Human Nature (novel)

Human Nature was the thirty-eighth novel in the Virgin New Adventures series. Its good reception prompted Cornell to rewrite it for the third series of BBC Wales' Doctor Who. It was split into a two parter with the titles: Human Nature and The Family of Blood.

Publisher's summary
'Who’s going to save us this time?'

April, 1914. The inhabitants of the little Norfolk town of Farringham are enjoying an early summer, unaware that war is on the way. Amongst them is Dr John Smith, a short, middle-aged history teacher from Aberdeen. He’s having a hard time with his new post as house master at Hulton Academy for Boys, a school dedicated to producing military officers.

Bernice Summerfield is enjoying her holiday in the town, getting over the terrible events that befell her in France. But then she meets a future Doctor, and things start to get dangerous very quickly. With the Doctor she knows gone, and only a suffragette and an elderly rake for company, can Benny fight off a vicious alien attack? And will Dr Smith be able to save the day?

Main Characters

 * Bernice Summerfield
 * Is now 32 years old.
 * Drinks six pints on the planet Crex
 * She isn't convinced she'll ever have children.
 * Benny's still struggling with the loss of Guy de Carnac though she doubts she loved him.
 * Pretends to be Smith's niece.


 * Wolsey
 * Joan gives Wolsey to the Doctor so he'll never be alone on his travels.


 * John Smith
 * Smith is a history teacher.
 * Proposes to Joan.
 * Hates pears.
 * Is 48, from Aberdeen.
 * His (faked) credentials claim he is from the Flavian Academy of Aberdeen.
 * Has some cricketing skills.
 * Writes children's stories such as: "The Old Man and the Police Box" about a world called Gallifrey and a strange inventor who teaches about police boxes.


 * Joan Redfern
 * Is a Science teacher.
 * Her husband, Arthur, died in the war.
 * Doesn't like teaching at the school.


 * Alexander Shuttleworth
 * Benny's landlord

Other Characters
Aubertides


 * August


 * Greeneye
 * Wants to shag Benny.
 * Pretends to be the Tenth Doctor. (Just not the Tenth Doctor portrayed by David Tennant)


 * Laylock


 * Serif


 * Aphasia


 * Hoff

In the beer tent
 * Jac, Sarah, Lucy

The boys at Hulton Academy


 * Timothy Dean
 * Gets infected with the Doctor's Time Lord DNA and gains two hearts and a respiratory bypass system.
 * He is hung by his classmates, the bypass system saves him.
 * He eventually dies in 1995 with many children and grandchildren.


 * Hutchinson
 * Senior captain


 * Alton (a Time Lord)


 * Phipps


 * Anand
 * Tim's friend


 * Captain Merryweather


 * Abbot, Andrew, Clive, Ian, Hadliegh-Scott

People of Farringham
 * Jill and Jenny (two housewives)
 * Mrs Windrush (housewife)
 * Mr Hodges (greengrocer)
 * Constance Harding (suffraget)
 * Mr Sangster (runs the art shop)
 * Alec (works at the Museum)
 * Sergeant Abeland (police officer)
 * Constable Bickerston (police officer)
 * Nathan Bottomley (black smith)
 * Horace (telephone box operator)
 * Richard Hadleman

School teachers
 * George Rocastle, MBE (headmaster)
 * Mrs Denman (biology)
 * Mr Challpner
 * Mr Moffat (bursar)
 * Miss Robertson

Soldiers outside the time barrier
 * Major Wrightson, Stanley, Torrence

Continuity

 * Death takes Smith as the life the Doctor promised her (for Ace's) in NA: Love and War.
 * In DW: The TV Movie, the Doctor kisses Grace twice; in Human Nature he kisses Joan 6 times.
 * Benny is still thinking of Guy de Carnac's death in NA: Sanctuary.
 * Wolsey departs the TARDIS with Benny in NA: The Dying Days.

Timeline

 * This story takes place after ST: How You Get There
 * This story takes place before NA: Original Sin

Illustrations

 * Includes 17 illustrations from the e-book by Daryl Joyce.