The Massacre (novelisation)
The Massacre was a novelisation based on the 1966 television serial The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve.
Publisher's summary
1987 edition
The TARDIS lands in Paris on 19 August 1572. Driven by scientific curiosity, the First Doctor leaves Steven to meet and exchange views with the apothecary, Charles Preslin.
BEFORE HE DISAPPEARS, HE WARNS Steven to stay out of "mischief, religion and politics." But in sixteenth-century Paris it is impossible to remain a mere observer, and Steven soon finds himself involved with a group of Huguenots.
The Protestant minority of France is being threatened by the Catholic hierarchy, and danger stalks the Paris streets. As Steven tries to find his way back to the TARDIS he discovers that one of the main persecutors of the Huguenots appears to be - the Doctor.
Deviations from televised story
- Lucarotti adds a prologue and epilogue in which the Doctor is being asked to explain his actions in sixteenth century France to a group of Time Lords.
- The final scene on the televised story is where the Doctor and Steven have travelled forward to 20th century England and have been mistaken for a real Police Box by Dodo Chaplet (possible relative of Anne Chaplet). This scene is absent from the novel.
- Due to several behind-the-scenes changes at the time this story was made, the final televised version bore very little resemblance to the scripts that John Lucarotti had submitted. The novelisation is thus an adaptation of Lucarotti's scripts, rather than of the televised serial (which was largely written by Donald Tosh, the then-story editor). William Hartnell's double role as the Doctor and as the Abbot of Amboise is a key centerpiece to the book, where it was suggested only minimally on TV (Hartnell only having three speaking scenes as the Abbot) and the book's ending is much more gentle and optimistic than the TV version.
Writing and publishing notes
- Author's Note: The historical events described in The Massacre are factual, as were the 287 kilometres of tunnels and catacombs under Paris, some of which may still be visited. The woodcut engraving of the attempt on de Coligny's life, which shows a cowled cleric in a doorway, does exist. The author has seen it. John Lucarotti.
- The included reference to the Time Lords was not in the television series' continuity and the then-producer John Nathan-Turner was at first unhappy with the reference until it was explained to him and he gave his approval.
- The cover for the original Target Books edition featured the artwork of Tony Masero.
Additional cover images
To be added
British publication history
- Hardback (June 1987)
- W.H.Allen & Co. Ltd. UK ISBN:0491034237, copies priced £7.50 (UK))
- Paperback (November 1987)
- Target / W.H. Allen & Co. Ltd. One single paperback edition, estimated print run: 25,300, priced £1.95 (UK).
- Paperback (October 1992)
- Target / Virgin Publishing New cover artwork by Alister Pearson, priced £2.99 (UK).
