The Dancers at the End of Time Series by Michael Moorcock
"The Dancers at the End of Time" series is a science fiction work by Michael Moorcock that explores themes of time travel, love, and existentialism. The narrative begins with Jherek Carnelian, a member of a decadent future society, who becomes enamored with a time traveler from the 19th century, Mrs. Amelia Underwood. The plot unfolds as Jherek navigates a series of bizarre adventures involving time machines, a group of whimsical space travelers known as the Lat, and various historical figures, including H.G. Wells. Throughout the series, characters grapple with concepts of duty, virtue, and the nature of existence, culminating in Jherek and Amelia's journey to start anew in the next universe.
The series includes additional tales that delve into the lives of various characters at the End of Time. These interconnected stories showcase unique perspectives on love, regret, and the complexities of human emotions, set against a backdrop of speculative futures and fantastical elements. With its blend of humor, tragedy, and philosophical inquiry, "The Dancers at the End of Time" invites readers to reflect on the nature of time, relationships, and the human condition in a richly imaginative setting.
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The Dancers at the End of Time Series
First published:An Alien Heat (1972), The Hollow Lands (1974), The End of All Songs (1976), Legends from the End of Time (1976; includes “Pale Roses,” “White Stars,” and “Ancient Shadows,” all first published in New Worlds Quarterly), and A Messiah at the End of Time (1977; British edition published as The Transformation of Miss Mavis Ming; Legends from the End of Time and A Messiah at the End of Time collected as Tales from the End of Time, 1989)
Type of work: Novels
Type of plot: Fantasy—future history
Time of work: The end of time, with excursions to other periods, principally the 1890’s and the Silurian age of the next universe
Locale: Various locations on Earth
The Plot
An Alien Heat introduces the action that runs through the first three books. At the duke of Queen’s dull party, Jherek Carnelian encounters a time traveler from the nineteenth century, Mrs. Amelia Underwood, and decides that falling in love with her would be a welcome novelty to amuse himself and his friends. Jherek first must acquire her from Lord Mongrove’s entourage. Helped by Lord Jagged of Canaria, he arranges a trade for the “dreary alien” Yusharisp, who has come there predicting the imminent end of the universe. When Jherek declares his love, Mrs. Underwood will not hear of it; she wishes to teach him virtue. They become closer, but she disappears—stolen by My Lady Charlotina in revenge for the stealing of Yusharisp.
Mrs. Underwood is sent back to 3 a.m., April 4, 1896, as she had desired. Despite the Morphail effect, which prohibits people from staying in the past, Jherek, now truly in love, borrows a time machine and is sent back to the same time. In London, he naïvely joins a den of thieves and is executed for his crimes, only to awaken at the End of Time, still longing for his departed love.
The Hollow Lands introduces the Lat, seven small, one-eyed, oversexed space travelers. Escaping them, Jherek falls into an ancient room full of children minded by a robot nursemaid who recycles time. Nurse sends him to 1896 London, where he meets Frank Harris and H. G. Wells at the Café Royal. Wells takes him to Bromley, where he is reunited with Mrs. Underwood. Mr. Underwood also is there, however, and calls the police. After various adventures, the whole group plus the Lat, My Lady Charlotina, the duke of Queens, Lord Jagged, and the Iron Orchid are reunited at the Café Royal. The Morphail effect and Lord Jagged’s time machine send them away, one or a few at a time. Jherek and Mrs. Underwood land in the Silurian age.
Still there at the beginning of The End of All Songs, Jherek and Mrs. Underwood are soon joined by police, Mr. Underwood, the Lat, and Una Persson and Oswald Bastable from the Guild of Temporal Adventurers, who send the Underwoods home to the End of Time. Although Mrs. Underwood begins adjusting, peace is not to be. The others reappear, and the temporal dislocations are too much for the cities that supply power and technology. As these collapse, Lord Jagged explains his part in bringing Mrs. Underwood to Jherek, who is revealed to be his son. Nurse has taught Lord Jagged to recycle time, and he proposes to seal off all who want to stay in a constantly recurring week that will last long after the present universe collapses. Harold Underwood and the police return home, but he forbids his wife to accompany him; thus she is free to accept Jherek’s proposal. This initiates marriages between Amelia Underwood and Jherek, Lord Jagged and the Iron Orchid, Werther de Goethe and Lord Mongrove, and Mistress Christia and the seven Lat, among others. Amelia, however, believes that existence without duty is useless, and she and Jherek are sent forward to the beginning of the next universe to start life anew.
The action of the other two books takes place concurrently with that of the first three. The books are presented by a twentieth century narrator as fragmentary material brought back by time travelers. “Pale Roses,” from Legends from the End of Time, shows how Mistress Christia, the Everlasting Concubine, compensates Werther de Goethe for having prematurely destroyed his rainbow by arranging a scenario in which he can experience sin and guilt. “White Stars” involves the reclusive and unimaginative Lord Shark the Unknown, whose only interest is fighting. When the duke of Queens challenges him to a duel to the real death—no resurrection—both are saved only through the unlikely intervention of some militaristic twenty-fourth century soldiers stranded in time. “Ancient Shadows” is the tragedy of Dafnish Armatuce and her son Snuffles, sent to explore the End of Time by the world of the Armatuce and unable to return because of the Morphail effect. Dafnish remains true to her stoic principles, but her son is seduced to luxury by Miss Mavis Ming; in losing their allotted future, each finds disaster. Stranded in time, boring, and unattractive, Miss Ming resides in Doctor Volospion’s menagerie. A spaceship arrives, bringing the unattractive Emmanuel Bloom, who announces himself to be “a messiah at the End of Time.” Madly in love with Mavis, who fears and despises him, Bloom exchanges a false Holy Grail for her. He whips her severely, which gives her pride in herself and makes her love him. As they take off into space, the real Grail appears, heals their wounds, marries them, and gives them hope and faith.