Time and Again and From Time to Time by Jack Finney
"Time and Again" and its sequel "From Time to Time," both written by Jack Finney, delve into the fascinating concept of time travel, set against the backdrop of New York City during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The narrative follows Simon Morley, a commercial artist who becomes part of a secretive government project exploring the theory that the past exists simultaneously with the present. Using immersive historical research and self-hypnosis, Morley time travels back to 1882, where he becomes deeply enmeshed in life during the Gilded Age and ultimately chooses to remain in that era, marrying Julia and starting a family.
In the sequel, set in 1887, Morley embarks on a new mission that takes him back to 1912, with the goal of preventing a historical tragedy by saving a key diplomat, known only as "Z," from drowning on the Titanic. The story is rich with detailed descriptions of historical New York, providing a vivid sense of time and place. Through Morley's experiences, the novels explore themes of nostalgia, the consequences of choices, and the complexities of altering history, resonating with readers who appreciate both speculative fiction and historical settings.
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Subject Terms
Time and Again and From Time to Time
First published:Time and Again (1970) and From Time to Time (1995)
Type of work: Novels
Type of plot: Fantasy—time travel
Time of work: 1970 and 1882; 1887 and 1912
Locale: New York City
The Plot
Jack Finney’s Time and Again never made the best-seller list, but it quickly became a word-of-mouth cult classic. An intriguing tale of time travel back to late nineteenth century New York City, the novel became a selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club, and Murder Ink named it one of the five best mysteries of all time. Over the years, film rights were optioned and plans were made for a Broadway show. Twenty-five years after Time and Again’s debut—and only months before the author’s death—Finney’s much-awaited sequel, From Time to Time, was published.
Simon Morley, the protagonist in both novels, first experiences time travel in 1970. A newly divorced commer-cial artist, Morley is easily persuaded by U.S. Army major Rube Prien to participate in a top secret government-funded project housed in an old Manhattan warehouse. The goal of “the Project” is to test retired Harvard professor of physics E. E. Danziger’s theory that the past still exists and that under certain conditions it can be reached. Danziger has based his theory on Albert Einstein’s metaphor for the experiencing of time—that time is a river, and that the past remains in the bends and curves of that river, out of sight but still in existence.
Morley is chosen to explore Danziger’s premise that in order to create a gateway to the past, one must first become completely immersed in the minutiae of the time selected. The participant must study books, newspapers, and photographs. He or she must dress in appropriate clothing and live the lifestyle of that period. In addition, a place must be found that exists in both the past and the present. In Morley’s case, the setting is an apartment in Manhattan’s famous Dakota building. Finally, the potential time traveler must let the knowledge of the chosen time flood his or her mind; then, with the application of self-hypnosis, the gateway may be reached.
On a momentous night in 1970, when the world outside is blanketed by snow and silence, Morley steps out of the Dakota and into the winter of 1882. Members of the Project, thrilled by his success upon his return to 1970, urge Morley to return again to the Gilded Age. As the plot unfolds, Morley solves a mystery, returns to the present to report to the Project, and then opts to return to the 1880’s to marry Julia, a girl of the time. He ultimately chooses to live in a time that is portrayed unashamedly as superior to the one from which he came.
Finney’s sequel begins in 1887. Morley is happily married to Julia, with whom he has a four-year-old son, Willy. One day, in a weak moment of curiosity, Morley transports himself back to the twentieth century. He is quickly tracked down by Rube Prien, the only remaining believer in the now-defunct Project. After much resistance, Morley reluctantly agrees to a final time-travel mission. He is to go back to the year 1912 and alter the disastrous course of modern history. Specifically, Morley must return to Manhattan and find a man with the code name “Z.” An aide to U.S. presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Taft, “Z” will be carrying informal agreements signed by key European diplomats; these documents will avert the Great War. “Z,” however, is destined to drown on the ill-fated maiden voyage of the Titanic. It is Morley’s mission to save him.
Most of the story takes place in New York City during the ragtime era. Morley clearly enjoys the opening days of his assignment, taking tea at the Plaza Hotel, dancing at Delmonico’s, and swooping over Manhattan in a newfangled “hydro-aeroplane.” As in Finney’s Time and Again, street-by-street evocation and descriptions punctuated by “the artist’s” photographs and illustrations bring the city alive.
After observing the transfer of the important documents to “Z” (from a secret perch on the Flatiron building), Morley moves into action. He boards the Titanic in Southampton, England, and reveals his mission to “Z.” Morley’s story appears too fantastic, and ultimately he is unable to prevent the ship from sinking or to change the coming course of events. Morley returns to his wife and son in the year 1887, sadly aware of what the future will bring and determined to save his young son from the terrible war to come.