Frostfire
Encyclopedia
Frostfire is a Big Finish Productions
audiobook based on the long-running British
science fiction
television series Doctor Who
.
The Companion Chronicles "talking books" are each narrated by one of the Doctor's companions and feature a second, guest-star voice along with music and sound effects.
, the Lady Cressida
tells a story from her youth, when she travelled in the TARDIS
: a story of a visit to the frozen London of February 1814, where she, the First Doctor
and Steven
encountered Jane Austen
and the egg of the phoenix
.
in Carthage, Cressida (formerly known as Vicki
) tells a story to a listener who hungers for warmth. Vicki recalls a journey in which the TARDIS landed on the frozen River Thames
, during the frost fair
of 1814. The frost fair contains many entertainments and wonders, but none as astonishing and chilling as the egg of the phoenix, brought from Tunis
. Both Vicki and Georgiana (wife of Sir Joseph Mallard, Deputy Warden of the Royal Mint
) are captivated by the cold fire associated with the phoenix's egg, which is stolen during an altercation in the fair. The travellers meet the novelist Jane Austen, and accompany her to a dinner party at Sir Joseph's home. However, the dinner party is interrupted by the growing cold and the dramatic disappearance of Georgiana.
Georgiana has become enthralled by the phoenix, which is absorbing all the heat in the city — including the heat of human bodies. While Steven and the Doctor pursue a red herring, Vicki and Miss Austen discover the location of the egg — St. Cuthbert's Church, where the entire congregation is frozen. The phoenix's mind-controlled agents — including Georgiana — take it from the church to the Royal Mint, where it hopes to hatch in the smelting furnaces. The Doctor offers to take the phoenix to an uninhabited planet close to a white-hot sun, but it refuses, not wishing to be alone. The Doctor, Vicki, Steven and Miss Austen quench the furnace, killing the phoenix — except for one cinder, which flies into Vicki's eye. There it remained for years.
Vicki parted company with the Doctor and Steven
, and married the Trojan prince Troilus
, joining Aeneas
on his travels and eventually settling in Carthage
. There, one day, missing her former life and feeling alone, Vicki cried and found the cinder, still living and able to communicate. She kept the cinder burning in an old oil lamp, and it is the cinder to whom she is relating her story. Vicki has kept it alive because it is the only being besides her which remembers the Doctor, and other times. Someday, centuries later, it will become the egg, and after Carthage has become Tunis the egg will be taken to London: and the cycle will continue.
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
audiobook based on the long-running British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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...
television series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
.
The Companion Chronicles "talking books" are each narrated by one of the Doctor's companions and feature a second, guest-star voice along with music and sound effects.
Plot
In ancient CarthageCarthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
, the Lady Cressida
Cressida
Cressida is a character who appears in many Medieval and Renaissance retellings of the story of the Trojan War. She is a Trojan woman, the daughter of Calchas a priestly defector to the Greeks...
tells a story from her youth, when she travelled in the TARDIS
TARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
: a story of a visit to the frozen London of February 1814, where she, the First Doctor
First Doctor
The First Doctor is the initial incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by the actor William Hartnell from 1963 to 1966. Hartnell reprised the role in the tenth anniversary story The Three Doctors in 1973 - albeit in a...
and Steven
Steven Taylor (Doctor Who)
Steven Taylor is a fictional character played by Peter Purves in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A space pilot from Earth in the future, he was a companion of the First Doctor and a regular in the programme from 1965 to 1966.-Character history:Steven first...
encountered Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
and the egg of the phoenix
Phoenix (mythology)
The phoenix or phenix is a mythical sacred firebird that can be found in the mythologies of the Arabian, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, Indian and Phoenicians....
.
Synopsis
In the catacombs below the temple of AstarteAstarte
Astarte is the Greek name of a goddess known throughout the Eastern Mediterranean from the Bronze Age to Classical times...
in Carthage, Cressida (formerly known as Vicki
Vicki
Vicki is a fictional character played by Maureen O'Brien in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. An orphan from the 25th century, she was a companion of the First Doctor and a regular in the programme in Seasons 2 and 3 in 1965...
) tells a story to a listener who hungers for warmth. Vicki recalls a journey in which the TARDIS landed on the frozen River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
, during the frost fair
River Thames frost fairs
River Thames frost fairs were held on the Tideway of the River Thames at London between the 15th and 19th centuries when the river froze over. During that time the British winter was more severe than now, and the river was wider and slower....
of 1814. The frost fair contains many entertainments and wonders, but none as astonishing and chilling as the egg of the phoenix, brought from Tunis
Tunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
. Both Vicki and Georgiana (wife of Sir Joseph Mallard, Deputy Warden of the Royal Mint
Royal Mint
The Royal Mint is the body permitted to manufacture, or mint, coins in the United Kingdom. The Mint originated over 1,100 years ago, but since 2009 it operates as Royal Mint Ltd, a company which has an exclusive contract with HM Treasury to supply all coinage for the UK...
) are captivated by the cold fire associated with the phoenix's egg, which is stolen during an altercation in the fair. The travellers meet the novelist Jane Austen, and accompany her to a dinner party at Sir Joseph's home. However, the dinner party is interrupted by the growing cold and the dramatic disappearance of Georgiana.
Georgiana has become enthralled by the phoenix, which is absorbing all the heat in the city — including the heat of human bodies. While Steven and the Doctor pursue a red herring, Vicki and Miss Austen discover the location of the egg — St. Cuthbert's Church, where the entire congregation is frozen. The phoenix's mind-controlled agents — including Georgiana — take it from the church to the Royal Mint, where it hopes to hatch in the smelting furnaces. The Doctor offers to take the phoenix to an uninhabited planet close to a white-hot sun, but it refuses, not wishing to be alone. The Doctor, Vicki, Steven and Miss Austen quench the furnace, killing the phoenix — except for one cinder, which flies into Vicki's eye. There it remained for years.
Vicki parted company with the Doctor and Steven
The Myth Makers
The Myth Makers is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 16 October to 6 November 1965. The story is set in Homeric Troy, based on Iliad by Homer...
, and married the Trojan prince Troilus
Troilus
Troilus is a legendary character associated with the story of the Trojan War...
, joining Aeneas
Aeneas
Aeneas , in Greco-Roman mythology, was a Trojan hero, the son of the prince Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite. His father was the second cousin of King Priam of Troy, making Aeneas Priam's second cousin, once removed. The journey of Aeneas from Troy , which led to the founding a hamlet south of...
on his travels and eventually settling in Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
. There, one day, missing her former life and feeling alone, Vicki cried and found the cinder, still living and able to communicate. She kept the cinder burning in an old oil lamp, and it is the cinder to whom she is relating her story. Vicki has kept it alive because it is the only being besides her which remembers the Doctor, and other times. Someday, centuries later, it will become the egg, and after Carthage has become Tunis the egg will be taken to London: and the cycle will continue.
Continuity
- Vicki, who is actually from the 25th century25th centuryThe 25th century of the anno Domini era will span from January 1, 2401– December 31, 2500 of the Gregorian calendar.-List of long total solar eclipses:* April 20, 2414 : Solar eclipse, , of saros 145....
, decided to live out her life in ancient TroyTroyTroy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
after travelling with the Doctor, as seen in The Myth MakersThe Myth MakersThe Myth Makers is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 16 October to 6 November 1965. The story is set in Homeric Troy, based on Iliad by Homer...
.