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| '''''Great Work of Time''''' is a ] by ]. A ] story involving ], it concerns a ] created by the will of ] to preserve and expand the ]. | '''''Great Work of Time''''' is a ] by ]. A ] story involving ], it concerns a ] created by the will of ] to preserve and expand the ]. | ||
| ⚫ | Originally published in Crowley's ] collection ''Novelty'', ''Great Work of Time'' was also published on its own in a Bantam paperback edition in 1991. It is now available as part of the omnibus volume ''Novelties and Souvenirs''. | ||
| In it the secret society was endowed by Rhodes in his in 1893 and was modeled on the Jesuits. It is not quite a brotherhood, so it calls itself the Otherhood. The main character is named Caspar Last. He meets with a British with a British colonial administrator named Sir Geoffrey Davenant who he works for at the begininng of the book. Davenant reveals to him that he is part of a secret society that has the ability to alter time and asks him to join it. Eventually in the book it is stated that this secret society, which calls itself the Otherhood, wants to go back in time to change the past and prevent the mistakes caused World War One, World War Two, the fall of the British Empire and the other European colonial empires, Hitler, and Bolshevism. | |||
| ⚫ | It won the ] in 1990. | ||
| ⚫ | The Otherhood eventually reveal to Last that they want him to |
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| ==Title== | |||
| The title comes from ]'s poem about ], who, Marvell said, | The title comes from ]'s poem about ], who, Marvell said, | ||
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| :Into another mould. | :Into another mould. | ||
| ==Synopsis== | |||
| ⚫ | Originally published in Crowley's ] collection ''Novelty'', ''Great Work of Time'' was also published on its own in a Bantam paperback edition in 1991. It is now available as part of the omnibus volume ''Novelties and Souvenirs''. | ||
| The main character, Caspar Last, is invited by his boss, a British colonial administrator named Sir Geoffrey Davenant, to join a secret society that has the ability to alter time. This society, which calls itself the Otherhood (because it is not quite a brotherhood), was endowed by Cecil Rhodes in 1893 with the goal of preserving and expanding the British empire. It was modeled on the ]. Agents of the Otherhood go back in time to change the past and prevent or lessen the impact of historical events like ], ], and the rise of ] and ]. | |||
| ⚫ | It won the ] in 1990. | ||
| ⚫ | The Otherhood eventually reveal to Last that they want him to travel back to the beginning of the group, 1893, and ensure its creation by murdering Rhodes. | ||
| ] | ] | ||
Revision as of 17:59, 3 October 2006
Great Work of Time is a novella by John Crowley. A science fiction story involving time travel, it concerns a secret society created by the will of Cecil Rhodes to preserve and expand the British Empire.
Originally published in Crowley's 1989 collection Novelty, Great Work of Time was also published on its own in a Bantam paperback edition in 1991. It is now available as part of the omnibus volume Novelties and Souvenirs.
It won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novella in 1990.
Title
The title comes from Andrew Marvell's poem about Oliver Cromwell, who, Marvell said,
- Could by industrious valour climb
- To ruin the great work of Time,
- And cast the kingdoms old
- Into another mould.
Synopsis
The main character, Caspar Last, is invited by his boss, a British colonial administrator named Sir Geoffrey Davenant, to join a secret society that has the ability to alter time. This society, which calls itself the Otherhood (because it is not quite a brotherhood), was endowed by Cecil Rhodes in 1893 with the goal of preserving and expanding the British empire. It was modeled on the Jesuits. Agents of the Otherhood go back in time to change the past and prevent or lessen the impact of historical events like World War I, World War II, and the rise of fascism and communism.
The Otherhood eventually reveal to Last that they want him to travel back to the beginning of the group, 1893, and ensure its creation by murdering Rhodes.
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