The Ministry of Time
Kaliane Bradley
Combining romance, historical fiction, thriller elements and a lot of humour makes 'The Ministry of Time' so much more than a classic science fiction story. Several people are plucked from the past in an experiment to see if it works and how they assimilate to present-day England. The story of their experiences looks at how refugees are expected to adapt to their host country and time. The central characters are Graham Gore, a real-life character from history who died in 1850 on a failed Arctic expedition (which we also learn all about), and an unnamed civil servant who is tasked with helping him to adapt. They fall in love, have divided loyalties, misunderstand each other due to cultural differ-ences, and have a series of adventures as they are pursued by agents from the future. Near to the end, we discover that the time travel has caused a surprising plot twist, so that some elements of the story are not what they seem.
References
The book was well received by the critics. The Guardian wrote that ‘the novel fizzes with smart observations about the absurdity of modern life, while taking on the legacy of imperialism and the environmental emergency. The review writer visited her in her home and picked up on a number of personal details that you can see back in the book.’ Kirkus Reviews describes it as ‘time-toying spy romance that’s truly a thriller’ and also ‘breathtakingly sexy’. The Washington Post was particularly impressed by how she creates the complex character of Gore from a photo and very little text in historical documents.Prizes
The novel was shortlisted for the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize and the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize. It was listed as a Barack Obama summer reading pick in 2024. It was named Dymocks Book of the Year, voted by Australian and New Zealand booksellers.Recommendations
- Wikipedia has a very extensive article on Franklin’s lost expedition of 1845 (see Sources).
- The time traveller’s wife by Audrey Niffenegger (2003) is a good example of a more traditional novel combining time travel and romance.
Bradley was inspired by the TV series The Terror during lockdown, which was in turn inspired by a novel by Dan Simmons of the same name. The latter is a fictionalised account of Franklin’s lost expedition to the Arctic.Kaliane Bradley’s award-winning short story Golden Years can be read here. It is very different from The Ministry of Time.
- The BBC have commissioned a screen adaptation of the book, but it is not yet known when it will be shown.
Arthur met the war poet Wilfred Owen in the trenches. ‘How could you think of poetry at a time like this?… He told me that poetry was the last thing that still made sense.’ Owen’s poems can be downloaded from Project Gutenberg (see Sources).
Sources
- Kaliane Bradley. Wikipedia, 2025b, July 24
- Franklin’s lost expedition. Wikipedia, 2025b, August 21
- The Terror (TV series). Wikipedia, 2025b, August 12
- Interview with Vanessa Chan from East City Bookshop
- Kaliane Bradley: The Waterstones Interview, Waterstone's Bookshop
- Interview on Bookpage.com
- M, K. Novel The Ministry of Time . Marmalade And Mustardseed. 2025, 14 May
- Poems of Wilfred Owens
- Allardice, L.: The Ministry of Time author Kaliane Bradley: ‘It was just so much fun’. The Guardian, 2024, 13 May
- THE MINISTRY OF TIME | Kirkus Reviews
- The Ministry of time is part Thriller, part romance and a lot of fun, Washington Book Review, 2024, May 3
