The Witches of Chiswick
Encyclopedia
The Witches Of Chiswick is a novel by the British author Robert Rankin
, the title parodying that of The Witches of Eastwick
by John Updike
.
To seek the truth, William takes a drug which confers the ability to tap into ancestral memories. After learning of events occurring in the 19th century, William and Tim are attacked by a Babbage robot sent from the past, and William escapes to the past via the robot's time machine.
Stuck in the 19th Century, William is greeted by Hugo Rune, who explains to Will that he is his direct descendant. Will learns that 19th Century history is a lie: Charles Babbage
's difference engine was a huge success, providing the growing British Empire with robots, digital watches, airships, and even the first rocket to the moon.
After returning to London, Will and Hugo search for the true identity of Jack the Ripper
to discover more about the witches' cabal. Hugo becomes the Ripper's next victim. Will, bemused, finds a box in Hugo's trunk containing Barry, the Sprout Guardian. Will uses Barry to return to the future to enlist the aid of Tim.
Will and Tim return to the past, meeting an invisible H.G. Wells, the Elephant Man (Joseph Merrick
), the Brentford Snail Boy, and even another Will from an alternate future
. After finding Hugo's true residence in the Buttes Estate, Will and Tim set out to save the 19th Century and the future from the influence of the Witches of Chiswick.
Will and Tim finally confront the leader of the witches, Count Otto Black. Will discovers that Count Otto is actually a Babbage robot, controlled by the Will from the alternate future. "Anti-Will" faces Hugo Rune, travels back in time to prevent the Babbage Difference Engine from being recognized, then returns to the circus to finish his goal of controlling the world. Will lunges for "anti-Will" and the pair are destroyed due to the temporal paradox
.
Robert Rankin
Robert Fleming Rankin is a prolific British humorous novelist. Born in Parsons Green, London, he started writing in the late 1970s, and first entered the bestsellers lists with Snuff Fiction in 1999, by which time his previous eighteen books had sold around one million copies...
, the title parodying that of The Witches of Eastwick
The Witches of Eastwick
The Witches of Eastwick is a 1984 novel by John Updike.-Plot summary:The story, set in the fictional Rhode Island town of Eastwick in the late 1960s, follows the witches Alexandra Spofford, Jane Smart, and Sukie Rougemont, who acquired their powers after leaving or being left by their husbands....
by John Updike
John Updike
John Hoyer Updike was an American novelist, poet, short story writer, art critic, and literary critic....
.
Plot summary
The start of "The Witches of Chiswick" trilogy, The Witches of Chiswick is a time travelling adventure story set in the 19th and 23rd Centuries. In it, William Starling finds a painting from the 19th Century with the image of a digital watch hidden within it. When he reports these findings to his superiors, William is told the painting is to be destroyed. After saving the painting, his best friend Tim tells him about a cabal of witches who control their world.To seek the truth, William takes a drug which confers the ability to tap into ancestral memories. After learning of events occurring in the 19th century, William and Tim are attacked by a Babbage robot sent from the past, and William escapes to the past via the robot's time machine.
Stuck in the 19th Century, William is greeted by Hugo Rune, who explains to Will that he is his direct descendant. Will learns that 19th Century history is a lie: Charles Babbage
Charles Babbage
Charles Babbage, FRS was an English mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer who originated the concept of a programmable computer...
's difference engine was a huge success, providing the growing British Empire with robots, digital watches, airships, and even the first rocket to the moon.
After returning to London, Will and Hugo search for the true identity of Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper
"Jack the Ripper" is the best-known name given to an unidentified serial killer who was active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. The name originated in a letter, written by someone claiming to be the murderer, that was disseminated in the...
to discover more about the witches' cabal. Hugo becomes the Ripper's next victim. Will, bemused, finds a box in Hugo's trunk containing Barry, the Sprout Guardian. Will uses Barry to return to the future to enlist the aid of Tim.
Will and Tim return to the past, meeting an invisible H.G. Wells, the Elephant Man (Joseph Merrick
Joseph Merrick
Joseph Carey Merrick , sometimes incorrectly referred to as John Merrick, was an English man with severe deformities who was exhibited as a human curiosity named the Elephant Man. He became well known in London society after he went to live at the London Hospital...
), the Brentford Snail Boy, and even another Will from an alternate future
Alternate future
In science fiction stories involving time travel, an alternative future or alternate future is a possible future which never comes to pass, typically because someone travels back into the past and alters it so that the events of the alternative future cannot occur.An alternative future differs from...
. After finding Hugo's true residence in the Buttes Estate, Will and Tim set out to save the 19th Century and the future from the influence of the Witches of Chiswick.
Will and Tim finally confront the leader of the witches, Count Otto Black. Will discovers that Count Otto is actually a Babbage robot, controlled by the Will from the alternate future. "Anti-Will" faces Hugo Rune, travels back in time to prevent the Babbage Difference Engine from being recognized, then returns to the circus to finish his goal of controlling the world. Will lunges for "anti-Will" and the pair are destroyed due to the temporal paradox
Temporal paradox
Temporal paradox is a theoretical paradoxical situation that happens because of time travel. A time traveler goes to the past, and does something that would prevent him from time travel in the first place...
.