Fire Watch (short 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.
The story won both a Hugo Award for Best Novelette and a Nebula Award for Best Novelette.[1] It was included in her short-story collections Fire Watch (1984) and The Best of Connie Willis (2013).
The idea of a time-travelling history department at Oxford University, introduced in this story, was also used in her later novels Doomsday Book, To Say Nothing of the Dog, and Blackout/All Clear.
Willis's writing of "Fire Watch" predates the production of Doomsday Book by about a decade. However, Kivrin Engle, the main character of Doomsday Book, also appears as a minor character in "Fire Watch". The story references her experience with the Black Plague while time-traveling in the 14th Century.
The character of Professor James Dunworthy figures in "Fire Watch", Doomsday Book, To Say Nothing of the Dog, Blackout, and All Clear.
See also
References
External links
- Fire Watch, online at infinity plus.