# Looking For Time Travel Books **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 15, 2016, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-time-travel-books/762939 "2016-08-15T18:38:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hocus\_Pocus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/41988e/32.png) [@Hocus\_Pocus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hocus_Pocus)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-time-travel-books/762939/1 "2016-08-15T18:38:11Z")
I recently read _A Murder In Time_, which has a female modern day FBI agent transported back to 19th century England & helps solve some murders despite her specialization in IT. I’d like to find additional books like this where modern day people are transported back to 1500-1800’s. Any suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-time-travel-books/762939/2 "2016-08-15T18:39:52Z")
The Outlander series comes immediately to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Last\_Glacial\_Maximum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bc79bd/32.png) [@Last\_Glacial\_Maximum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Last_Glacial_Maximum)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-time-travel-books/762939/3 "2016-08-15T18:54:12Z")
“Timeline” by Crichton was a good read. . ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-time-travel-books/762939/4 "2016-08-15T19:01:29Z")
Meeting your exact criteria but nonetheless probably not what you’re looking for would be the 1632 series. > **[1632 series](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1632_series)** > > The 1632 series, also known as the 1632-verse or Ring of Fire series, is an alternate history book series and sub-series created, primarily co-written, and coordinated by American author Eric Flint and published by Baen Books. > The series is set in 17th-century Europe, in which the small fictional town of Grantville, West Virginia, was sent to the past from the year 2000 to central Germany in the year 1631, during the Thirty Years' War. > As of 2019, the series has seven published novels propell... ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-time-travel-books/762939/5 "2016-08-15T19:04:54Z")
The obvious ones are Connie Willis’s To Say Nothing of the Dog and The Doomsday Book. The first is sort of a mystery and involves travel back to the 19th century. It’s lighthearted and very funny. The second takes place in the same universe and involves travel to the time just before the bubonic plague hit in England. It is not lighthearted and funny. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-time-travel-books/762939/6 "2016-08-15T19:06:37Z")
[To Say Nothing Of The Dog](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00309SCOE/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1) — oops, ninja’d! ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-time-travel-books/762939/7 "2016-08-15T19:11:46Z")
Jack Finney. Time and Again > [@](#): > > When advertising artist Si Morley is recruited to join a covert government operation exploring the possibility of time travel, he jumps at the chance to leave his twentieth-century existence and step into New York City in January 1882. Aside from his thirst for experience, he has good reason to return to the past—his friend Kate has a curious, half-burned letter dated from that year, and he wants to trace the mystery. > > But when Si begins to fall in love with a woman he meets in the past, he will be forced to choose between two worlds—forever. > > Time and Again is admired for its rich, painstakingly researched descriptions of life in New York City more than a century ago, and for the swift adventure at its core. With digitally remastered art, fall in love with this refreshed classic all over again. [https://www.amazon.com/Time-Again-Jack-Finney/dp/0684801051/](https://www.amazon.com/Time-Again-Jack-Finney/dp/0684801051/) ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-time-travel-books/762939/8 "2016-08-15T19:15:25Z")
One of my favorite books is “If I Never Get Back” by Daryl Brock. A modern-day reporter travels back in time to hang out with one of the first professional baseball teams in 1869. It’s historical fiction as all the players are real. He also hangs out with Mark Twain. Erm…must love sports. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-time-travel-books/762939/9 "2016-08-15T19:16:43Z")
Robert Aspirin/Linda Evans - The [Time Scout](https://www.amazon.com/Tales-Time-Scouts-Robert-Asprin/dp/1476780978/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1471288502&sr=8-1&keywords=time+scout) books. Poul Anderson - [Time Patrol](https://www.amazon.com/Time-Patrol-Poul-Anderson/dp/1416509356/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1471288596&sr=1-1&keywords=poul+anderson+time) Not _quite_ what the OP is asking for, but excellent anyway. And of course there is always Eric Flint’s 163X universe. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-time-travel-books/762939/10 "2016-08-15T19:48:34Z")
> [@cher3](#): > > The obvious ones are Connie Willis’s To Say Nothing of the Dog and The Doomsday Book. The first is sort of a mystery and involves travel back to the 19th century. It’s lighthearted and very funny. > > The second takes place in the same universe and involves travel to the time just before the bubonic plague hit in England. It is not lighthearted and funny. Willis’s duology _Blackout/All Clear_ is extremely good. There’s a lot in _Blackout_ that is annoying and frustrating, but when you get to _All Clear_, realize there was a reason for it all. It’s one of several books Willis has written about time travel to London during the Blitz. ---
**Author:** ![Hocus\_Pocus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/41988e/32.png) [@Hocus\_Pocus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hocus_Pocus)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-time-travel-books/762939/11 "2016-08-15T19:52:37Z")
TY all for the suggestions. To be a little more specific, I’m not into scifi per se. I’m also not looking for someone to be zipping around multiple time periods. More of going back to one particular time (voluntary or not) & how they relate to/deal with life in that era. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-time-travel-books/762939/12 "2016-08-15T19:57:23Z")
You might try “The Eyre Affair” by Jasper Fforde. I’m not sure it exactly fits the requirements of the OP, but I’d call it close enough, and it’s a fun and entertaining read. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-time-travel-books/762939/13 "2016-08-15T20:18:00Z")
Do you like romance? “Outlander” series, already mentioned, is very popular. Lynn Kurland’s books are almost all time travel romance. Can you specify genres that you like - that would help. ---
**Author:** ![Waltzes\_with\_Cacti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90ced4/32.png) [@Waltzes\_with\_Cacti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waltzes_with_Cacti)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-time-travel-books/762939/14 "2016-08-15T20:28:29Z")
Twain’s _A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court_. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-time-travel-books/762939/15 "2016-08-15T21:40:01Z")
> [@Hocus\_Pocus](#): > > TY all for the suggestions. > > To be a little more specific, I’m not into scifi per se. I’m also not looking for someone to be zipping around multiple time periods. More of going back to one particular time (voluntary or not) & how they relate to/deal with life in that era. In that case, you might actually like The Doomsday Book. It starts out as intentional/sci-fi-type time travel, but things go wrong, and it’s mostly about how the main character deals with the fact that she may have to live (or die) in the past. It’s grim, in a lot of ways, but the author’s take on the ways that we might be both similar and different to people living in the 14th century are interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-time-travel-books/762939/16 "2016-08-15T23:18:24Z")
Replay by Ken Grimwood. A man dies of a heart attack at his desk, then wakes up back in college, but with all his memories of his life intact. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-time-travel-books/762939/17 "2016-08-15T23:28:05Z")
While “Replay” is a spectacular work, it doesn’t meet the OP’s criteria. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2016, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-time-travel-books/762939/18 "2016-08-16T00:21:19Z")
The Anubis Gates, Tim Powers The Big Time, Fritz Leiber ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2016, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-time-travel-books/762939/19 "2016-08-16T01:05:54Z")
> [@Hocus\_Pocus](#): > > TY all for the suggestions. > > To be a little more specific, I’m not into scifi per se. I’m also not looking for someone to be zipping around multiple time periods. More of going back to one particular time (voluntary or not) & how they relate to/deal with life in that era. The 1632 series has already been mentioned above. I takes a West Virginia town circa 2000 and transplants it (The only SF part of the story) to Central Germany in June 1631, smack in the middle of the 30 Years War. Outside of that, everything is played reasonably straight with no real SF, just what a town of 3,500 people would have in the year 2000 (you might disagree with some of the changes the author postulates, but YMMV). I’d suggest reading the first book, \*\*\*1632 \*\*\*by Eric Flint. It can be read as a stand-alone novel if you decide it is not worth pursuing, but they are up to about 15 novels (counting spin-offs) and quite literally hundreds of stories, so if you get hooked, it might take awhile… ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2016, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-time-travel-books/762939/20 "2016-08-16T22:53:59Z")
> [@cher3](#): > > In that case, you might actually like The Doomsday Book. It starts out as intentional/sci-fi-type time travel, but things go wrong, and it’s mostly about how the main character deals with the fact that she may have to live (or die) in the past. It’s grim, in a lot of ways, but the author’s take on the ways that we might be both similar and different to people living in the 14th century are interesting. Yeah, I can’t figure out why people like that book, unless they just ignore everything that happens in the present. I guess the part in the past is decent historical fiction, but the part in the present is the worst sci-fi I’ve ever read. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-time-travel-books/762939.md?page=2)