Prelude Human Nature (short story)

Prelude Human Nature (short story) was, as the name suggested, a prelude to Human Nature by Paul Cornell. It was a short scene which did not appear in the published novel. and featured Alexander Shuttleworth and Joan Redfern. It was notable for introducing the character of Wolsey, a cat who travelled with the Seventh Doctor in the Virgin New Adventures series.

Summary

Alexander Shuttleworth has come to give a lecture to Joan Redfern's WI group in Farringham on the subject of bronze age archaeology. Before he does so, however, he enjoys a bit of cake, and a bit of scrutiny, provided by the other women in the group. Meanwhile, an off-hand comment by one of the women about Joan's widowhood sends Joan into deep thought about her lost husband. This then triggers another thought — one of a dream she had about her new colleague, the mercurial Dr. John Smith.

Characters

Alexander Shuttleworth
Joan Redfern
Several unnamed women of the WI
Wolsey the cat

References

to be added

Notes

Oddly, Cornell (as perhaps edited by DWM) spells the name of an early Celtic queen differently here than in the novel properly. Here, it's Boadicea; in the novel it's Boudicca.
There is no punctuation in the title as printed in DWM.

Continuity

Shuttleworth knows Wolsey by name, and the cat displays affection for him.
It's here, and not in the the main book itself, that we find out that Joan's husband died in the Boer War.
We directly find out here that Joan hates being a science teacher.
Cornell's depiction of John Smith refers to his "charmingly mobile face" — a valid way of describing an obvious trait Sylvester McCoy gave the Seventh Doctor.

Timeline

Though called a "prelude", the events actually take place during NA: Human Nature

External link

The entire text of the piece at the Doctor Who Reference Guide