Author's Notes on Fin de Siecle By Red Kettle

This episode has generated a lot of interest, so I have put together a few footnotes with the intention of providing a little more background detail and illuminating which parts are real and which fiction. I hope you like them.

TITLE

Fin de Si�cle can be roughly translated as 'end of the cycle' and is a term often used to describe the closing years of the 19th century.

OPENING QUOTE

As soon as I came across it, I thought Adlai Stevenson's remark about control of the future was just right for this episode. As Peter Watts says in 'The Time is Now' : "it was always about control".

TEASER

The Romney Marshes are a real place, and the meeting between Powers and Templeton is set on the day in 1918 when the armistice was signed at the end of World War One.

Seymour Street is a real street, adjacent to Hyde Park Corner in London. There were a number of spiritualist circles in existence in turn-of-the-century London, and they practised various forms of spiritualism, sŽance and 'table-knocking'. There was a keen interest at the time in speaking to the spirits of the recently-deceased. About 2 weeks pass between the teaser and the start of Act One.

ACT ONE

The London Scientific Society is fictional (as far as I know), but Lord Kelvin did give an address at this time about the 'end of science'. His remarks are paraphrased, but are in keeping with his overall argument.

Abermarle is named after James Abberline, the detective in 'From Hell', while Blaylock is named for James Blaylock, the author of 'Homunculus'. Their conversation is based on newspaper pieces from the years 1899 and 1900 which discussed the issues of the time. It seems apparent that many people really did think that the 1900s would be a golden age('la belle epoque'), without war or disease.

The two men discuss Frederic Furnivall and James Murray who were both real people involved in the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary (see 'The Surgeon of Crowthorne').

The unfortunate Mrs Browning ends up in the Royal Marsden, which is a real mental hospital.

Mr Wallace takes ship to Cape Town, which was a British colony at the time.

'The Met' is a common abbreviation for 'The Metropolitan Police', which was London's police force.

James and Emma's twins were born shortly after midnight on the 22nd of November 1899. When we see them here, they are about 18 days old.

ACT TWO.

Another 11 days pass between Acts One and Two. In that time, Beresford and Doyle have been investigating events following the incident at Seymour Street, without much luck. Beresford decides to expand the investigation, but needs a Detective Inspector to take 'official' charge of it.

Brendan Doyle is named after two people : Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes and also his namesake, the time-travelling hero of Tim Powers' novel 'The Anubis Gates'.

Abermarle remarks to Doyle that he's been 'dealing with this damned Fenian business', which is a reference to a campaign of bombing and insurrection carried out by the Fenian Society in the late 1890s to try and ensure Home Rule for Ireland. Doyle is an Irishman and reacts accordingly.

All the areas where the victims are found are real places in London and were rather run-down, low-rent places in 1899. They're much nicer now, I'm told. The finding of a mutilated body in Spitalfields, Whitechapel or Stepney in 1899 would not have been too far out of the ordinary, while discovery of the same in Whitehall, Knightsbridge or Kensington would have been front-page news.

There are several references to Jack the Ripper throughout the script - the events of ten years ago are still fresh in many Londoner's minds, especially as the killer was never brought to justice...

Thomas Powers is fictional, but is named after Timothy Powers, author of 'The Anubis Gates' (see above). Lord Salisbury is real, however, and was Prime Minister from 1895-1902. Permanent Private Secretary to the Prime Minister is a real civil service post which often involved trips from Whitehall to the (House of) Commons.

Mr Bishop is named after Lance Henriksen's character from 'Aliens'.

Doyle and Blaylock have met before, but Doyle fails to realise this until it's too late. Blaylock gets the list by sleight of hand.

The young Albert Einstein may well have been invited to address one of London's many scientific societies in 1900, but he did not in fact give a public lecture in Great Britain until 1927.

ACT THREE.

When Abermarle says 'The game's afoot, man!', this is an obvious reference to Sherlock Holmes.

Execution Dock was a real place at Wapping, on the banks of the Thames and was named for the executions carried out there in the past.

The predictions that Mary makes for Blaylock are based on real events in Germany following the First World War. I won't explain them in detail, but that word 'Voroponovo' does appear again.

Just before she disappears, Mary promises Abermarle that they will meet again.

The Belmont Club is fictional, but represents a fairly typical London gentleman's club of the time. The Strand police station is real.

ACT FOUR.

Powers' line about 'dreadful news from Ladysmith and Mafeking' refers to the two British settlements which were cut off and besieged in the war with the Boer Republics. They were eventually relieved in early 1900. The autumn of 1899 had included a period called 'The Black Week', in which the seemingly-invincible British Army had been defeated on three occasions.

Mary is revealed as one of the Family, who ran away from their settlement in Arles, France. Bishop is asking for Powers' help as 'our organisations have shared a common purpose for centuries', as referred to in 'Amanesis'. Mary McKenna is in fact Claire McKenna's great-great-grandmother.

In the meeting at the mansion, Powers intimates that he might know something about 'the Ripper fiasco' from 10 years ago. When Powers says 'Mr Lees has been very helpful', he's referring to one of London's better-known psychics, who was also involved in the Ripper case.

Powers' decision not to return Mary to the Family, in the interests of maintaining the balance, will eventually lead directly to a split with them in 1911. As Lara Means tells us in 'Amanesis', the two groups have shared a common purpose for almost a thousand years. After the split, it will be almost 90 years before members from the two groups meet again (Lara Means and Ben Fisher in 'Amanesis').

The Thule Society was a real organisation in Germany, founded in 1912 from the 'Germanenorden' movement. ItÕs possible that its philosophy may have informed some of Hitler's beliefs. Forerunners to this society were in existence in the late 19th century, although not under this name. Powers clearly believes that it is the intention of this society to bring on Ragnarok (the end of the world) and that it is obsessed with obtaining knowledge (and hence control) of the future.

Again, all of the predictions that Mary makes for Powers are based on real events of the first six decades of the 20th century, this time from Britain's point of view.

The news of the relief of Ladysmith was received in London on 1st March 1900, and sparked celebrations across the country.

Abermarle has been promoted to Chief Inspector by the start of 1900, but is still making waves, which forces Powers to take action. He reveals that Brendan Doyle is part of a Group pledged to protect the British Empire and the world, and offers to make Abermarle a member. Powers' final admission that 'this is who we are' strongly implies that this has all been part of a long-running struggle between the Group and the Thule Society for control of the 20th century.

Another 18 years elapse before the final scene in which we return to the Romney Marshes. It becomes clear that foreknowledge of the future does not always equate with control. Powers tells us that the Great War should originally have occurred in 1911, and that the Group merely managed to postpone it for three years. The prophecy indicates that a further war will break out in 1937, and the Group is determined to prevent this conflict. Powers reveals that the family split from the Group in 1911 after Mary's final disappearance.

I hope that these notes are helpful in providing a little more background on this episode for those who are interested.

Regards Red