Women in spaaaaaace ....

Dream of Time by Nancy J. Price
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I am always interested in a time travel novel - perhaps I still hold out hope that a lonely alien in a blue telephone box will appear in my garden and sweep me away to a life of grand adventure, then bring me back home in time for tea. Or not. I digress.

I enjoyed this story, despite the fairly substantial plot holes and occasionally turgid pace. Robin, a thirty-something single mother with two young daughters awakens one day to find herself living in Victorian-era San Francisco as a 20 year old immigrant girl (Jennie) with a comfortable fortune. The victim of 'a nasty fall', she is confined to a hospital until she makes a fairly astounding recovery, and returns 'home'. During her recovery she alternates between her sick bed by day, and her 'real life' by night. In essence, she dream her alternate realities.

The story revolves around Jennie/Robin's journey to right some wrongs, most of which are wrought by Jennie's ex-Fiancé and regular con-man Walter. In this quest she is aided by a young policeman Travis, with whom Jennie develops a mutual case of insta-love. Travis' ex-Fiancée Maggie (who has conveniently taken up with Walter) provides some essential plot devices (spurring jealous, wearing bonnets, allowing her hair to be brushed by lonely charges to win their love) as well.

The characters are a bit thin (viz Jennie's sister who rocks up, hands over some jewels and departs) and the circumstances a little implausible (a 20 year old woman in Victorian society who lives unchaparoned, has no household servants and shacks up with a policeman with whom she has at least daily unprotected sex but manages not to become pregnant, yet still gets invited over to tea by the neighbourhood ladies' whist club??), but somehow, the story draws you in.

A good solid three stars, but no more. Sharpened up a little and a few plot and character developments, and it might merit more. The premise is sound and the writing (where it doesn't lapse into historical or pedestrian narrative) is interesting enough to keep you interested. There isn't too much cloying prose, and the plot has sufficient mystery to keep you interested.

As an aside, I would DEFINITELY recommend some psychiatric support for a robin - there are a range of issues she needs to sort out for her own sanity - and she should take a bit more notice of her children from time to time.

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