Romantic Science Fiction Novels Codexery

The Time Traveler's Wife

A love story about a man who time travels unpredictably.

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Henry DeTamble's genetic condition causes him to involuntarily travel through time, which disrupts the normal course of his life with Clare Abshire.[1] Niffenegger has stated that the narrative centers on the relationship between Henry and Clare and the hardships they face.[2] Critics have struggled to assign the novel to a single genre, with some labeling it science fiction and others romance.[2]

Making and release

Niffenegger began writing the novel in 1997, writing the last scene first because it was the story's focal point.[3] She originally conceived the work as a picture book but decided it had to be a novel because still pictures do not represent time well.[4] The narrative was originally structured thematically, but Niffenegger reorganized it to largely follow Clare's timeline after feedback from early readers.[5] The novel debuted at number nine on the New York Times bestseller list.[6]

Niffenegger completed the manuscript in 2001.[5] Because she had never been commercially published, Niffenegger received rejections from 25 literary agents.[7] In 2002, she mailed the manuscript without a prior request to MacAdam/Cage, a small publisher based in San Francisco, where editor Anika Streitfeld found it remarkable.[7][8][9]

What the cited sources add

The Time Traveler's Wife was voted by readers as one of 15 "future classics" in a Random House poll.[10] The author has said the story is a metaphor for her own failed love affairs.[11] The novel raises questions about determinism and free will, with critic Dan Falk asking whether Henry is compelled to act precisely as he remembers seeing himself act.[12] Natasha Walter of The Guardian describes the story's attention to "the sense of slippage that you get in any relationship"[13][14]

On 23 September 2013, it was revealed that a sequel is being written, which will center on Henry and Clare's daughter Alba when she is an adult.[15][16]

References

  1. Todd Glasscock, "Time Bending: An Interview with Audrey Niffenegger ", Exile on Ninth Street (19 November 2008). Retrieved 3 July 2009.. facts only, no text reused. exileonninthstreet.wordpress.com
  2. Wikipedia, "The Time Traveler's Wife" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Misha Davenport, "Writer enjoys the ride", Chicago Sun-Times (17 September 2003). Access World News (subscription required). Retrieved 25 April 2009.; Rebecca Caldwell, "A first novel anointed by Brad and Jennifer", The Globe and Mail (18 November 2003). LexisNexis (subscription required). Retrieved 25 April 2; Rebecca Caldwell, "A first novel anointed by Brad and Jennifer", The Globe and Mail (18 November 2003). LexisNexis (subscription required). Retrieved 25 April 2; Kate Zambreno, "Woman on the Edge of Time", The Independen en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "The Time Traveler's Wife" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rebecca Caldwell, "A first novel anointed by Brad and Jennifer", The Globe and Mail (18 November 2003). LexisNexis (subscription required). Retrieved 25 April 2 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "The Time Traveler's Wife" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Benedicte Page, "A highly unusual marriage", Bookseller 5100 (24 October 2003). EBSCO (subscription required). Retrieved 13 June 2009.; Rebecca Caldwell, "A first novel anointed by Brad and Jennifer", The Globe and Mail (18 November 2003). LexisNexis (subscription required). Retrieved 25 April 2; Kate Zambreno, "Woman on the Edge of Time", The Independent (23 January 2004). Retrieved 25 April 2009.; Todd Glasscock, "Time Bending: An Interview with Audrey Niffenegger ", Exile on Ninth Street (19 November 2008). Retrieved 3 July en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "The Time Traveler's Wife" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Todd Glasscock, "Time Bending: An Interview with Audrey Niffenegger ", Exile on Ninth Street (19 November 2008). Retrieved 3 July 2009. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "The Time Traveler's Wife" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Lawrence Donegan, "America's most wanted: The Time Traveler's Wife, written by an unknown author and launched by a tiny publisher, will be the must-read for 20; "Lawrence Donegan, "America's most wanted: The Time Traveler's Wife, written by an unknown author and launched by a tiny publisher, will be the must-read for 20 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "The Time Traveler's Wife" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Andrew Billen, "Success was all a matter of time ", The Times (28 March 2006). Retrieved 10 May 2009.; Lisa Allardice, "A kind of magic ", The Guardian (10 October 2005). Retrieved 25 April 2009. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "The Time Traveler's Wife" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Lawrence Donegan, "America's most wanted: The Time Traveler's Wife, written by an unknown author and launched by a tiny publisher, will be the must-read for 20; Heidi Benson, " ", The San Francisco Chronicle (28 September 2003). Retrieved 25 April 2009.; "Lawrence Donegan, "America's most wanted: The Time Traveler's Wife, written by an unknown author and launched by a tiny publisher, will be the must-read for 20; Heidi Benson, " ", The San Francisco Chronicle (28 September 2003). Retrieved 25 April 2009. (we also read that sou en.wikipedia.org
  9. "Lawrence Donegan, "America's most wanted: The Time Traveler's Wife, written by an unknown author and launched by a tiny publisher, will be the must-read for 20. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com
  10. Lisa Allardice, "A kind of magic ", The Guardian (10 October 2005). Retrieved 25 April 2009.. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com
  11. Wikipedia, "The Time Traveler's Wife" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kate Zambreno, "Woman on the Edge of Time", The Independent (23 January 2004). Retrieved 25 April 2009.; Kristina Tom, "Lady in waiting no more", The Straits Times (23 July 2006). LexisNexis (subscription required). Retrieved 25 April 2009.; Andrew Billen, "Success was all a matter of time ", The Times (28 March 2006). Retrieved 10 May 2009. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  12. Wikipedia, "The Time Traveler's Wife" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Dan Falk, In Search of Time: The Science of a Curious Dimension (New York: Macmillan, 2008), p. 197.; Lee-Potter, Charlie (18 January 2004). "The Time-Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger". The Independent. Retrieved 25 April 2009.; Natasha Walter, "Back to the future ", The Guardian (31 January 2004). Retrieved 25 April 2009.; Lisa Allardice, "A kind of magic ", The Guardian (10 October 2005). Retrieved 25 April 2009. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  13. Wikipedia, "The Time Traveler's Wife" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Natasha Walter, "Back to the future ", The Guardian (31 January 2004). Retrieved 25 April 2009. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  14. Natasha Walter, "Back to the future ", The Guardian (31 January 2004). Retrieved 25 April 2009.. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com
  15. Wikipedia, "The Time Traveler's Wife" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Molly Driscoll, "The Time Traveler's Wife Gets a Sequel", The Christian Science Monitor, 24 September 2013; "I am Audrey Niffenegger, artist and writer of The Time Traveler's Wife, Her Fearful Symmetry, and Raven Girl. AMA!", 13 February 2014; "Audrey Niffenegger @AANiffenegger Replying to @klphoen 1:34 PM · Jun 1, 2022", Twitter; "Audrey Niffenegger to release long-awaited sequel to 'The Time Traveler's Wife'", Associated Press, 2026-01-30 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  16. Molly Driscoll, "The Time Traveler's Wife Gets a Sequel", The Christian Science Monitor, 24 September 2013. facts only, no text reused. csmonitor.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article The Time Traveler's Wife (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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