This is the setting for the Thursday Next series, as well as the Nursery Crime series.
The world setting is based on the United Kingdom of the 1980s; however, the timeline took a distinct detour. It is implied that this is because someone (perhaps the Goliath Corporation) has been using time travel to change history. While the ChronoGuards were instituted to prevent this, they appear to be deeply involved in perpetrating it.
A few of the differences:[]
- The Crimean War hasn’t ended
- None of the two World Wars happened
- There are no jet planes, Gravitube was invented instead.
- Dirigibles are common
- A large interest in classical literature
- Crimes involving book forging are high and lucrative
- A police force known as SpecOps that manages everything from werewolves to literary crimes.
- Do-it-yourself cloning kits that have re-introduced dodos as house pets.
- Wales is a socialist republic, celebrating 100 years of independence.
- Mammoth migrations occur
- Time-travel is possible
- Neanderthals
- Cheese smuggling, due to high taxation