Aviary Hall 3

Charlotte Sometimes

by Penelope Farmer

Release: September 1969
Format: Novel
Genre: Fantasy
Audience: Children
Content: Undetermined Time Travel
Original Language: English

Two young, boarding-school students—Charlotte in 1963 and Clare in 1918—swap minds through time every night, until one day the bed that’s causing all this magic gets moved to the hospital ward, and they are stuck in each other’s times.

— Michael Main

“But I’m not Clare,” Charlotte began to say hopelessly, then stopped herself, explanation being impossible, especially since this girl seemed to think so incredibly that she was Clare.

DEBUT

Charlotte Sometimes (Chatto and Windus, September 1969).

VARIANTS

3 English variants

TRANSLATIONS

4 translations

TAGS(SPOILERS!)

Time Periods

Circa AD 1900 to 1929: Clare’s time period
Circa AD 1960 to 1969: Charlotte’s home time

Timeline Models

Unexplained Timeline Model: There is some musing about whether the children in 1918 will grow up to adults that Charlotte knows in 1963, but nothing deep comes of it.

Time Travel Methods

Time Furniture: the bed

Themes

Mind Travel: Charlotte and Clare swap minds.
Stuck in Time: Eventually Charlotte and Clare are unable to swap back because Charlotte can’t sleep in the magic bed!

Real-World Tags

World War I: The war is in the background in 1918, and Armistice Day is celebrated.

TIME TRAVEL ITINERARY (SPOILERS!)

From in bed at a boarding school, 1963 ⋙ to 1918. Multiple round trips. Note: Charlotte goes from ’63 to ’18 and back multiple times.
From in bed at a boarding school, 1918 ⋙ to 1963. Multiple round trips. Note: Clare goes the other way.

INDEXER NOTES (SPOILERS!)

Audio Readings—We don’t know whether the 2013 audio reading, narrated by <a href='Hannah_Gordon'>Hannah Gordon</a>, differs from the earlier 1996 reading.