№ 1 · Oxford Time Travel
Kivrin knows everything about the Middle Ages - she's read all the books. She knows it's dangerous: cutthroats in the woods, witch hunts, cholera, and millions dying in the plague. For a young historian, it's fascinating.
When Kivrin's tutors in Oxford's history lab finally agree to send her on an on-site study trip, she jumps at the chance to observe medieval life first-hand. But a crisis that strangely links the past and future leaves her stranded in the most deadly and terrifying era in human history, face to face with the heart-rending reality behind the statistics. And while she fights for her own life, Kivrin finds she has become an unlikely angel of hope in this dark time.
Five years in the writing, Doomsday Book is a storytelling triumph. Connie Willis draws upon her understanding of the universalities of human nature to explore the timeless issues of evil, suffering and the indomitable will of the human spirit.
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Time-traveling historians sent into pivotal eras of British history form the backbone of one of speculative fiction's most decorated bodies of work, beginning in earnest with the Oxford Time Travel series. Connie Willis established herself as a central figure in science fiction and fantasy through meticulously researched narrative arcs that blend historical tragedy, sharp comedic screwball elements, and deep human empathy. Her groundbreaking novels, such as Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog, elevated the genre by exploring how ordinary individuals confront administrative chaos, crisis, and mortality across different centuries.
Born Constance Elaine Trimmer on December 31, 1945, in Denver, Colorado, Willis earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and elementary education from the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley in 1967. She spent over a decade teaching elementary and junior high school from 1967 through 1981 while developing her fiction. Her debut science fiction sale, 'The Secret of Santa Titicaca,' appeared in Worlds of Fantasy in 1970, followed by her first Hugo Award nomination for 'Daisy in the Sun' in 1979. A National Endowment for the Arts grant in 1982 allowed her to transition to full-time writing. In the years that followed, she achieved distinction by becoming the first author to win both the Hugo and Nebula Awards in all four fiction categories, ultimately winning eleven Hugo Awards and seven Nebula Awards for individual works. Her major contributions led to her induction into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2009 and her designation as the 28th SFWA Grand Master in 2011.
Willis's fiction ranges from laugh-out-loud romantic comedies reminiscent of classic screwball cinema to harrowing, immersive survival stories set during historical disasters. A recurring thematic thread in her narrative landscape is the unpredictable friction between grand historical events and everyday human vulnerability, frequently depicted through administrative incompetence, miscommunication, and bureaucratic obstacles. Whether examining the devastation of the Black Death, the perils of the London Blitz, or near-death experiences in medical research, her stories balance detailed technical and historical research with engaging dialogue and profound character studies.
Oxford Time Travel
