To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis

Into one medium-length novel Connie Willis has managed to include time travel, a mystery that needs to be solved, a look at privileged class Victorian England, a comedy of manners, three love stories, many allusions to and quotes from other respected authors, two extraordinary butlers, a hideously ugly piece of Victorian art, and a lovable cat (to say nothing of the dog), all written in imitation of the style of Victorian humor writer Jerome K. Jerome in the travel book Three Men in a Boat (which was subtitled To Say Nothing of the Dog).

The hero, Ned Henry, is a time traveling historian poking about in 1940s Coventry Cathedral looking for the Bishop's Bird Stump when he is called in to return a cat which has been inadvertently brought back from Victorian England by another time traveler, the ravishing Verity Kindle. Together they must attempt to correct her mistake before it alters history, with who knows what consequences. All sorts of wacky misadventures ensue.

This novel is classified as science fiction, and it won the Hugo and Locus awards in 1999, but it certainly does not follow the usual genre conventions. I would classify it as literary humor.

It is not necessary to have read the Jerome K. Jerome book to understand this novel, but a reading of that one certainly increases the humor of this one. Luckily, I just read Jerome's book a few months ago. It also helps to have read or at least to be familiar with the writings of Wilke Collins, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, and P.G. Wodehouse, as they are all heavily referenced.

I am most impressed with Connie Willis's cleverness and ingenuity. This is a delightful book.