--- product_id: 1363297 title: "Doomsday Book" price: "€ 11.48" currency: EUR in_stock: false reviews_count: 8 url: https://www.desertcart.nl/products/1363297-doomsday-book store_origin: NL region: Netherlands --- # Doomsday Book **Price:** € 11.48 **Availability:** ❌ Out of Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Doomsday Book - **How much does it cost?** € 11.48 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Currently out of stock - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.nl](https://www.desertcart.nl/products/1363297-doomsday-book) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Doomsday Book [Willis, Connie] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Doomsday Book Review: My modest understanding of what it must have been like to live in the 14th century has been much enriched - The Doomsday Book by the American author Connie Willis is an amazing, unique, captivating 600 page novel taking place in two times concurrently: near-future Oxford, England and a 14th Century medieval English village. Historian and Great Courses lecturer Teofilo Ruiz recommended this work to me and I’m glad he did – Doomsday Book is a terrific read. The novel is science-fiction in the sense that those 21st century Brits have the technology to place historians back in time via a sophisticated version of Mr. Peabody’s WAYBAC machine (recall the 1960s cartoon where Mr. Peabody, a bespectacled intellectual dog, and his adopted human son Sherman travel back through time and meet such historical figures as Cleopatra and Nero). Take my word for it here, Doomsday Book’s time-travel and parallel dramas will keep you turning the pages. And there are a lot of pages to turn, which prompts me to offer a couple of observations about reading longer novels. Really make the commitment by taking notes, creating outlines and sketching maps; a longer novel is a world unto itself and usually requires years for the author to complete. You will be honoring the integrity of the art form by devoting the needed energy to keep up with the details. The payoff is great: you’ll have the enjoyment of living for many hours in a vivid, fictional reality. Also, try listening to the audiobook as listening will open an additional dimension on the world created by the author, especially the various voices of the characters. Anyway, back on Doomsday Book. I wouldn’t want to say too much about the storylines and thus spoil for readers because this novel is simply too good and has too many unexpected surprises. Briefly, the time-traveler is an medieval historian, a young woman by the name of Kivrin, who has a thirst for first-hand experience of the 14th century. Her wish is granted and we join Kivrin as she travels to a small medieval village and develops a deep emotional connection with a number of the villagers, including 12 year old Rosemond, 6 year old Agnes, and Father Roche, the village priest. Kivrin is given a very real and direct experience as the villagers face challenges and live the cycle of their days and nights in a harsh, hostile, rustic world. By the time I finished the book, I had the feeling I also spent time living with these medieval men, women and children. The novel is that powerful. Meanwhile, back in 21th century Oxford, Kivrin’s mentor, a scholar by the name of Mr. Dunworthy, has his own problems with the time-travel technology and unfolding events at his school and in his town. He has to deal with an entire range of people, such as Mrs. Gaddson, an overbearing mother of one of the students, Mr. Gilchrist, a power-hungry academic, Colin, a precocious 12 year obsessed with the extremes of medieval history, Badri, a key technician for the time-travel machine, Montoya, an American Archeologist., not to mention a chorus of bell-ringers from America, including their headstrong leader. Again, I really got to know these people via the magic of Ms. Willis’s fiction. Like all first-rate literature, Doomsday Book provides insight into what makes us all human, our dealing with love and hate, with hope and despair, with the beauty of life and those ugly and disgusting parts of life. However, there is an added component in this novel: Kivrin, our main-character and heroine, lives in a medieval world with the knowledge and historical vision of the 21st century, which adds a real spice. What a fictional world; what a reading and listening experience (I also listened to the audiobook). My modest understanding of what it must have been like to live in the 14th century has been much enriched. Review: Fascinating and Intriguing Time Travel Novel - Time travelling novels have always piqued my interest, and I had heard of Connie Willis’ Hugo Award-winning novel, for quite some time via Book tube and online discussions, so the premise intrigued me. This also feels like a good “end of the year” , holiday kind of read because the alternating timelines both take place as Christmas is approaching. The novel concerns a young historian in 2054, Kivrin Engle, going back to the 1300s England during the Black Plague to do research. However, once she gets there, there are a host of problems and issues that must be dealt with both in present-day Oxford (2054) and the past (1348). There is a little bit of lifting due on the part of the reader, but I wouldn’t really call it heavy lifting. This being that we are not given much in the way of backstory/context into various terminology thrown around that are central to the story, that is words such as “drop” (the location of where the person arrives in a time period), and “slippage” (the shift in time that might not make the landing point in time exactly 100% accurate). That and the constant shifting in time. However, I think once the novel gets going, the readers can put the pieces together. There is a parallel structure to the plot narrative, as we traverse back and forth between the present (2054) and the past (1348) in chapters. One of the characters in the present day contracts a virus, but leaves a cryptic message “Something is wrong” to those who are looking after Kivrin’s mission to the past. However, this character is delirious and unintelligible, so the other characters, namely Professor Dunworthy, must scramble and try to decipher and put together what exactly went wrong when Kivrin was transported to the Middle Ages, all the while dealing with a pandemic. Meanwhile, in 1300s England, Kivrin also contracts a virus upon her arrival, and also realizes that something has gone terribly wrong with the timing of her arrival, the slippage. The conception of the novel is really genius and original to me, and I was fascinated to see how Kivrin would try to figure out her situation. She had studied up on language and dialect and understanding of the times prior to her departure, but once there, realizes she has a bit of a problem with communicating with the family who is helping her recover. She has a journal that she leaves (the Doomsday Book), which updates us on her progress and her findings and all the problems she is having. Once the big problem is realized, she must try to find a way to return. The book is well thought out and explored, but for my money, I would have liked quite a bit more of time spent and dedicated to the past in the novel with Kirvin and her situation with the family and those who found her, and less in the present, where characters are scrambling around frantically dealing with the pandemic and trying to contact people to figure out what to do. The novel digs into such themes as dealing with viruses and human suffering, but also faith, and hope and resilience, and we see this play out more as the novel progresses. There are some interesting characters as well, such as Father Roche. At any rate, it’s a fascinating look into time travel, the complexities that one must deal with, and has that historical aspect that makes it an intriguing experience. Willis wrote several other time travel novels, and I have them now on my to-read radar. Fans of time travel novels should give this one a try for sure. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #567,445 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #413 in Time Travel Fiction #856 in Science Fiction Crime & Mystery #3,731 in Literary Fiction (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars (6,798) | | Dimensions | 4.14 x 1.2 x 6.81 inches | | ISBN-10 | 0553562738 | | ISBN-13 | 978-0553562736 | | Item Weight | 10.4 ounces | | Language | English | | Part of series | Oxford Time Travel | | Print length | 592 pages | | Publication date | August 1, 1993 | | Publisher | Spectra | ## Images ![Doomsday Book - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/718k3NSEYfL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ My modest understanding of what it must have been like to live in the 14th century has been much enriched *by G***L on April 6, 2014* The Doomsday Book by the American author Connie Willis is an amazing, unique, captivating 600 page novel taking place in two times concurrently: near-future Oxford, England and a 14th Century medieval English village. Historian and Great Courses lecturer Teofilo Ruiz recommended this work to me and I’m glad he did – Doomsday Book is a terrific read. The novel is science-fiction in the sense that those 21st century Brits have the technology to place historians back in time via a sophisticated version of Mr. Peabody’s WAYBAC machine (recall the 1960s cartoon where Mr. Peabody, a bespectacled intellectual dog, and his adopted human son Sherman travel back through time and meet such historical figures as Cleopatra and Nero). Take my word for it here, Doomsday Book’s time-travel and parallel dramas will keep you turning the pages. And there are a lot of pages to turn, which prompts me to offer a couple of observations about reading longer novels. Really make the commitment by taking notes, creating outlines and sketching maps; a longer novel is a world unto itself and usually requires years for the author to complete. You will be honoring the integrity of the art form by devoting the needed energy to keep up with the details. The payoff is great: you’ll have the enjoyment of living for many hours in a vivid, fictional reality. Also, try listening to the audiobook as listening will open an additional dimension on the world created by the author, especially the various voices of the characters. Anyway, back on Doomsday Book. I wouldn’t want to say too much about the storylines and thus spoil for readers because this novel is simply too good and has too many unexpected surprises. Briefly, the time-traveler is an medieval historian, a young woman by the name of Kivrin, who has a thirst for first-hand experience of the 14th century. Her wish is granted and we join Kivrin as she travels to a small medieval village and develops a deep emotional connection with a number of the villagers, including 12 year old Rosemond, 6 year old Agnes, and Father Roche, the village priest. Kivrin is given a very real and direct experience as the villagers face challenges and live the cycle of their days and nights in a harsh, hostile, rustic world. By the time I finished the book, I had the feeling I also spent time living with these medieval men, women and children. The novel is that powerful. Meanwhile, back in 21th century Oxford, Kivrin’s mentor, a scholar by the name of Mr. Dunworthy, has his own problems with the time-travel technology and unfolding events at his school and in his town. He has to deal with an entire range of people, such as Mrs. Gaddson, an overbearing mother of one of the students, Mr. Gilchrist, a power-hungry academic, Colin, a precocious 12 year obsessed with the extremes of medieval history, Badri, a key technician for the time-travel machine, Montoya, an American Archeologist., not to mention a chorus of bell-ringers from America, including their headstrong leader. Again, I really got to know these people via the magic of Ms. Willis’s fiction. Like all first-rate literature, Doomsday Book provides insight into what makes us all human, our dealing with love and hate, with hope and despair, with the beauty of life and those ugly and disgusting parts of life. However, there is an added component in this novel: Kivrin, our main-character and heroine, lives in a medieval world with the knowledge and historical vision of the 21st century, which adds a real spice. What a fictional world; what a reading and listening experience (I also listened to the audiobook). My modest understanding of what it must have been like to live in the 14th century has been much enriched. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Fascinating and Intriguing Time Travel Novel *by F***9 on December 20, 2025* Time travelling novels have always piqued my interest, and I had heard of Connie Willis’ Hugo Award-winning novel, for quite some time via Book tube and online discussions, so the premise intrigued me. This also feels like a good “end of the year” , holiday kind of read because the alternating timelines both take place as Christmas is approaching. The novel concerns a young historian in 2054, Kivrin Engle, going back to the 1300s England during the Black Plague to do research. However, once she gets there, there are a host of problems and issues that must be dealt with both in present-day Oxford (2054) and the past (1348). There is a little bit of lifting due on the part of the reader, but I wouldn’t really call it heavy lifting. This being that we are not given much in the way of backstory/context into various terminology thrown around that are central to the story, that is words such as “drop” (the location of where the person arrives in a time period), and “slippage” (the shift in time that might not make the landing point in time exactly 100% accurate). That and the constant shifting in time. However, I think once the novel gets going, the readers can put the pieces together. There is a parallel structure to the plot narrative, as we traverse back and forth between the present (2054) and the past (1348) in chapters. One of the characters in the present day contracts a virus, but leaves a cryptic message “Something is wrong” to those who are looking after Kivrin’s mission to the past. However, this character is delirious and unintelligible, so the other characters, namely Professor Dunworthy, must scramble and try to decipher and put together what exactly went wrong when Kivrin was transported to the Middle Ages, all the while dealing with a pandemic. Meanwhile, in 1300s England, Kivrin also contracts a virus upon her arrival, and also realizes that something has gone terribly wrong with the timing of her arrival, the slippage. The conception of the novel is really genius and original to me, and I was fascinated to see how Kivrin would try to figure out her situation. She had studied up on language and dialect and understanding of the times prior to her departure, but once there, realizes she has a bit of a problem with communicating with the family who is helping her recover. She has a journal that she leaves (the Doomsday Book), which updates us on her progress and her findings and all the problems she is having. Once the big problem is realized, she must try to find a way to return. The book is well thought out and explored, but for my money, I would have liked quite a bit more of time spent and dedicated to the past in the novel with Kirvin and her situation with the family and those who found her, and less in the present, where characters are scrambling around frantically dealing with the pandemic and trying to contact people to figure out what to do. The novel digs into such themes as dealing with viruses and human suffering, but also faith, and hope and resilience, and we see this play out more as the novel progresses. There are some interesting characters as well, such as Father Roche. At any rate, it’s a fascinating look into time travel, the complexities that one must deal with, and has that historical aspect that makes it an intriguing experience. Willis wrote several other time travel novels, and I have them now on my to-read radar. Fans of time travel novels should give this one a try for sure. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Apocalyptic!! *by L***R on March 13, 2026* The good, the bad, the selfish and the brave. A real adventure. This story was an interesting picture of what love and faith are. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.nl/products/1363297-doomsday-book](https://www.desertcart.nl/products/1363297-doomsday-book) --- *Product available on Desertcart Netherlands* *Store origin: NL* *Last updated: 2026-05-01*