A History of the Universe (reference book)

This is a work of non-fiction.

Unlike other fictional universes, the Doctor Who universe is created solely by fiction. To us, this is not a valid source. Information from this source can only be used in "behind the scenes" sections, or on pages about real world topics.

A History of the Universe
Written by:	Lance Parkin
Release date:	16 May 1996
Publisher:	Virgin Books
Format:	Paperback Book 273 pages
ISBN:	ISBN 0-426-20471-9

A History of the Universe is a speculative history of the Doctor Who universe as shown in multiple media. Its main text is an in-universe perspective on this history from the point of view of a fictional version of the author and several Doctor Who characters with copious out-of-universe annotations explaining the reasoning behind the fictional perspectives. It was later expanded and updated, in the form of AHistory, also by Parkin.

Publisher's summary

At last, the complete timeline of the Doctor Who universe, from Event One to its final destruction tens of billion years in the future.

This essential reference work reveals the full story of the Daleks, the Cybermen, and the Time Lords. It also includes a comprehensive history of Earth, charting the rise of humanity from a primitive tribe on the African plains to a race of galaxy-spanning conquerors.

Every recorded event mentioned in the Doctor Who television series and the New and Missing Adventures is woven into this fascinating chronicle — with different typefaces used to distinguish the source information. Dates range from the obvious (the Battle of Hastings) to the obscure (the year in which Galactic Salvage and Insurance went bust) while extensive notes explain the author's reasoning and research.

Containing a wealth of behind-the-scenes information, much of it revealed here for the first time. A History of the Universe is an indispensable guide to the worlds Doctor Who.

Subject matter

• A linear and structured timeline of Doctor Who, it literally begins at Event One (actually a bit before), and goes right through to The Far Future.
• There is also a separate section which deals with Gallifrey.

Notable features

• This is the first stand-alone book to work all of Doctor Who history into one cohesive timeline, although The Terrestrial Index by Jean-Marc Lofficier contains a 55-page section detailing "The History of Mankind According to Doctor Who", which places most stories from the original 1963–1989 television series into a historical context.
• The main text of the book is an in-universe narrative of the universe's history, featuring quotes from fictional people and publications which have been referenced throughout the TV series and novels such as Oolon Caluphid, Bernice Summerfield, Njeri Ngugi, and Hourly Tele-Press.
• The book's appendix prints the in-universe narrative Gallifrey - Notes on the Planet's Background, which was originally written for Virgin by Andrew Cartmel, Ben Aaronovitch and Marc Platt, dated 9.11.90, and outlined the 'The Cartmel Masterplan'.

Notes

• This book covers all the Virgin New Adventures and Virgin Missing Adventures which had been written at that time, up to Happy Endings and The Sands of Time.
• This book covers all the TV stories up to Survival.