The Doctor's Tale (audio story)

 was the second story of the first season of The Early Adventures.

Publisher's summary
England, 1400. Winter. Blood in the snow. Henry IV has usurped the throne, and deposed King Richard II languishes in Pomfret Castle.

Meanwhile the Doctor and his companions preside over New Year revels at Sonning Palace.

But Sonning is a prison, treachery is in the air and murderous Archbishop Thomas Arundel will stop at nothing to crush the rebellion.

As the Doctor and Barbara take the road to Canterbury, Vicki finds a royal friend and Ian is dragged into a dark web of conspiracy at whose heart sits that teller of tales, Geoffrey Chaucer.

The Lord of Misrule (1)
to be added

The White Hart (2)
to be added

Sanctuary (3)
to be added

The Empty Crown (4)
to be added

Cast

 * Ian Chesterton/The Doctor - William Russell
 * Vicki/Barbara Wright/Narrator - Maureen O'Brien
 * Geoffrey Chaucer/The Bishop/Jud Hacker - Gareth Armstrong
 * Sir Robert de Wensley/King Henry IV/Adam/Tom Chaucer - Joseph Kloska
 * Isabella - Alice Haig
 * Thomas Arundel/Abbot William - John Banks

The Doctor

 * The Doctor has a cold.
 * The Doctor considers himself to be very dangerous when roused.
 * Chaucer describes the Doctor as "a man of rare wit and temper, a philosopher."
 * The Doctor refers to Ian as "Chessington".

People

 * The Earl of Kent, the Earl of Huntingdon and Geoffrey Chaucer were favourites of Richard II.
 * Henry Plantagenet, also known as Henry Bolingbroke, seized the English throne from Richard II three months earlier in 1399, becoming Henry IV. Henry led the barons in revolt against Richard, who was then imprisoned in Pomfret Castle.
 * Isabella, who is younger than Vicki, is the queen of the deposed Richard II.
 * Sir Robert de Wensley is a supporter of Richard II and Queen Isabella.
 * Isabella mentions King Arthur.
 * Thomas Arundel is the Archbishop of Canterbury.
 * Jud Hacker was an executioner before he became a butcher.
 * Chaucer is involved in the failed plot to assassinate Henry IV and restore Richard II to the throne. The attack on Henry took place in Oxford.
 * Chaucer has a son named Tom, who works as Henry IV's butler.
 * Having been denied food on Arundel's orders, Richard II starved to death in Pomfret Castle.
 * The Doctor describes Vicki as "rather willful".
 * Henry IV has a 13-year-old son named Prince Hal, whom he hopes will marry Queen Isabella. However, she refused to do so, describing him as "a spotty boy".
 * Chaucer was present in London for Wat Tyler's rebellion.

Locations

 * Isabella is being held prisoner in Sonning Palace.
 * Isabella was born in France.
 * Arundel threatens to place Queen Isabella in the Tower of London.
 * Chaucer's tomb was placed in Westminster Abbey long after his death. Ian visited it prior to meeting the Doctor.
 * Chaucer intends to flee to the Low Countries if the plot to assassinate Henry IV fails.
 * After Arundel's defeat, Chaucer goes into hiding in Wales under an assumed name.
 * Ian and Barbara first became friends while protesting against the nuclear bomb on the Aldermaston marches.

Other

 * Queen Isabella gives Vicki archery lessons.
 * Richard II's emblem is the White Hart.
 * Chaucer often mocks the Catholic Church in his work.
 * Barbara loves Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales.

Continuity

 * Vicki refers to the Crusades. (TV: The Crusade)
 * Ian introduces himself to Sir Robert as "Sir Ian of Jaffa," a title bestowed on him by Richard the Lionheart in Palestine in 1190. (TV: The Crusade)
 * The Doctor refers to Ian's pursuit of Sir Francis Drake in Cadiz in 1587. (AUDIO: The Flames of Cadiz)
 * Vicki tells Queen Isabella that she does not have a family anymore. (TV: The Rescue)
 * Ian refers to Coal Hill School. (TV: An Unearthly Child)
 * The Doctor refers to the TARDIS' Time-Space Visualiser. (TV: The Chase)
 * The Doctor and Vicki would later visit another monastery in Northumbria in 1066 in the company of Steven Taylor. (TV: The Time Meddler)
 * At some point prior to his seventh incarnation, the Doctor received a copy of "The Doctour of Science's Tale" from Chaucer. (PROSE: Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible)