Blackout (novel)
Encyclopedia
Blackout and All Clear are the two volumes that comprise a 2010
science fiction
novel by American author
Connie Willis
. Blackout was published February 2, 2010 by Spectra
. The second part, the conclusion All Clear, was released as a separate book on October 19, 2010. The diptych won the 2010 Nebula Award for Best Novel
, the 2011 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
, and the 2011 Hugo Award for Best Novel
.
These two volumes are the most recent of four books and a short story that Willis has written involving time travel from Oxford
during the mid 21st century.
" and featured in two of her previous novels: Doomsday Book
and To Say Nothing of the Dog
) in which historian
s conduct field work by traveling into the past as observers. The research is mainly conducted at the University of Oxford
in England
in the mid-21st century. In their world, time travel has been known since the early 21st century. The time travel device remains in the future, and travelers are sent through a portal called a "drop" which places them in a particular location and time. They can return from the same location whenever someone in the future re-opens the drop for them.
Historians in Willis' world believe that the rules of time travel resist possible alterations to the past by preventing visits to certain places or times. In some cases, the machine used for time travel will refuse to function, rendering the trip impossible. In other cases, "slippage", a shift in the exact target in time and space, occurs. The time traveler arrives at the nearest place and time suitable for preventing a paradox; although sometimes this is only a few minutes later than planned, it could be as much as several years.
In addition to slippage, which the technicians operating the net cannot control or predict, there are other reasons why a historian might not be able to travel to a certain time. Once a time traveler has visited a certain date, he or she can never go to that same time again. The 21st-century authorities controlling time travel also have rules, and can deem some historical periods too dangerous for time travel even though those times might be theoretically accessible.
, abruptly finds himself instead being sent to witness the response to the Battle of Dunkirk
. The constant changes mean that the wardrobe department can't assemble the proper wardrobe for Polly Churchill, who plans to work as a shopgirl during the Blitz
if she can avoid running into Mr. Dunworthy before her jump time. Merope Ward, embedded in the staff of an English country manor overseeing the child refugees from London, finds herself utterly unable to find the support she needs to complete her first assignment in the past. Dunworthy himself is nowhere to be found, having set off for a meeting with another academic who theorizes that continued time travel has pushed the laws that govern it safely to the breaking point.
When they make it to World War II
England, all initially seems fairly well. Merope excels at her assignment despite the devilish evacuated street urchins Binnie and Alf. Polly manages to secure employment at a local shop. And Michael lands in generally the right place, a few days late and a couple dozen miles to the south.
As the novel opens, Polly Churchill, who is posing as Polly Sebastian, a shop assistant, realizes that she has a deadline. She had already visited Oxford and London in 1943. Since she was able to do that, and she now believes she is trapped in 1940, she must either have returned to the future by 1943, or died. She is convinced that she will in fact die. Meanwhile two other time travelers, Merope Ward (posing as Eileen O'Reilly) and Michael Davies (posing as an American journalist, Mike Davis) have found Polly after discovering that their drops are also unable to return them to the future. Mike originally went to Dover to observe the Dunkirk evacuation, but became an unwilling participant. Eileen began observing the evacuation of children from London to the countryside in 1939. Now together, the three believe that their own actions, particularly in Mike's case, may have changed the future so that there is no time travel, and that possibly it involves Germany winning the war.
Knowing something has gone wrong which prevents them from returning to 2060 Oxford, the three time travelers attempt to determine an escape plan, but none of their efforts are successful. Gerald Phipps, who was supposed to be at Bletchley Park
studying Ultra
, never came through to his assignment. Due to a misunderstanding, they only realize that another Oxford historian, John Bartholomew, is also in their place and time less than a day before he will leave. Frantically they try to get to him, but the three are separated and repeatedly delayed, not helped by the fact that this is the night of December 29, 1940, some of the worst raids of the war. They are unable to find Bartholomew before he returns to 2054 Oxford. When Mike and Eileen figure out that Polly has a deadline in June 1943 – meaning that if she isn’t out by then she’ll die, since she’s already visited that time – their search for a way out becomes even more desperate. Their frustration turns into tragedy when Mike is killed during a raid. Eileen refuses to accept his death, but upon realizing Alf and Binnie’s mother has been dead for months, volunteers to raise the orphans, giving her life meaning.
In 2060 Oxford Mr. Dunworthy sends himself on a rescue mission to retrieve Polly in September 1940. However, when he arrives at St Paul’s Cathedral he is unable to determine the date before the raids start. (St. Paul's, and especially one of the paintings in the Cathedral, The Light of the World, are viewed several times by most of the important characters in the book. They are either inspired or depressed by their current view of the painting.) When he realizes it is December 1940, he becomes hopeless and distraught. Polly stumbles across him in the cathedral a few weeks later. He explains that slippage isn’t a result of the time continuum trying to prevent historians from changing the past as was previously thought, but is a response to changes they’d already caused. The continuum around World War II is in such disarray that it has sealed itself off to time travel, and will engage in ‘corrections’ – likely the death of the historians and those they have influenced. Their worst fears – that they have been able to influence the past and cause discrepancies – have been realized, possibly to the point the war will be lost.
However, all hope is not lost. Mike faked his own death and in 1944 is engaged in Operation Fortitude
, a misinformation campaign. He is able to plant notices in newspapers hinting where Polly and Eileen are located in the hopes that someone in 2060 Oxford will find the notices and be able to rescue the girls. Another potential rescuer is Colin Templer, an overeager teenager from 2060 Oxford with a crush on Polly. He goes back to 1944 and finds Mike, right after he has been hit by a bomb and helped by a clueless 1944 Polly. Mike explains that Polly and Eileen are together and falls unconscious as Colin brings him back to 2060 Oxford. Colin also goes to the 1970s for research and 1995 to try to find someone who knew Polly. To his surprise, he meets an elderly Binnie, who tells him Eileen died in 1987. Binnie also revealed that she has learned all about time travel and has been looking for him through the years to tell him where and when he can rescue the stranded historians. Equipped with this knowledge, Colin is able to return to 1941 to rescue Polly and Mr. Dunworthy.
Polly’s worries about leading to the deaths of those around her by interfering do not prevent her from saving the life of Sir Godfrey in a bombing. She finally realizes what is going on as she lies recovering in the hospital; the historians have caused small things to happen which ultimately led to winning the war. She concludes that they’re stuck in World War II not to be killed by the continuum, but because there are things they need to do so that the war is won and history is as it should be.
In April 1941, an older Colin comes through at St. Paul's and finds the historians. Polly and Mr. Dunworthy leave with Colin to return to 2060 Oxford, but Eileen stays behind. She reasons that she must remain in the past so she can tell Colin in the future where to find them, and she refuses to abandon Alf and Binnie. Colin tells them that Mike had faked his own death, but died from his 1944 injuries. Finally Polly, Mr. Dunworthy, and Colin return to the St. Paul's drop and Oxford. Eileen, Alf, and Binnie stay behind to live their lives in the past. Binnie meets Colin in 1995, and gives him information that helps him plan his rescue.
While waiting for the drop to open for her to return to Oxford, Polly also realizes that there is a resemblance between the grown-up Colin and Eileen, implying that she becomes his ancestor. Eileen also seemed to see this, since she called Colin "dear boy" and said "I will always be with you" before they left. Thus Eileen had another reason to remain behind in 1941.
of The Washington Post
said that "Blackout is, by turns, witty, suspenseful, harrowing and occasionally comic to the point of slapstick." Adrienne Martini of Locus Online
called the 1940s Britain that Willis created "richly textured". Julie Phillips
of The Village Voice
described All Clear as "neither tragedy nor comedy, but a mystery story with touches of grief and slapstick."
2010 in literature
The year 2010 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*February - The Wheeler Centre, Australia's "literary hub", officially opened.*April 3 - First release of the Apple iPad, electronic book reading device....
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel by American author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
Connie Willis
Connie Willis
Constance Elaine Trimmer Willis is an American science fiction writer. She has won eleven Hugo Awards and seven Nebula Awards. Willis most recently won a Hugo Award for Blackout/All Clear...
. Blackout was published February 2, 2010 by Spectra
Bantam Spectra
Bantam Spectra is the science-fiction division of Bantam Books, which is owned by Random House.According to their website, Spectra publishes "science-fiction, fantasy, horror, and speculative novels from recognizable authors" Spectra authors have collectively won 31 such awards in the fields of...
. The second part, the conclusion All Clear, was released as a separate book on October 19, 2010. The diptych won the 2010 Nebula Award for Best Novel
Nebula Award for Best Novel
Winners of the Nebula Award for Best Novel, awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. The stated year is that of publication; awards are given in the following year.- Winners and other nominees :...
, the 2011 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
Winners of the Locus Award for Best SF Novel, awarded by the Locus magazine. Awards presented in a given year are for works published in the previous calendar year....
, and the 2011 Hugo Award for Best Novel
Hugo Award for Best Novel
The Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
.
These two volumes are the most recent of four books and a short story that Willis has written involving time travel from Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
during the mid 21st century.
Plot introduction
Willis imagines a near future (first introduced in her 1982 story "Fire WatchFire Watch (story)
"Fire Watch" is a science-fiction story written in 1982 by Connie Willis. The story involves a time-travelling historian who goes back to the Blitz in London, to participate in the fire watch at St. Paul's Cathedral....
" and featured in two of her previous novels: Doomsday Book
Doomsday Book (novel)
Doomsday Book is a 1992 science fiction novel by American author Connie Willis. The novel won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards, and was shortlisted for other awards...
and To Say Nothing of the Dog
To Say Nothing of the Dog
To Say Nothing of the Dog: How We Found the Bishop's Bird Stump at Last is a 1997 comic science fiction novel by Connie Willis. It takes place in the same universe of time-traveling historians she explored in her story Fire Watch and novel Doomsday Book.To Say Nothing of the Dog won both the Hugo...
) in which historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
s conduct field work by traveling into the past as observers. The research is mainly conducted at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in the mid-21st century. In their world, time travel has been known since the early 21st century. The time travel device remains in the future, and travelers are sent through a portal called a "drop" which places them in a particular location and time. They can return from the same location whenever someone in the future re-opens the drop for them.
Historians in Willis' world believe that the rules of time travel resist possible alterations to the past by preventing visits to certain places or times. In some cases, the machine used for time travel will refuse to function, rendering the trip impossible. In other cases, "slippage", a shift in the exact target in time and space, occurs. The time traveler arrives at the nearest place and time suitable for preventing a paradox; although sometimes this is only a few minutes later than planned, it could be as much as several years.
In addition to slippage, which the technicians operating the net cannot control or predict, there are other reasons why a historian might not be able to travel to a certain time. Once a time traveler has visited a certain date, he or she can never go to that same time again. The 21st-century authorities controlling time travel also have rules, and can deem some historical periods too dangerous for time travel even though those times might be theoretically accessible.
Author's comments
In a February 12, 2010 interview Connie Willis said:
What are Blackout and All Clear about? They’re about Dunkirk and ration books and D-Day and V-1 rockets, about tube shelters and Bletchley Park and gas masks and stirrup pumps and Christmas pantomimes and cows and crossword puzzles and the deception campaign. And mostly the book’s about all the people who "did their bit" to save the world from Hitler—Shakespearean actors and ambulance drivers and vicars and landladies and nurses and WRENs and RAF pilots and Winston Churchill and General Patton and Agatha Christie—heroes all.
Blackout
It's the year 2060, and the history students at Oxford University are a hair's breadth away from revolting. Mr. Dunworthy keeps changing their assignments at the last minute. Michael Davies, who had prepared for a first-hand look at the events of Pearl HarborAttack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
, abruptly finds himself instead being sent to witness the response to the Battle of Dunkirk
Battle of Dunkirk
The Battle of Dunkirk was a battle in the Second World War between the Allies and Germany. A part of the Battle of France on the Western Front, the Battle of Dunkirk was the defence and evacuation of British and allied forces in Europe from 26 May–4 June 1940.After the Phoney War, the Battle of...
. The constant changes mean that the wardrobe department can't assemble the proper wardrobe for Polly Churchill, who plans to work as a shopgirl during the Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
if she can avoid running into Mr. Dunworthy before her jump time. Merope Ward, embedded in the staff of an English country manor overseeing the child refugees from London, finds herself utterly unable to find the support she needs to complete her first assignment in the past. Dunworthy himself is nowhere to be found, having set off for a meeting with another academic who theorizes that continued time travel has pushed the laws that govern it safely to the breaking point.
When they make it to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
England, all initially seems fairly well. Merope excels at her assignment despite the devilish evacuated street urchins Binnie and Alf. Polly manages to secure employment at a local shop. And Michael lands in generally the right place, a few days late and a couple dozen miles to the south.
All Clear
All Clear begins where Blackout left off, with Michael Davies (as Mike Davis), Polly Churchill (as Polly Sebastian), and Merope Ward (as Eileen O'Reilly) trapped in 1940 Britain during the Blitz. Just as in Blackout, the novel switches between multiple people and times.As the novel opens, Polly Churchill, who is posing as Polly Sebastian, a shop assistant, realizes that she has a deadline. She had already visited Oxford and London in 1943. Since she was able to do that, and she now believes she is trapped in 1940, she must either have returned to the future by 1943, or died. She is convinced that she will in fact die. Meanwhile two other time travelers, Merope Ward (posing as Eileen O'Reilly) and Michael Davies (posing as an American journalist, Mike Davis) have found Polly after discovering that their drops are also unable to return them to the future. Mike originally went to Dover to observe the Dunkirk evacuation, but became an unwilling participant. Eileen began observing the evacuation of children from London to the countryside in 1939. Now together, the three believe that their own actions, particularly in Mike's case, may have changed the future so that there is no time travel, and that possibly it involves Germany winning the war.
Knowing something has gone wrong which prevents them from returning to 2060 Oxford, the three time travelers attempt to determine an escape plan, but none of their efforts are successful. Gerald Phipps, who was supposed to be at Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park is an estate located in the town of Bletchley, in Buckinghamshire, England, which currently houses the National Museum of Computing...
studying Ultra
Ultra
Ultra was the designation adopted by British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by "breaking" high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park. "Ultra" eventually became the standard...
, never came through to his assignment. Due to a misunderstanding, they only realize that another Oxford historian, John Bartholomew, is also in their place and time less than a day before he will leave. Frantically they try to get to him, but the three are separated and repeatedly delayed, not helped by the fact that this is the night of December 29, 1940, some of the worst raids of the war. They are unable to find Bartholomew before he returns to 2054 Oxford. When Mike and Eileen figure out that Polly has a deadline in June 1943 – meaning that if she isn’t out by then she’ll die, since she’s already visited that time – their search for a way out becomes even more desperate. Their frustration turns into tragedy when Mike is killed during a raid. Eileen refuses to accept his death, but upon realizing Alf and Binnie’s mother has been dead for months, volunteers to raise the orphans, giving her life meaning.
In 2060 Oxford Mr. Dunworthy sends himself on a rescue mission to retrieve Polly in September 1940. However, when he arrives at St Paul’s Cathedral he is unable to determine the date before the raids start. (St. Paul's, and especially one of the paintings in the Cathedral, The Light of the World, are viewed several times by most of the important characters in the book. They are either inspired or depressed by their current view of the painting.) When he realizes it is December 1940, he becomes hopeless and distraught. Polly stumbles across him in the cathedral a few weeks later. He explains that slippage isn’t a result of the time continuum trying to prevent historians from changing the past as was previously thought, but is a response to changes they’d already caused. The continuum around World War II is in such disarray that it has sealed itself off to time travel, and will engage in ‘corrections’ – likely the death of the historians and those they have influenced. Their worst fears – that they have been able to influence the past and cause discrepancies – have been realized, possibly to the point the war will be lost.
However, all hope is not lost. Mike faked his own death and in 1944 is engaged in Operation Fortitude
Operation Fortitude
Operation Fortitude was the codename for a World War II military deception employed by the Allied nations as part of an overall deception strategy during the build up to the 1944 Normandy Landings...
, a misinformation campaign. He is able to plant notices in newspapers hinting where Polly and Eileen are located in the hopes that someone in 2060 Oxford will find the notices and be able to rescue the girls. Another potential rescuer is Colin Templer, an overeager teenager from 2060 Oxford with a crush on Polly. He goes back to 1944 and finds Mike, right after he has been hit by a bomb and helped by a clueless 1944 Polly. Mike explains that Polly and Eileen are together and falls unconscious as Colin brings him back to 2060 Oxford. Colin also goes to the 1970s for research and 1995 to try to find someone who knew Polly. To his surprise, he meets an elderly Binnie, who tells him Eileen died in 1987. Binnie also revealed that she has learned all about time travel and has been looking for him through the years to tell him where and when he can rescue the stranded historians. Equipped with this knowledge, Colin is able to return to 1941 to rescue Polly and Mr. Dunworthy.
Polly’s worries about leading to the deaths of those around her by interfering do not prevent her from saving the life of Sir Godfrey in a bombing. She finally realizes what is going on as she lies recovering in the hospital; the historians have caused small things to happen which ultimately led to winning the war. She concludes that they’re stuck in World War II not to be killed by the continuum, but because there are things they need to do so that the war is won and history is as it should be.
In April 1941, an older Colin comes through at St. Paul's and finds the historians. Polly and Mr. Dunworthy leave with Colin to return to 2060 Oxford, but Eileen stays behind. She reasons that she must remain in the past so she can tell Colin in the future where to find them, and she refuses to abandon Alf and Binnie. Colin tells them that Mike had faked his own death, but died from his 1944 injuries. Finally Polly, Mr. Dunworthy, and Colin return to the St. Paul's drop and Oxford. Eileen, Alf, and Binnie stay behind to live their lives in the past. Binnie meets Colin in 1995, and gives him information that helps him plan his rescue.
While waiting for the drop to open for her to return to Oxford, Polly also realizes that there is a resemblance between the grown-up Colin and Eileen, implying that she becomes his ancestor. Eileen also seemed to see this, since she called Colin "dear boy" and said "I will always be with you" before they left. Thus Eileen had another reason to remain behind in 1941.
Characters
- Badri Chaudhuri runs the "Net" (Oxford's time-travel installation) in 2060. (This was also Badri's role in Doomsday BookDoomsday Book (novel)Doomsday Book is a 1992 science fiction novel by American author Connie Willis. The novel won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards, and was shortlisted for other awards...
and To Say Nothing of the DogTo Say Nothing of the DogTo Say Nothing of the Dog: How We Found the Bishop's Bird Stump at Last is a 1997 comic science fiction novel by Connie Willis. It takes place in the same universe of time-traveling historians she explored in her story Fire Watch and novel Doomsday Book.To Say Nothing of the Dog won both the Hugo...
.)
- Polly Churchill is 25-year-old Oxford student historian (in 2060), with previous time-travelling experience who goes to London as Polly Sebastian to become a shopgirl, in September 1940, to observe Londoners' reactions to the Blitz. She soon becomes unable to return to 2060 through her "drop" in London, and comes to believe she has a "deadline" to return or die, due to a previous trip back to a later time during World War II (since a time traveler cannot exist in the same time more than once). In one of her previous time-travelling trips to WWII, she was known as Mary Kent a FANYFirst Aid Nursing YeomanryThe First Aid Nursing Yeomanry is a British independent all-female unit and registered charity affiliated to, but not part of, the Territorial Army, formed in 1907 and active in both nursing and intelligence work during the World Wars.-Formation:It was formed as the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry in...
nurse, who unknowingly treated Ernest (Michael Davis) after an HE attack, and who also saw Eileen (Merope Ward) on VE-Day.
- Michael Davies is another 2060 Oxford student historian, while pretending to be an American reporter, Mike Davis, tries to reach Dover in May 1940 to observe soldiers being evacuated back to England from Dunkirk. Instead, Mike (Michael) is transported to Saltram-on-Sea, and ends up on a boat which goes to Dunkirk where he is injured helping evacuate soldiers. After spending several months in a hospital in Orpington (in Greater London) he discovers that he cannot return to the future via his "drop" in Saltram-on-Sea, and in September 1940 travels to London in seeking Polly and her drop. When Michael later worked on Fortitude South, he posed as Ernest Worthington.
- James Dunworthy, a Fellow (professor) of History in charge of time travel from Oxford in 2060. (Dunworthy was a pivotal character in Doomsday BookDoomsday Book (novel)Doomsday Book is a 1992 science fiction novel by American author Connie Willis. The novel won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards, and was shortlisted for other awards...
and To Say Nothing of the DogTo Say Nothing of the DogTo Say Nothing of the Dog: How We Found the Bishop's Bird Stump at Last is a 1997 comic science fiction novel by Connie Willis. It takes place in the same universe of time-traveling historians she explored in her story Fire Watch and novel Doomsday Book.To Say Nothing of the Dog won both the Hugo...
.)
- Alf and Binnie Hodbin (Binnie is a 11-year-old girl; Alf is her younger brother) are very troublesome young urchins evacuated from London to Warwickshire in 1939. Despite causing difficulties for Eileen (Merope), she nurses them after both catch measles (and quite possibly saves Binnie's life when her measles turns into pneumonia). After a measles quarantine is lifted, Eileen delivers them both back to their mother in London in September 1940.
- Sir Godfrey Kingsman is an elderly Shakespearean actor encountered by Polly in London in September 1940. A mutual attraction between them seems to develop despite the large difference in age between them, which seems to go beyond their mutual love of Shakespeare. Sir Godfrey somehow seems to know, or intuit, more about Polly than what she tells him.
- Gerald Phipps is a 2060 Oxford historian with a background in "maths" whom Merope believes went to England in 1940 contemporaneously with Polly, Mike (Michael) and Eileen (Merope) to a place with a name — according to Merope — consisting of two words which, "[Begin] with a D, I think. Or a P. Or possibly a T."
- Colin Templer is a 17-year-old Eton student (in 2060) who wants to become a time-travelling historian even before he's eligible to attend Oxford, who has a crush on Polly. (An unauthorized previous trip into the past by Colin, occurring in Doomsday BookDoomsday Book (novel)Doomsday Book is a 1992 science fiction novel by American author Connie Willis. The novel won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards, and was shortlisted for other awards...
, is mentioned at the beginning of Blackout.)
- Hugh Tensing is a civilian Mike Davies encounters in the hospital in Orpington, who broke five ribs and injured his back after, "A typewriter fell on me." Hugh is vague about where he works, but is very good at solving crosswordCrosswordA crossword is a word puzzle that normally takes the form of a square or rectangular grid of white and shaded squares. The goal is to fill the white squares with letters, forming words or phrases, by solving clues which lead to the answers. In languages that are written left-to-right, the answer...
puzzles quickly. (The ability to solve crossword puzzles quickly was, at that time, one of the recruitment tests used by the British government for cryptographers.)
- Merope Ward is a young Oxford historian (in 2060) making her first trip back in time to Warwickshire as a servant, Eileen O'Reilly, in a country house in 1939 to observe children evacuated from London during World War IIEvacuations of civilians in Britain during World War IIEvacuation of civilians in Britain during the Second World War was designed to save the population of urban or military areas in the United Kingdom from aerial bombing of cities and military targets such as docks. Civilians, particularly children, were moved to areas thought to be less at risk....
. After Eileen (Merope) is unable to return to 2060 Oxford via her "drop" in Warwickshire, she travels by train, in September 1940, to seek help from her friend Polly, who should then be a shopgirl in London.
Development
Connie Willis worked on story for almost eight years, during which she pushed "everyone's patience to the limit".Critical reception
Michael DirdaMichael Dirda
Michael Dirda , a Fulbright Fellowship recipient, is a Pulitzer Prize–winning book critic for the Washington Post.-Career:Having studied at Oberlin College for his undergraduate degree, Dirda took a Ph.D. from Cornell University in comparative literature. In 1978 Dirda started writing for the...
of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
said that "Blackout is, by turns, witty, suspenseful, harrowing and occasionally comic to the point of slapstick." Adrienne Martini of Locus Online
Locus Online
Locus Online is the online component of Locus Magazine. It publishes news briefs related to the science fiction, fantasy and horror publishing world, along with original reviews and feature articles, and excerpts of articles that appeared in the print edition. Information for Locus Online is...
called the 1940s Britain that Willis created "richly textured". Julie Phillips
Julie Phillips
Julie Phillips is a writer who writes about books, film, and culture. In early adulthood she became interested in feminism. Her articles have appeared in Newsday, Mademoiselle, The Village Voice, and elsewhere. Her biography of James Tiptree, Jr., titled James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of...
of The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
described All Clear as "neither tragedy nor comedy, but a mystery story with touches of grief and slapstick."