Timeslip
- The Novel
Pan Books published a novel based on Timeslip to
coincide with the series in 1970. It was based on the first two
serials, 'The Wrong End of Time' and 'The Time of the Ice Box'.
Pan Novel - Front Cover |
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Pan Novel - Back Cover
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The novel is a straight retelling of these stories
and very little was altered to accommodate the prose format. The
explanations of time travel theory throughout the book are actually
clearer than they come across in the television series. Another
minor addition, is the inclusion of a prologue that sees Commander
Traynor sent off to St. Oswald to, obstensively, investigate the
disappearance of the local girl Sarah (who here has surname, Tilley)
by his boss, Colonel Murray. Murray is also mentioned later on
in the television series but is never seen. We also discover,
once and for all, that the St. Oswald naval station is located
in Rutland.
The front cover of the book depicted a scene from 'The Time of
the Ice Box' and showed Dr. Bukov (John Barcroft) examining the
inert bodies of Liz and Simon on the ice field. The back shows
the pair of time travellers, still unconscious, lying in the ice
box's infirmary. In both rehearsal shots, Spencer Banks is not
wearing Simon's glasses!
The novel itself was written quickly to accommodate the very
short lead-time given by the publishers Pan Books. There is no
actual author credit on the cover or inside the book but the adaptation
of Bruce Stewart's scripts fell to Ruth Boswell's husband, James.
Piccolo Novel |
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Shortly after the book's publication, it
was re-jacketed and released under Pan Books' children's
imprint, Piccolo. The only difference in the two versions
(aside from the Piccolo logo) is the fact that the cover
uses a bright red background instead of the Pan version's
black one.
The book is long since out of print. However,
the lucky few can sometimes find copies in charity shops
or jumble sales or pay 'slightly' more on e-bay. |
The Japanese Novel
Several years ago, a Japanese translation of the novel found
its way into the hands of Bruce Stewart. He, like Ruth Boswell,
is at a loss as to how it came to be published in Japan...
See Japanese Novel scans below or click
here for larger scans - Scans courtesy of Bruce Stewart
Japanese Novel Cover
Japanese Novel scan
Japanese Novel scan
(A more in-depth look at the novel will appear at a later date...)
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