The Wold Newton family is a literary concept derived from a form of

crossover fiction A crossover is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders (known as intercompany ...

developed by the American

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

writer

Philip José Farmer Philip José Farmer (January 26, 1918 – February 25, 2009) was an American author known for his science fiction and fantasy fiction, fantasy novels and short story, short stories. Obituary. Farmer is best known for two sequences of novels, t ...

Origins

In real life a meteorite, called the

Wold Cottage meteorite The Wold Cottage meteorite (also called the Wold Newton meteorite) fell near Wold Cottage farm in 1795, a few miles away from the village of Wold Newton, East Riding of Yorkshire, Wold Newton in Yorkshire, England. The meteorite The stone fell ...

, fell near Wold Newton,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, England, on December 13, 1795. Farmer suggested in two fictional biographies, '' Tarzan Alive: A Definitive Biography of Lord Greystoke'' (1972) and '' Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life'' (1973) that this meteorite caused

gene In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...

tic

mutation In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Viral genomes contain either DNA or RNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA or viral replication, ...

s in the occupants of two passing coaches due to ionization. Many of their descendants were thus endowed with extremely high intelligence and strength, as well as an exceptional capacity and drive to perform good or, as the case may be, evil deeds. The progeny of these travellers are purported to have been the real-life originals of fictionalised characters, both heroic and villainous, over the last few hundred years.

Members

As well as

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Creat ...

and

Doc Savage Doc Savage is a fictional character of the competent man hero type, who first appeared in American pulp magazines during the 1930s and 1940s. Real name Clark Savage Jr., he is a polymathic scientist, explorer, detective, and warrior who "right ...

, both

Lord Peter Wimsey Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey (later 17th Duke of Denver) is the fictional protagonist in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers (and their continuation by Jill Paton Walsh). A amateur, dilettante who solves myst ...

and

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

are descendants of the original families. Other popular characters included by Farmer as members of the Wold Newton family are

Solomon Kane Solomon Kane is a fictional character created by the pulp-era writer Robert E. Howard. A late-16th-to-early-17th century Puritan, Solomon Kane is a somber-looking man who wanders the world with no apparent goal other than to vanquish evil in al ...

; Captain Blood;

The Scarlet Pimpernel ''The Scarlet Pimpernel'' is the first novel in a series of historical fiction by Baroness Orczy, published in 1905. It was written after her stage play of the same title (co-authored with her husband Montague Barstow) enjoyed a long run in Lo ...

; Sherlock Holmes's nemesis

Professor Moriarty Professor James Moriarty is a fictional character and criminal mastermind created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to be a formidable enemy for the author's fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. He was created primarily as a device by which Doyle could ...

;

Phileas Fogg Phileas Fogg ( ) is the protagonist in the 1872 Jules Verne novel '' Around the World in Eighty Days''. Inspirations for the character were the American entrepreneur George Francis Train and American writer and adventurer William Perry Fogg ...

; The Time Traveller (main character of ''

The Time Machine ''The Time Machine'' is an 1895 dystopian post-apocalyptic science fiction novella by H. G. Wells about a Victorian scientist known as the Time Traveller who travels to the year 802,701. The work is generally credited with the popularizati ...

'' by

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...

);

Allan Quatermain Allan Quatermain is the protagonist of H. Rider Haggard's 1885 novel ''King Solomon's Mines'', its one sequel '' Allan Quatermain'' (1887), twelve prequel novels and four prequel short stories, totalling eighteen works. An English professio ...

; A. J. Raffles;

Professor Challenger George Edward Challenger is a fictional character in a series of fantasy and science fiction stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Unlike Doyle's self-controlled, analytical character, Sherlock Holmes, Professor Challenger is an ...

;

Richard Hannay Major-General Sir Richard Hannay, KCB, OBE, DSO, is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist John Buchan and further made popular by the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film '' The 39 Steps'' (and other later film adaptations), very loosely b ...

;

Bulldog Drummond Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond is a fictional character, created by H. C. McNeile and published under his pen name "Sapper". Following McNeile's death in 1937, the novels were continued by Gerard Fairlie. Drummond is a First World War veteran who ...

; the evil

Fu Manchu Dr. Fu Manchu ( zh, t=傅滿洲/福滿洲, p=Fú Mǎnzhōu) is a supervillain who was introduced in a series of novels by the English author Sax Rohmer beginning shortly before World War I and continuing for another forty years. The character f ...

and his adversary,

Sir Denis Nayland Smith Denis Nayland Smith is a character who was introduced in the series of novels Dr. Fu Manchu by the English author Sax Rohmer. He is a rival to the villain Dr. Fu Manchu. History The character of Denis Nayland Smith was created in 1912 by Sax Ro ...

; G-8;

The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by American magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by Gibs ...

;

Sam Spade Sam Spade is a fictional character and the protagonist of Dashiell Hammett's 1930 novel '' The Maltese Falcon''. Spade also appeared in four lesser-known short stories by Hammett. ''The Maltese Falcon'', first published as a serial in the pulp ...

; Doc Savage's cousin

Patricia Savage Starting with the first Doc Savage story in 1933 and running throughout the pulp adventures, a group of recurring characters appeared either as Doc's supporting cast or antagonists. B Brigadier General Theodore Marley "Ham" Brooks Ham Brooks ...

and one of his five assistants, Monk Mayfair;

The Spider The Spider is an American pulp-magazine hero of the 1930s and 1940s. The character was created by publisher Harry Steeger and written by a variety of authors for 118 monthly issues of '' The Spider'' from 1933 to 1943. ''The Spider'' sold well ...

;

Nero Wolfe Nero Wolfe is a brilliant, obese and eccentric fictional armchair detective created in 1934 by American mystery (fiction), mystery writer Rex Stout. Wolfe was born in Principality of Montenegro, Montenegro and keeps his past murky. He lives in a ...

; Mr. Moto; The Avenger;

Philip Marlowe Philip Marlowe ( ) is a fictional character created by Raymond Chandler who was characteristic of the hardboiled crime fiction genre. The genre originated in the 1920s, notably in '' Black Mask'' magazine, in which Dashiell Hammett's The Cont ...

;

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

;

Lew Archer Lew Archer is a fictional character created by American-Canadian writer Ross Macdonald, a private detective working in Southern California. Between the late 1940s and the early '70s, the character appeared in 18 novels and a handful of shorter w ...

;

Travis McGee Travis McGee is a fictional character, created by American mystery writer John D. MacDonald. McGee is neither a police officer nor a private investigator; instead, he is a self-described "salvage consultant" who recovers others' property fo ...

;

Monsieur Lecoq Monsieur Lecoq is a fictional detective created by Émile Gaboriau, a 19th-century French writer and journalist. Monsieur Lecoq is employed by the French Sûreté. The character is one of the pioneers of the genre and a major influence on She ...

; and

Arsène Lupin Arsène Lupin () is a fictional gentleman thief and master of disguise created in 1905 by French writer Maurice Leblanc. The character was first introduced in a series of short stories serialized in the magazine '' Je sais tout''. The first ...

Universe

The Wold Newton Universe (or WNU) is a term coined by Win Scott Eckert to denote an expansion of Philip José Farmer's original Wold Newton Family concept (introduced in ''Tarzan Alive''

972 Year 972 ( CMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – Emperor John I Tzimiskes divides the Bulgarian territories, recently held by the Kievan Rus', into six ...

. Eckert introduced the term in 1997 on his website, ''An Expansion of Philip José Farmer's Wold Newton Universe''. Eckert and others use Farmer's concept of the Wold Newton Family as a unifying device and to expand the universe that the Wold Newton Family inhabits by including essays in the vein of the Sherlockian "Game", in which theories are proposed and supported by supplying contextual background information and persuasive argument; by writing fiction authorized by Farmer and Farmer's Estate which adds elements and characters to the Wold Newton Family and/or the WNU; by writing other fiction which contains "Easter egg" references to the Wold Newton Family or the WNU, or which otherwise expands the overall mythos; and by documenting crossovers between fictional characters from various media and genres. Characters incorporated into the WNU are not necessarily blood relatives, descendants, or ancestors of the coach travelers present at the 1795 Wold Cottage meteor strike, but these characters all exist in the same shared fictional universe. Farmer himself penned a number of stories and novels set in what is now termed the Wold Newton Universe; not all characters in Farmer's Wold Newton fiction are core members of the Wold Newton Family, but all are linked into the larger WNU via connections with Farmer's primary Wold Newton Family works, ''Tarzan Alive'' and ''Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life''.

Depowering superheroes

Among the membership of the WNU are comic book superheroes and supervillains whose published exploits, by their very nature, often prove difficult to reconcile with Farmer's original framework. WNU's root conceit has always been that characters known by the reader as fictional actually lived or are yet living, with their adventures based on true events embroidered by the genre authors who serve as their "biographers". Therefore, in order for aspects of larger fictional universes to adhere to WNU's overall continuity and believability, certain accounts of these new characters' lives have been labeled as a distortion of actual events or dismissed as complete fabrication.

Additional genres

Eckert and other post-Farmerian authors—admirers of Farmer's Wold Newton biographies and fiction who write in Eckert's vein—have published numerous further fictional characters in many literary styles and media, including works emulating the aesthetics of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

, Romantic and

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

eras; such

subgenre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

s of

prose fiction Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, plays, and poems. It includes both print and digital writing. In recent centuries, ...

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

and

steampunk Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and Applied arts, aesthetics inspired by, but not limited to, 19th-century Industrial Revolution, industrial steam engine, steam-powered machinery. Steampun ...

; the

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful bei ...

mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

and

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

categories of

traditional stories Traditional stories, or narrative, stories about traditions, differ from both fiction and nonfiction in that the importance of transmitting the story's worldview is generally understood to transcend an immediate need to establish its categorization ...

; publication formats like the

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

, the comic book, the

pulp magazine Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 until around 1955. The term "pulp" derives from the Pulp (paper), wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed, due to their ...

and the

penny dreadful Penny dreadfuls were cheap popular Serial (literature), serial literature produced during the 19th century in the United Kingdom. The pejorative term is roughly interchangeable with penny horrible, penny awful, and penny blood. The term typical ...

; and the non-print media of motion pictures, television shows, radio programs and video games.

References

The expanded WNU is documented in articles by WNU experts on the various WNU-themed websites; in ''Myths for the Modern Age: Philip José Farmer's Wold Newton Universe'' (edited by Win Scott Eckert,

MonkeyBrain Books MonkeyBrain Books (MonkeyBrain, Inc.) is an independent American publishing house based in Austin, Texas, specialising in books comprising both new content and reprinting online, international, or out-of-print content, which show "an academic i ...

, 2005, a 2007 Locus Award finalist); in various issues of ''Farmerphile: The Magazine of Philip José Farmer'', the prozine dedicated to and authorized by Farmer and published by Michael Croteau, webmaster of the official Philip José Farmer home pag

and in various stories, novellas, and novels authorized by Farmer or by Farmer's Estate, such as ''Tales of the Wold Newton Universe'' (edited by Win Scott Eckert and Christopher Paul Carey,

Titan Books Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of the British entertainment company Titan Entertainment, which was established as Titan Books in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cine ...

, 2013) and various books published by Meteor House. Going beyond the WNU is Eckert's ''Crossover Universe'', published in book form by

Black Coat Press Jean-Marc Lofficier (; born June 22, 1954) is a French author of books about films and television programs, as well as numerous comics and translations of a number of animation screenplays. He usually collaborates with his wife, Randy Lofficier ( ...

in two volumes in 2010 as ''Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World'', in which a massive continuity is created in a "six degrees" game of linked crossover stories. Eckert's ''Crossover Universe'' work is being carried forward by Sean Levin. The important distinction between a Wold Newton story and a crossover story is discussed at length by Eckert and Carey in their introduction to ''Tales of the Wold Newton Universe''.

List of works

* '' Tarzan Alive: A Definitive Biography of Lord Greystoke'' (1972) * '' Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life'' (1973) * ''

The Other Log of Phileas Fogg ''The Other Log of Phileas Fogg'' is a science fiction novel written by American author Philip José Farmer in 1973. Reviving the Phileas Fogg character created by Jules Verne, the novel has also been classified as steampunk and a parallel no ...

'' (1973) * '' Time's Last Gift'' (1972) * '' Hadon of Ancient Opar'' (1974) * '' The Adventure of the Peerless Peer'' (1974) * ''

Flight to Opar ''Flight to Opar'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Philip José Farmer, first published in paperback by DAW Books in June 1976, and reprinted twice through 1983. The first British edition was published by Magnum in 1977; it was reprinted b ...

'' (1976) * ''Myths for the Modern Age: Philip José Farmer's Wold Newton Universe'' (edited by Win Scott Eckert, 2005) * ''Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World'' Parts 1 and 2 (2010) * ''Tales of the Wold Newton Universe'' (edited by Win Scott Eckert and Christopher Paul Carey, 2013) * '' Farmerphile: The Magazine of Philip José Farmer''

Similar creations

An earlier proponent of this sort of fiction was William S. Baring-Gould, who wrote a fictional biography of Sherlock Holmes entitled ''

Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street ''Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street: A Life of the World's First Consulting Detective'' is a 1962 novel by William S. Baring-Gould. The book purports to be a biography of Sherlock Holmes. It is considered to be the "definitive" biography of Sherlo ...

''. In 1977 C. W. Scott-Giles, an expert in heraldry who served as Fitzalan Pursuivant of Arms Extraordinary, published a history of Lord Peter Wimsey's family, going back to 1066 (but describing the loss of the family tree going back to

Adam and Eve Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...

); the book is based on material from Scott-Giles's correspondence with

Dorothy L. Sayers Dorothy Leigh Sayers ( ; 13 June 1893 – 17 December 1957) was an English crime novelist, playwright, translator and critic. Born in Oxford, Sayers was brought up in rural East Anglia and educated at Godolphin School in Salisbury and Somerv ...

, who wrote at least two of the family anecdotes in the book, one of them in

mediaeval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and t ...

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

Warren Ellis Warren Girard Ellis (born 16 February 1968) is an English comic book writer, novelist, and screenwriter. He is best known as the co-creator of several original comics series, including ''Transmetropolitan'' (1997–2002), ''Global Frequency'' ...

's comic book series '' Planetary'' has a similar premise of fitting many different

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

, science fiction, and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

elements into the same universe. For the most part, constrained by the needs of the story and copyright, Ellis does not use the originals but rather his own re-interpretations of the archetypes. Author

Kim Newman Kim James Newman (born 31 July 1959) is an English journalist, film critic, and fiction writer. He is interested in film history and horror fiction – both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's ''Dracula'' at the age of eleven & ...

has stated that his ''Anno Dracula'' series was partially inspired by the Wold Newton family. The anthology series ''

Tales of the Shadowmen ''Tales of the Shadowmen'' is an American anthology of short fiction edited by Jean-Marc Lofficier and Randy Lofficier and published by Black Coat Press. The stories share the literary conceit, conceit of taking place in a fictional realm, fictio ...

'' edited by

Jean-Marc Lofficier Jean-Marc Lofficier (; born June 22, 1954) is a French author of books about films and television programs, as well as numerous comics and translations of a number of animation screenplays. He usually collaborates with his wife, Randy Lofficier ( ...

is also based on the Wold Newton concept and includes characters from French literature.

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', Swamp Thing (comic book), ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman: The Killing Joke' ...

did likewise in his ''

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen ''The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'' (''LoEG'') is a multi-genre, cross-over comic book series co-created by writer Alan Moore and artist Kevin O'Neill which began in 1999. The comic book spans four volumes, an original graphic novel, and ...

'' comic book (and its sequels). In this series, various Victorian-era literary characters meet and join the eponymous League; however, they are not descended from a single family. Over the course of the series, the world of the League incorporates many works of fiction from many different eras – not just Victorian literature – into its universe. Moore calls the Wold Newton stories "a seminal influence upon the League".Mondo Moore: Sinclair's Norton & Remembering Farmer
/ref>

References

External links

The official Philip José Farmer's home page

Philip José Farmer's Wold Newton Family
** {{DEFAULTSORT:Wold Newton Family Fictional families Fictional elements introduced in 1972 Crossover fiction