Bid Time Return
A love story that transcends time.
Richard Matheson's 1975 novel Bid Time Return tells of a 1970s man who time-travels to romance a 19th-century stage actress he saw in a photo. The book was adapted into the 1980 film Somewhere in Time, which became the title for later printings. Matheson considered it, along with What Dreams May Come, his finest novel-length work.
Quick Facts
- Author
- Richard Matheson
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Genre
- Science fiction
- Publisher
- Viking Press
- Released
- February 24, 1975
- Format
- Print (Hardback)
- Pages
- 278 pp
Facts from the source article.
Background
Matheson became fascinated by a portrait of American actress Maude Adams at Piper's Opera House in Nevada while traveling with his family. He wondered what would happen if someone fell in love with such a photograph and could travel back in time. Much of the biographical information about the character Elise McKenna was based directly on Adams. The original title comes from a line in William Shakespeare's Richard II.
Plot
Richard Collier, a 36-year-old screenwriter diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, decides after a coin flip to spend his remaining days at the Hotel del Coronado. The novel is presented as a private journal he continually updates. He becomes obsessed with a photograph of famous stage actress Elise McKenna, who performed at the hotel in the 1890s. Through research, he learns she had an overprotective manager named William Fawcett Robinson, never married, and seemed to have had a brief affair with a mysterious man at the hotel in 1896. Richard becomes convinced it is his destiny to travel back in time and become that man. He studies ideas of time and believes he can hypnotize himself into 1896. After much struggle, he succeeds, experiencing disorientation and fear of being pulled back to the present. When he meets Elise, she immediately asks, "Is it you?"—explaining that two psychics told her she would meet a mysterious man at that time and place. He pursues a relationship without revealing his origin, adapting to the era's conventions. His daily headaches vanish, and he believes his memory of the future will fade. Robinson, suspecting Richard is after Elise's wealth, hires two men to abduct Richard and leave him in a shed while Elise departs by train. Richard escapes and returns to the hotel, finding Elise never left. They go to a hotel room and have sex. Later, Richard leaves the room, encounters Robinson, and after a brief struggle runs back inside. He picks a coin from his pocket, not realizing it is a 1971 coin; the sight of it thrusts him back to the present. The book ends with Richard dying soon after. A doctor claims the time travel was only a dying man's fantasy, but Richard's brother, who publishes the journal, is not fully convinced.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Bid Time Return published?
Bid Time Return was published on February 24, 1975.
Who published Bid Time Return?
Bid Time Return was published by Viking Press.
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