Misplaced Pages

#219780

91-567: Willis imagines a near future (first introduced in her 1982 story " Fire Watch " and featured in two of her previous novels: Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog ) in which historians conduct field work by traveling into the past as observers. The research is mainly conducted at the University of Oxford in England in the mid-21st century. In their world, time-travel has been known since

182-701: A chapel of ease within Stepney, becoming the parish church. Whitechapel's spine is the old Roman Road, that ran from the Aldgate on London's Wall , to Colchester in Essex ( Roman Britannia's first capital), and beyond. This road, which was later named the Great Essex Road , is now designated the A11 . This historic route has the names Whitechapel High Street and Whitechapel Road as it passes through, or along

273-448: A certain date, he or she can never go to that same time again. The 21st-century authorities controlling time-travel also have rules and can deem some historical periods too dangerous for time-travel , even though those times might be theoretically accessible. It is the year 2060, and the historians (time-traveling research staff) at Oxford University are a hair's breadth away from revolting. Mr. Dunworthy keeps changing their assignments at

364-532: A department store in Oxford Street in the West End of London . Her intention (that is, her research assignment) was "to observe shelterers in the tube stations", but she ends up joining a group huddling under St. George's Church. The group, most of whom become fond of Polly, includes the nasty-tempered Mrs. Rickett, who owns a boarding house where Polly rents a tiny room; some other boarders, including

455-463: A few minutes later than planned, it can be as much as several years. An example is when the character Polly wishes to arrive on September 10, 1940, in London, but instead arrives on September 14. In addition to slippage, which the technicians operating the net cannot control or predict, there are other reasons why a historian might not be able to travel to a certain time. Once a time-traveler has visited

546-947: A give-and-take with her audience, Willis described her novel-in-progress: "It's about World War 2, and I have four historians... One of them is with the evacuating children in the North of England; one of them is doing the Blitz; one of them is doing the civilian evacuation from Dunkirk, of soldiers but by civilians; and one of them is doing the Intelligence War involved in the lead-up to D-Day, where they fooled Hitler into thinking we were attacking at Calais, instead of at Normandy. And their lives are hopelessly intertwined; but then they all get in trouble—you know my books—they all get in terrible trouble and can't get out of it. And are stuck in World War II, for God's sake! So: Not

637-599: A minor character in "Fire Watch". The novelette references Engle's experience with the Black Death while time-traveling in the 14th century. Whitechapel Whitechapel is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets . It is in east London and part of the East End . It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore the borough town centre. Whitechapel

728-636: A popular cause at the time. The "Elephant Man" Joseph Merrick (1862–1890) became well known in Whitechapel – he was exhibited in a shop on the Whitechapel Road before being helped by Frederick Treves (1853–1923) at the Royal London Hospital , opposite the actual shop. There is a museum in the hospital about his life. In 1902, American author Jack London , looking to write a counterpart to Jacob Riis 's seminal book How

819-447: A result of the time continuum trying to prevent historians from changing the past, as he had previously thought, but is a response to changes they'd already caused. The continuum around World War II is in such disarray that it has sealed itself off to time travel, and will engage in 'corrections' – likely the death of the historians and those they have influenced, Dunworthy believes. Their worst fears – that they have been able to influence

910-490: A safe place to be." (An audience member called, "Better than the Plague !") Willis laughed but replied, "Not necessarily better than the Plague ! In slightly better survival chance because they have the advantage of some knowledge that the locals don't have, but then again, historical events are notoriously inaccurate, and just because you think you know where all the bombs fell, doesn't mean you do. So that will figure heavily in

1001-405: A schoolmistress was to teach them the "catechism, reading, knitting, plain sewing, and any other useful work". In 1701 an unknown donor gave the foundation £1,000 (equivalent to £190,000 in 2023) so the children might be suitably clothed as well as educated. Between 1783 and 1830 the school received twenty gifts totalling over £5,000. Typical income seems to have been about £500 per year, which

SECTION 10

#1732786925220

1092-549: A seemingly unrelated character whose experiences as a volunteer nurse and ambulance driver in 1943-44 are included in All Clear, is actually also Polly, under an assumed name (Polly being a nickname for Mary). Meanwhile, Merope and Michael have found Polly after discovering that their drops are also unable to return them to the future. Now together, the three believe that their own actions, particularly in Mike's case, may have changed

1183-464: A string of inconsequential chapter-end cliffhangers/immediate resolutions that got increasingly on my nerves as the book went on. There's little overall tension, and the time-travelling historians come over as both panicky and amateurish – an undesirable combination, one might think, where timelines are lying about ready to be mucked up." He added, though, "The aim is a commendable one. Despite walk-on parts by General Patton, Agatha Christie and Alan Turing,

1274-718: A tent, erected in the Friends Burial Ground , Thomas Street, Whitechapel, in 1865. Others joined his Christian Mission , and on 7 August 1878 the Salvation Army was formed at a meeting held at 272 Whitechapel Road. A statue commemorates both his mission and his work in helping the poor. The population grew quickly with migrants from the English countryside and further afield. Many of these incomers were Irish or Jewish. Western Whitechapel, and neighbouring areas of Wapping, became known as Little Germany due to

1365-470: A time-traveling historian who goes back to the Blitz in London, to participate in the fire lookout at St Paul's Cathedral . The narrator is a student historian from a future where historians use time travel to study history directly. He had prepared himself to visit Paul the Apostle in the first century but instead gets sent to St Paul's Cathedral in 1940. He develops a deep emotional attachment to

1456-502: A time-traveling history department at University of Oxford , introduced in this novelette, was also used in her later novels Doomsday Book (1992), To Say Nothing of the Dog (1997), and Blackout/All Clear (2010), as was the character of Professor James Dunworthy. Although Willis' writing of "Fire Watch" predates the production of Doomsday Book by about a decade, Kivrin Engle, the main character of Doomsday Book , also appears as

1547-417: Is Michael. Mike explains to Colin that Polly and Eileen are together, then falls unconscious as Colin brings him back to 2060 Oxford. Colin also goes to the 1970s for research and to 1995 to try to find someone who knew Polly. To his surprise, in 1995 he meets an elderly Binnie, who tells him Eileen died in 1987. Binnie also reveals that she has learned all about time travel and has been looking for him through

1638-404: Is a mildly interesting 200-page novel about the ordinary heroism of British civilians during the war, bloated to 800 pages via an egregiously handled time-travel conceit, eked out with great jellied quantities of historical research, endless meandering conversations, long passages disposed into that tiresome typographical convention by which characters' inmost thoughts are spelled out in italics, and

1729-413: Is a resemblance between the grown-up Colin and Eileen, implying that Eileen will become his ancestor. Eileen also seemed to see this, since she called Colin "dear boy" and said "I will always be with you" before they left. Thus Eileen had another reason to remain behind in 1941. On VE-Day , May 7, 1945, Eileen is reunited during the celebrations with Vicar Goode, whom she has known since the beginning of

1820-497: Is adored as a hero, but, for months, he is terrified that he has changed the course of history by saving soldiers. Eventually, Merope, Polly and Michael meet each other in London. They are all worried because they cannot find drops which will return them to Oxford. All Clear begins where Blackout left off, with Michael Davies (posing as an American journalist, Mike Davis), Polly Churchill (as Polly Sebastian), and Merope Ward (posing as Eileen O'Reilly) trapped in 1940 Britain during

1911-406: Is also in their place and time, but understand this only less than a day before he will leave. (Bartholomew's time travel experience is the subject of Willis's short story " Fire Watch ," written almost thirty years previously.) Frantically they try to get to him, but the three are separated and repeatedly delayed, not helped by the fact that this is the night of December 29, 1940, during which some of

SECTION 20

#1732786925220

2002-475: Is brought against his will onto the small, barely seaworthy craft Lady Jane of Commander Harold and taken across the English Channel to help evacuate the soldiers from the beach at Dunkirk. When they arrive at the mole there, soldiers begin scrambling onto the boat, but Michael must dive underwater to free the propeller from a corpse which has become entangled with it. Michael frees the boat and joins

2093-530: Is located 3.4 miles (5.5 km) east of Charing Cross . The district is primarily built around Whitechapel High Street and Whitechapel Road , which extend from the City of London boundary to just east of Whitechapel station . These two streets together form a section of the originally Roman Road from the Aldgate to Colchester , a route that later became known as the Great Essex Road . Population growth resulting from ribbon development along this route, led to

2184-482: Is located in the woods outside the manor grounds. The children love her, and when Alf comes down with measles , and then infects the dozens of other children, the house is quarantined ; Eileen proves an excellent and tireless nurse, against her own wishes. She is appalled by what she considers the barbaric medical treatments of 1940 (she errs by referring to "a virus," a term not generally known then), and manages to save Binnie's life only by stealing some aspirin to bring

2275-423: Is long, but Willis convinces you to care about almost all their fates — and to surprise you about their connection to each other. Willis's evocation of wartime London sometimes feels romanticized, and it has few moral or demographic complications... Nor is Willis's theme, the heroism of ordinary people, especially original. But by the time the three historians and Mr. Dunworthy have unraveled the mystery and arrived at

2366-433: Is no wacky romp, this book, no To Say Nothing of the Dog . At the same time, I found it funnier and, strangely, cheerier than previous Willis novels with a comparable body count." Julie Phillips of The Village Voice wrote, " Blackout/All Clear is neither tragedy nor comedy, but a mystery story with touches of grief and slapstick... None of the three historians manages to stand by and observe... The cast of characters

2457-524: Is still home to Freedom Press, the anarchist publishing house founded by Charlotte Wilson . On Sunday 4 October 1936, the British Union of Fascists led by Oswald Mosley , intended to march through the East End, an area with a large Jewish population. The BUF mustered on and around Tower Hill and hundreds of thousands of local people turned out to block the march. There were violent clashes with

2548-669: The Chief Minister of West Bengal . Also in 2022 a historical marker was placed in Whitechapel, on the site of the former Adler House at the junction of Adler and Coke Streets by the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation UK Branch. Adler House was named in honour of the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire, Herman Adler, 1891–1911. The marker recognises the significance of Whitechapel as

2639-582: The Dunkirk evacuation . When he discovers that, instead of Dover, he has landed in Saltram-on-Sea, a town 30 miles south, with his "drop" within some rocks on the beach, he tells the locals that he is Mike Davis, an American war correspondent , who wishes to cover the British anti-invasion preparations of World War II . The residents are pleased to find a "Yankee" interested in them. To his horror, he

2730-636: The Royal London Hospital and the East London Mosque . Whitechapel was originally part of the Manor and Parish of Stepney , but population growth resulting from its position just outside the Aldgate on the Roman Road to Essex resulted in significant population growth, so a chapel of ease , dedicated to St Mary was established so people did not have to make the longer journey to Stepney's parish church St Dunstans . The earliest known rector

2821-519: The 11 Whitechapel murders (1888–91), some of which were committed by the legendary serial killer known as " Jack the Ripper ". These attacks caused widespread terror in the district and throughout the country and drew the attention of social reformers to the squalor and vice of the area, even though these crimes remain unsolved today. London County Council , founded 1889, helped deliver investment in new housing and slum clearance ; objectives which were

Blackout/All Clear - Misplaced Pages Continue

2912-421: The 17th century to the mid-19th century resulted in great numbers of more or less destitute people taking up residence amidst the industries, businesses and services ancillary to the City of London that had attracted them. The Whitechapel Mount was a large, probably artificial mound, of unknown origin, that stood on the south side of Whitechapel Road, about 1200 metres east of the Aldgate , immediately west of

3003-598: The BUF around Tower Hill, but most of the violence occurred as police tried to clear a route through the crowds for the BUF to follow. The police fought protesters at nearby Cable Street – the series of clashes becoming known as the Battle of Cable Street – and Tower Hill, but the largest confrontations took place at Aldgate and Whitechapel, notably at Gardiner's Corner , at the junction of Leman Street , Commercial Street and Whitechapel High Street . The Halal restaurant on

3094-509: The Blitz. Just as in Blackout , the novel switches between multiple people and times. As the novel opens, Polly Churchill, who is posing as a shop assistant, realizes that she has a deadline. She had already visited Oxford and London in 1943. Since she was able to do that, and she now believes she is trapped in 1940, she must either have returned to the future or died by 1943. She is convinced that she will in fact die. We later learn that Mary,

3185-725: The Other Half Lives , donned ragged clothes and boarded in Whitechapel, detailing his experiences in The People of the Abyss . The Siege of Sidney Street (also known as the Battle of Stepney , after the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney of which Whitechapel was part) in January 1911 was a gunfight between police and military forces, and Latvian revolutionaries. Then Home Secretary Winston Churchill took over

3276-625: The Pavilion this way: "A large East-end theatre capable of holding considerably over 3,000 persons. Melodrama of a rough type, farce, pantomime, &c. " In the early 20th century it became the home of Yiddish theatre, catering to the large Jewish population of the area, and gave birth to the Anglo-Jewish 'Whitechapel Boys' avant-garde literary and artistic movement. Since at least the 1970s, Whitechapel and other nearby parts of East London have figured prominently in London's art scene. Probably

3367-626: The Tudor period. The original purpose of the civil parishes was poor relief. The area was part of the historic (or ancient) county of Middlesex , but military and most (or all) civil county functions were managed more locally, by the Tower Division (also known as the Tower Hamlets) . The role of the Tower Division ended when Whitechapel became part of the new County of London in 1889, and most civil parish functions were removed when

3458-608: The War while working for Lady Caroline in Warwickshire. Vicar Goode had always been kind to Alf and Binnie, and it is strongly implied that Eileen and Mr. Goode will marry and raise the children together. Connie Willis worked on the story for almost eight years, during which, she said during the Hugo Awards ceremony, she pushed "everyone's patience to the limit". In August, 2006, at the 64th World Science Fiction Convention , in

3549-405: The area joined the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney in 1900. In 1965 there was a further round of changes when the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney merged with the Metropolitan Borough of Bethnal Green and the Metropolitan Borough of Poplar to form the new London Borough of Tower Hamlets . The new borough of Tower Hamlets covered only part of the historic Tower Division (or Tower Hamlets). At

3640-580: The area's most prominent art venue is the Whitechapel Art Gallery , founded in 1901 and long an outpost of high culture in a poor neighbourhood. As the neighbourhood has gentrified, it has gained citywide, and even international, visibility and support. From 2005 the gallery underwent a major expansion, with the support of £3.26 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The expanded facility opened in 2009. Whitechapel in

3731-472: The book... I have a lot of stuff to tell you about the war... The Brits were absolutely wonderful... They were great and plucky and funny under pressure." In a February 12, 2010 interview Connie Willis said: What are Blackout and All Clear about? They're about Dunkirk and ration books and D-Day and V-1 rockets , about tube shelters and Bletchley Park and gas masks and stirrup pumps and Christmas pantomimes and cows and crossword puzzles and

Blackout/All Clear - Misplaced Pages Continue

3822-475: The boundaries of Mile End and Bethnal Green . The northern boundary included Wentworth Street and parts of Old Montague Street. The parish also included an area around Goodman's Fields , close to the City and south of St Mary's, the parish church. The area became an independent parish around 1338. At that time parish areas only had an ecclesiastical (church) function, with parallel civil parishes being formed in

3913-415: The boundary, of Whitechapel. For many centuries travellers to and from London on this route were accommodated at the many coaching inns which lined Whitechapel High Street. The area of the parish extended around 1400 metres from the City of London boundary, originally marked by Aldgate Bars around 180 metres east of the Aldgate itself, to vicinity of the junction with Cambridge Heath Road where it met

4004-557: The bulk of the characters in All Clear are ordinary people getting on with their ordinary lives... And it can't be denied that the subject here, the heroism of ordinary people in testing times, is worthy and honourable." Fire Watch (story) " Fire Watch " is a science fiction novelette by American writer Connie Willis . The story, first published in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine in February 1982, involves

4095-567: The cathedral and is highly devoted to his role in defending it – especially due to his bitter knowledge that St. Paul's would survive the World War II bombings but would be obliterated in a terrorist attack nearer to the protagonist's own time. The story won both a Hugo Award for Best Novelette and a Nebula Award for Best Novelette . "Fire Watch" (1982) was included in Willis' short story collections Fire Watch (1984) and The Best of Connie Willis: Award-Winning Stories (2013). The idea of

4186-560: The centre of British Jewish refugee life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Local council facilities will be grouped within the old Royal London Hospital building as a civic centre. The local library , now called an Idea Store is located on Whitechapel Road . Whitechapel Road was the location of two 19th-century theatres: The Effingham (1834–1897) and The Pavilion Theatre (1828–1935; building demolished in 1962). Charles Dickens Jr. (eldest child of Charles Dickens ), in his 1879 book Dickens's Dictionary of London , described

4277-589: The city market demanded, such as tanneries, builders' goods yards, laundries, clothes dyers, slaughterhouse -related work, soaperies, and breweries. Whitechapel was strongly notable for foundries, foremost of which was the Whitechapel Bell Foundry , which later cast Philadelphia 's Liberty Bell , Westminster's Big Ben , Bow Bells and more recently the London Olympic Bell in 2012. Population shifts from rural areas to London from

4368-532: The creation of the parish of Whitechapel, a daughter parish of Stepney , from which it was separated, in the 14th century. Whitechapel has a long history of having a high proportion of immigrants within the community. From the late 19th century until the late 20th century the area had a very high Jewish population, and it subsequently became a significant settlement for the British Bangladeshi community. Whitechapel and neighbouring Spitalfields were

4459-573: The date before the raids start. (St. Paul's, and especially one of the paintings in the Cathedral, The Light of the World , are viewed several times by most of the important characters in the book. They are either inspired or depressed by their current view of the painting.) When he realizes it is December 1940, he becomes hopeless and distraught. Polly stumbles across him in the cathedral a few weeks later. He explains his hypothesis that slippage isn't

4550-403: The decades to tell him where and when he can rescue the stranded historians. Equipped with this knowledge, Colin is able to return to 1941 to rescue Polly and Mr. Dunworthy. Despite Polly's worries about leading to the deaths of those around her by interfering, she heroically risks her own life to save Sir Godfrey's during a bombing. She finally realizes what is going on as she lies recovering in

4641-564: The deception campaign . And mostly the book's about all the people who "did their bit" to save the world from Hitler—Shakespearean actors and ambulance drivers and vicars and landladies and nurses and WRENs and RAF pilots and Winston Churchill and General Patton and Agatha Christie —heroes all. Michael Dirda of The Washington Post praised the diptych as "as vivid an evocation of England during World War II as anyone has ever written" and wrote that " Blackout is, by turns, witty, suspenseful, harrowing and occasionally comic to

SECTION 50

#1732786925220

4732-425: The early 21st century has figured prominently in London's punk rock and skuzz rock scenes, with the main focal point for this scene being Whitechapel Factory and Rhythm Factory bar, restaurant, and nightclub. This scene includes the likes of The Libertines, Zap!, Nova , The Others , Razorlight, and The Rakes, all of whom have had some commercial success in the music charts. The total population of Whitechapel in 2021

4823-474: The early 21st century. The time-travel device, a portal called "the Net", remains in the time-traveler's present, while sending the time-traveler to a particular location (called "the drop") and time. They can return from the same location when someone in the future re-opens the Net for them at an agreed-upon "rendezvous" time. Historians in Willis' world believe that the laws of physics resist possible alterations to

4914-545: The evacuees on the deck, which is too crowded for movement, and the Commander guides the boat back to England. During the trip, Michael goes into shock and barely hears a rescued soldier, Private Hardy, thanking him for saving his life. When they return, Michael finds his right foot has been mangled. (He will limp for the rest of his life.) He awakes in Orpington War Emergency Hospital , where he

5005-543: The full-on, three-hanky finale, you'll no longer be a disinterested observer." Some reviewers complained of the length of the books and their narrative modes . Christopher DeFilippis, writing for the SF Site , said he thought the books "can best be described by words like 'belabored' and 'exasperating.' That's because the single story told in Blackout and All Clear didn't have to encompass two novels. Had it not been marred by endlessly repetitive prose and character actions,

5096-487: The future so that there is no time travel, and that possibly it will involve Germany winning the war. Knowing something has gone wrong which prevents them from returning to 2060 Oxford, the three time travelers attempt to determine an escape plan, but none of their efforts are successful. A fellow student, Gerald Phipps, who was supposed to be at Bletchley Park studying Ultra , never came through to his assignment. They realize that another Oxford historian, John Bartholomew,

5187-560: The girl's fever down . Eileen repeatedly finds herself unable to return to 2060 via her drop. She helps to return most of the children to their homes, and then plans to travel by train to seek help from her friend Polly, who should, by September, 1940, be a shopgirl in London. To her dismay, the local vicar, Mr. Goode, has arranged for Binnie and Alf to be given "safe passage" to Canada, so that they will not have to remain with their neglectful mother in Whitechapel , which, as Eileen knows,

5278-424: The historic station which underwent a massive redevelopment that started in 2010. In order to prepare for Crossrail, in January 2016, the old Whitechapel station was closed for refurbishment and modernisation work in order to improve services and increase capacity in the station. The Royal London Hospital was closed and re-opened behind the original site in 2012 in a brand new building costing £650m. The old site

5369-482: The hopes that someone in 2060's Oxford will find the notices and be able to rescue the young women. Another potential rescuer is Colin Templer, an overeager teenager from 2060 Oxford with a crush on Polly. He goes back to 1944 and finds Michael, right after Mike has been hit by a bomb and helped by Polly, who is then an ambulance driver and first-aid responder but who, because of the blacked-out night, cannot see that it

5460-585: The hospital; the historians have caused small things to happen which ultimately led to winning the war. She concludes that they're stuck in World War II not to be killed by the continuum, but because there are things they need to do so that the war will be won by the Allies and so that history is as it should be. In April 1941, an older Colin comes through at St. Paul's and finds the historians. Polly and Mr. Dunworthy leave with Colin to return to 2060 Oxford, but Eileen stays behind. She reasons that she must remain in

5551-496: The junction of St Mark Street and Alie Street opened in 1939 to serve the many Indian seamen living in the area. It is now the oldest Indian restaurant in East London. Whitechapel remained poor through the first half of the 20th century, though somewhat less desperately so. It suffered great damage from enemy bombers during the Blitz , and from the subsequent German V-weapon attacks. The parish church, St Mary Matfelon ,

SECTION 60

#1732786925220

5642-491: The large numbers of German people who came to the area; many of these people, and their descendants, worked in the sugar industry. The St George's German Lutheran Church on Alie Street is a legacy of that part of the community. Writing of the period 1883–1884, Yiddish theatre actor Jacob Adler wrote, "The further we penetrated into this Whitechapel, the more our hearts sank. Was this London? Never in Russia, never later in

5733-417: The last minute, for reasons not explained until All Clear . Michael Davies, who had prepared for a first-hand look at the events of Pearl Harbor , for example by having brain implants to give him an American accent and knowledge of that time, abruptly finds himself instead being sent to witness the response to the Battle of Dunkirk . The constant changes also mean that the wardrobe department cannot assemble

5824-770: The laws that safely govern it to the breaking point. When they make it to World War II-era England, all initially seems well. Merope takes on the persona of an Irish girl, Eileen O'Reilly, to secure a position in the staff of an English country manor house. From December, 1939, to May, 1940, she works for Lady Caroline as a servant; she desires to observe children evacuated from London during World War II . She sees far more of these children and their predicaments than she bargained for, especially some undisciplined trouble-makers, sister and brother street urchins Binnie and Alf Hodbin. Merope, referred to mostly in both books as Eileen, excels at her assignment, even when she comes to dislike it and to try desperately to escape to her "drop," which

5915-668: The leading city of the nation that had invented modern capitalism. He concluded that English poverty was far rougher than the American variety. The juxtaposition of the poverty, homelessness, exploitative work conditions, prostitution, and infant mortality of Whitechapel and other East End locales with some of the greatest personal wealth the world has ever seen made it a focal point for leftist reformers and revolutionaries of all kinds, from George Bernard Shaw , whose Fabian Society met regularly in Whitechapel, to Vladimir Lenin , led rallies in Whitechapel during his exile from Russia. The area

6006-401: The locations of the infamous 11 Whitechapel murders (1888–91), some of which were attributed to the unidentified serial killer known as Jack the Ripper . These factors and others have led to Whitechapel being seen by many as the embodiment of London's East End, and for that reason it is often used to represent the East End in art and literature . Landmarks include Tower Hamlets Town Hall,

6097-555: The mass mobilisation of the local Bengali community. The gardens of the former churchyard were later renamed Altab Ali Park in his memory. The Metropolitan line between Hammersmith and Whitechapel was withdrawn in 1990 and shown separately as a new line called the Hammersmith & City line . Crossrail calls at Whitechapel station on the Elizabeth line . Eastbound services will be split into two branches after leaving

6188-601: The modern Royal London Hospital. The Mount is widely believed to have formed part of London's defences during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms in the mid-17th century. This was either as part of a ring of fortifications known as the Lines of Communication which were in operation from 1642 to 1647, or additionally or alternatively, as one of the three forts which replaced that system of defence immediately afterwards. The mount

6279-494: The narrative could have fit neatly into a single volume... Unfortunately, the bulk of Blackout is taken up by Polly, Mike and Eileen's individual realizations that they're trapped in the past, with each caught in a state of seemingly perpetual denial about their circumstances. Instead of acknowledging the blatant truth of their predicament, they concoct endless mental scenarios as to why their gates won't open... Willis goes on for pages with her protagonists repeatedly ruminating about

6370-461: The operation, and his presence caused a political row over the level of his involvement during the time. His biographers disagreed and claimed that he gave no operational commands to the police, but a Metropolitan Police account states that the events of Sidney Street were "a very rare case of a Home Secretary taking police operational command decisions". The Freedom Press , a socialist publishing house, thought it worthwhile to explore conditions in

6461-513: The orphans, thus giving her life, now trapped in the mid-20th century, a significant meaning. Polly fights with her about this, but Eileen is adamant and later proves to have become a very good mother to the children. In 2060, in Oxford, Mr. Dunworthy sends himself on a rescue mission to retrieve Polly in September 1940. However, when he arrives at St Paul's Cathedral , he is unable to determine

6552-531: The past and cause discrepancies – have been realized, possibly to the point the War will be lost. However, all hope is not lost. Mike had faked his own death and in 1944 is engaged in Operation Fortitude , a misinformation campaign. Mike is not revealed to be this character until later in the novel, as he operates under a code name in this part of the narrative. He is able to plant notices in newspapers which hint where Polly and Eileen are located, in

6643-403: The past by preventing time-travel to certain places or times. In some cases, the machine used for time-travel will refuse to function, rendering the trip impossible. In other cases, "slippage"—a shift from the exact, desired target in time and/or space—occurs. The time-traveler arrives at the nearest place and time suitable for preventing a time paradox ; although sometimes this is only

6734-520: The past so she can tell Colin in the future where to find them, and she refuses to abandon Alf and Binnie. Colin tells them that Mike had faked his own death, but died in Oxford from his 1944 injuries. Finally Polly, Mr. Dunworthy, and Colin return to the St. Paul's drop and to Oxford. Eileen stays behind, committing to live out her life in the past with Alf and Binnie. While waiting for the drop to open for her to return to Oxford, Polly also realizes that there

6825-428: The point of slapstick." Adrienne Martini of Locus Online called the 1940s Britain that Willis created "richly textured". A. M. Dellamonica described the story as "an intricate puzzle" and "a celebration, too, of courage and heroism, of perseverance, of ordinary people doing small things to aid in great causes, of devotion, friendship, keeping one's word. It has funny characters and laugh out loud moments aplenty, but it

6916-534: The proper wardrobe for Polly Churchill, who plans to work as a shopgirl during the Blitz . Merope Ward, overseeing child refugees from London in Warwickshire , finds herself utterly unable to find the support she needs to complete her first assignment in the past. Dunworthy himself is nowhere to be found, having set off for a meeting with another academic, Ishiwaka, who theorizes that continued time travel has pushed

7007-537: The same "what ifs" over and over (and over) again. It may be understandable in the beginning of the story as the characters adjust to the magnitude of their situation. But it soon becomes apparent that this is what constitutes drama in Willis' universe and it never stops... It's a shame that these negatives so overwhelm Blackout and All Clear , because despite them the books feature many terrific characters moving in extremely interesting historical situations." Similarly, Adam Roberts of The Guardian wrote, "The result

7098-476: The same time, the area became part of the new Greater London , which replaced the older, smaller County of London . Whitechapel, along with areas such as neighbouring Shoreditch , Holborn (west of the city) and Southwark (south of the Thames), was one of London's earlier extra-mural suburbs. Beyond controls of the City of London Corporation , Whitechapel was used for more polluting and land-intensive industries

7189-441: The sweet but flighty spinster Miss Laburnum; Sir Godfrey, a Shakespearean actor who forms a crush on Polly; a rector ; Mr. Simms and his dog Nelson; Lila and Viv, young women who chat constantly about dances and movie stars; and others. Michael Davies had planned to travel to witness the attack on Pearl Harbor . Instead, he is sent to Dover , a trip he had intended to make later, where he had planned to witness heroism during

7280-461: The train and cross a field to find a bus, they witness in the sky the beginning of the Battle of Britain . Alf (who fancies himself a plane spotter ) and Binnie are delighted to watch an air battle between a German Messerschmitt fighter plane against a Hawker Hurricane and a Spitfire . The Messerschmitt is destroyed, and Eileen manages both to return the children to their home and to find Polly. Polly, fair-haired and pretty, secures employment at

7371-521: The worst raids of the war occurred. They are unable to find Bartholomew before he returns to 2054 Oxford. When Mike and Eileen figure out that Polly has a deadline in June 1943, and its implications, their search for a way out becomes even more desperate. Their frustration turns into tragedy when Mike is reported killed during a raid. Eileen refuses to accept his death, but upon realizing Alf and Binnie's mother has been dead for months, she volunteers to raise

7462-714: The worst slums of New York, were we to see such poverty as in the London of the 1880s." This endemic poverty drove many women to prostitution. In October 1888 the Metropolitan Police estimated that there were 1,200 prostitutes "of very low class" resident in Whitechapel and about 62 brothels. Reference is specifically made to them in Charles Booth 's Life and Labour of the People in London , especially to dwellings called Blackwall Buildings belonging to Blackwall Railway. Such prostitutes were numbered amongst

7553-466: Was "The relief of all sick and diseased persons and, in particular, manufacturers, seamen in the merchant service and their wives and children". The hospital moved to the then largely rural Whitechapel Road site in 1757, and was renamed the London Hospital. It became known as the Royal London Hospital on its 250th anniversary in 1990. The new building, adjacent to the old building it replaced,

7644-519: Was 18,841. Bangladeshis are the largest ethnic group in the area, making up 40% of the Whitechapel ward total population. The East London Mosque at the end of Whitechapel Road is one of the largest mosques in Europe. The mosque group was established as early as 1910, and the demand for a mosque grew as the Sylheti community grew rapidly over the years. In 1985 this large, purpose built mosque with

7735-509: Was Hugh de Fulbourne in 1329. Whitechapel takes its name from that church, St Mary Matfelon , which like the nearby White Tower of the Tower of London was at one time whitewashed to give it a prominent and attractive appearance. The etymology of the Matfelon element is unclear and apparently unique. Around 1338, Whitechapel became an independent parish, with St Mary Matfelon , originally

7826-625: Was badly damaged in a raid on 29 December 1940, a raid so damaging that it caused the Second Great Fire of London . The remains were demolished in 1952. St Mary's traced stone footprint and former graveyard remain, as part of Altab Ali Park . On 4 May 1978, three teenagers murdered Altab Ali , a 24 year old Bangladesh-born clothing worker, in a racially motivated attack, as he walked home after work. The attack took place on Adler Street, by St Mary's Churchyard, where St Mary Matfelon had previously stood. The reaction to his murder provoked

7917-495: Was bombed during the Blitz. But, as she also knows, they are likely to be transported on the SS City of Benares , which was torpedoed by a German submarine . Unable to allow this to happen, Eileen accompanies the brats to London, after which she can seek Polly. During their train trip, Alf's mischievousness delays their train; if the train had proceeded on time, it would have been destroyed by German bombers. When they disembark from

8008-569: Was much more than most vicar's and rector's livings, net. Supporting modern education, the Davenant Centre continues and the Davenant Foundation School has, since 1966, been based at Loughton in Essex . The London Infirmary was established as a voluntary hospital in 1740, and within a year soon moved from Finsbury to Prescot Street, a very densely populated and deprived part of southern Whitechapel. Its aim

8099-518: Was opened in 2012. In 2023 the old hospital building became the new Tower Hamlets Town Hall , replacing the Mulberry Place site in Poplar . In common with many other parts of the East End of London , Whitechapel gained a reputation for severe poverty, overcrowding, and the social problems that came with it. William Booth began his Christian Revival Society , preaching the gospel in

8190-464: Was removed to allow residential development in 1807–1808. In 1680, Ralph Davenant (rector of the parish of Whitechapel), his wife and his sister-in-law bequeathed a large sum for a schoolmaster to teach literacy, numeracy and the "principles of the Church of England" to forty boys of the parish. In the same deed Henry and Sarah Gullifer undertook to provide for the education of thirty poor girls; namely

8281-499: Was then repurchased by the local council to open a new town hall, replacing the existing Town Hall at Mulberry Place. In March 2022, Whitechapel station signs had "হোয়াইটচ্যাপেল" in Bengali installed. The British-Pakistani Mayor of London Sadiq Khan was "delighted" that the signage was installed ahead of Bangladesh Independence Day on 26 March. The installation was attended by Bangladeshi diplomats and Mamata Banerjee ,

#219780