Lord DNA and gains two hearts and a respiratory bypass system.
* [[Herbert Asquith]] is the [[prime minister]].
* He is hung by his classmates, the bypass system saves him.
* [[Bernice Summerfield]] is thirty-two years old. She pretends to be Smith's niece.
* He eventually dies in 1995 with many children and grandchildren.
* [[John Smith (Seventh Doctor)|John Smith]] claims to be forty eight years old.
* [[Joan Redfern (novel character)|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 [[Flavia|Flavian Academy]] of [[Aberdeen]].
* John plays [[cricket]].
* Joan compares John to [[Walt Whitman]].
* [[Joan Redfern (novel character)|Joan]]'s husband, [[Arthur Redfern|Arthur]], died in [[Boer War|a war]].
* [[Alexander Shuttleworth]] is Benny's landlord. His uncle fought in the [[Boer Wars|Second Boer War]].
* [[Greeneye]] pretends to be the [[Tenth Doctor|tenth incarnation]] of [[the Doctor]].
* [[Richard Hadleman|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]].


Hutchinson (senior captain)
=== Influences ===


Alton (a Time Lord)
* [[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.


Phipps
=== Languages ===
* [[Cruk]] is a profanity which Greeneye and Benny often use.


Anand (Tim's friend)
=== Literature ===
* A boy reads the magazine ''[[Boy's Own]]''.
* Bernice finds copies of ''[[King Arthur|Le Morte D'Arthur]]'' and ''[[Sherlock Holmes|A Study in Scarlet]]'' in a bookshop.
* When speaking to Timothy about the morality of war, John quotes from ''[[Henry V (play)|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.


Captain Merryweather
=== Occupations ===
* [[John Smith (Seventh Doctor)|John Smith]] and [[Joan Redfern (novel character)|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.


Abbot, Andrew, Clive, Ian, Hadliegh-Scott
=== Organisations ===
* [[Constance Harding|Constance]] is a [[suffragette]] and a member of the [[Women's Social and Political Union|WSPU]]. She is modelling herself on [[Emily Davison]].
* [[Richard Hadleman]] attends the local [[Labour Party|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]].


'''People of [[Farringham]]'''
=== Personifications of concepts ===
* Jill and Jenny (two housewives)
* [[Death (mythology)|Death]] collects Smith as a life owed by the Doctor.
* Mrs Windrush (housewife)
* Mr Hodges (greengrocer)
* Constance Harding (suffraget)
* Mr Sangster (runs the art shop)
* Alec (works at the Museum)
* Sergent Abeland (police officer)
* Constable Bickerston (police officer)
* Nathan Bottomley (black smith)
* Horace (telephone box operator)
* Richard Hadleman


'''School teachers'''
=== Species ===
* George Rocastle, MBE (headmaster)
* The [[Aubertide]]s are from the planet [[Aubris]]. They are shape-shifters, and reproduce asexually via buds on their backs.
* Mrs Denman (biology)
* The Doctor has created a clay model of a [[Zygon]].
* Mr Challpner
* Mr Moffat (bursar)
* Miss Robertson


'''Soldiers outside the time barrier'''
=== Time Lords ===
* Major Wrightson, Stanley, Torrence
* The Doctor claims that [[Time Lord]]s dream of what it is to be able to fly, be a different sex or to have a child.


==References==
=== Titles ===
* [[Death (Eternal) | Death]] collects Smith as a life owed by the Doctor.
* Bernice describes herself as the current occupier of the [[Proxima University]] [[Chair Of Archaeology]] and holder of the [[Martian Gallantry Medal]].
* The [[Aubertide]]s are from the planet [[Aubris]], they're shapeshifters and reproduce asexually via buds on their backs.
* The [[Aubertide]]s state that [[Earth]] is in the [[Stellarian Galaxy]].


==Notes==
== Notes ==
*A television adaptation of this story appeared in the [[2007]] series of ''[[Doctor Who]]''. (see also [[Human Nature (TV story)]])
* A television adaptation of this story appeared in the 2007 series of ''[[Doctor Who]]'', entitled ''[[Human Nature (TV story)|Human Nature]]''/''[[The Family of Blood (TV story)|The Family of Blood]]'', with several changes in the story.
* A [[Prelude Human Nature (short story)|prelude]] to this novel was published in [[DWM 226]].
* 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.
* 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]].


==Continuity==
== Continuity ==
* Death takes Smith as the life the Doctor promised her in [[Timewyrm: Revelation]].
* Death takes Smith as the life the Doctor promised her during [[PROSE]]: ''[[Love and War (novel)|Love and War]]''.
* In the [[Doctor Who: The TV Movie]] the Doctor kisses Grace twice, in Human Nature he kisses Joan 6 times.
* [[Bernice Summerfield|Benny]] is still thinking of [[Guy de Carnac]]'s death after the events of [[PROSE]]: ''[[Sanctuary (novel)|Sanctuary]]''.
* Benny is still thinking of Guy de Carnac's death in [[Sanctuary]].
* Benny recalls Ace's departure during [[PROSE]]: ''[[Set Piece (novel)|Set Piece]]''.
* Wolsey departs the TARDIS with Benny in [[The Dying Days]].
* 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]] 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]]. 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]]'')
* 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, 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, 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]]: {{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]]'')
* 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]]'')
* 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, 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]]'')
* 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]]'').


==External Links==
== Illustrations ==
* [http://www.drwhoguide.com/who_na38.htm The Doctor Who Reference Guide detailed synopsis of '''Human Nature''']
* Includes seventeen illustrations from the e-book by [[Daryl Joyce]], originally published on the BBC's website.
* [http://www.whoniverse.org/discontinuity/NA38.php The Whoniverse Discontinuity Guide - ''Human Nature'']
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true">
* [http://www.drwhoguide.com/whona38p.htm Prelude to ''Human Nature'' as published in DWM#226]
File:Human Nature prelude.jpg|(Prelude)
File:Human Nature prologue.jpg|(Prologue)
File:Human Nature chapter one.jpg|(Chapter One)
File:Human Nature chapter two.jpg|(Chapter Two)
File:Human Nature chapter three.jpg|(Chapter Three)
File:Human Nature chapter four.jpg|(Chapter Four)
File:Human Nature chapter five.jpg|(Chapter Five)
File:Human Nature chapter six.jpg|(Chapter Six)
File:Human Nature chapter seven.jpg|(Chapter Seven)
File:Human Nature chapter eight.jpg|(Chapter Eight)
File:Human Nature chapter nine.jpg|(Chapter Nine)
File:Human Nature chapter ten 800.jpg|(Chapter Ten)
File:Human Nature chapter eleven.jpg|(Chapter Eleven)
File:Human Nature chapter twelve.jpg|(Chapter Twelve)
File:Human Nature chapter thirteen.jpg|(Chapter Thirteen)
File:Human Nature chapter fourteen.jpg|(Chapter Fourteen)
File:Human Nature epilogue.jpg|(Epilogue)
</gallery>


{{Virgin New Adventure Series Box | before = [[Sanctuary]] | after = [[Original Sin]]}}
== Additional cover images ==
<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.
DW-Human-Nature Large.jpg|2015 edition. Cover by [[Two Associates]].
</gallery>


{{stub}}
== 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>
== External links ==
{{dwrefguide|who_na38.htm|Human Nature}}
* {{whoniverse|na38|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]
{{NA}}
{{TitleSort}}
[[es:Human nature]]
[[Category:Bernice Summerfield sources]]
[[Category:E-books]]
[[Category:E-books]]
[[Category:Stories set in the 1910s]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1914]]
[[Category:Stories set in England]]
[[Category:Seventh Doctor novels]]
[[Category:Seventh Doctor novels]]
[[Category:Virgin New Adventure Novels]]
[[Category:NA novels with Bernice Summerfield]]
[[Category:NA novels]]
[[Category:1995 novels]]
[[Category:Stories set in Norfolk]]
[[Category:Novels with audiobook readings]]

Latest revision as of 20:21, 3 November 2024

RealWorld.png

prose stub
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]]

Aubertides

In the beer tent

The boys at Hulton Academy

People of Farringham

School teachers

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]]

Biology[[edit] | [edit source]]

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

Individuals[[edit] | [edit source]]

Influences[[edit] | [edit source]]

Languages[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Cruk is a profanity which Greeneye and Benny often use.

Literature[[edit] | [edit source]]

Occupations[[edit] | [edit source]]

Organisations[[edit] | [edit source]]

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]]

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]]

Illustrations[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Includes seventeen illustrations from the e-book by Daryl Joyce, originally published on the BBC's website.
  • (Prelude)

    (Prelude)

  • (Prologue)

    (Prologue)

  • (Chapter One)

    (Chapter One)

  • (Chapter Two)

    (Chapter Two)

  • (Chapter Three)

    (Chapter Three)

  • (Chapter Four)

    (Chapter Four)

  • (Chapter Five)

    (Chapter Five)

  • (Chapter Six)

    (Chapter Six)

  • (Chapter Seven)

    (Chapter Seven)

  • (Chapter Eight)

    (Chapter Eight)

  • (Chapter Nine)

    (Chapter Nine)

  • (Chapter Ten)

    (Chapter Ten)

  • (Chapter Eleven)

    (Chapter Eleven)

  • (Chapter Twelve)

    (Chapter Twelve)

  • (Chapter Thirteen)

    (Chapter Thirteen)

  • (Chapter Fourteen)

    (Chapter Fourteen)

  • (Epilogue)

    (Epilogue)

Additional cover images[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • E-Book cover, designed to resemble the Past Doctor Adventures. Artwork by Daryl Joyce.

    E-Book cover, designed to resemble the Past Doctor Adventures. Artwork by Daryl Joyce.

  • 2015 edition. Cover by Two Associates.

    2015 edition. Cover by Two Associates.

Audiobook[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Audiobook cover

    Audiobook cover

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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