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The Doctor’s Famous Literary Friends

Throughout the Doctor’s many adventures, they’ve met writers, met literary heroes, and have even been trapped in a universe made entirely out of fiction!

To celebrate International Literacy Day, here are five famous authors and playwrights that the Doctor has teamed up with to save the day!


Charles Dickens vs Ghosts
The Unquiet Dead

Aiming to take Rose to Naples in 1860, the Doctor accidentally landed in Cardiff on Christmas Eve 1869 – and it was lucky he did! Ghoulish gaseous creatures called the Gelth had gatecrashed a reading by Charles Dickens. Appropriately enough, he was reading from A Christmas Carol at the time!

From one ghostly tale to another, the Doctor and Rose teamed up with Dickens to uncover the truth about the Gelth. It quickly became apparent that not everything was as it first appeared to be…


Agatha Christie solves a murder
The Unicorn and the Wasp

In another case of being caught up in an author’s work, the Doctor and Donna found themselves in a murder mystery with Agatha Christie. Donna couldn’t believe it! Murder, love, betrayal. It had all the hallmarks of one of Agatha’s novels.

However, it wasn’t just the murders that they had to get to the bottom of. History said that tomorrow, Agatha would disappear for 11 days. The Doctor and Donna were about to discover why…


King James hunts for witches
The Witchfinders

At first glance, King James I (aka King James VI of Scotland) might not seem like an obvious choice for a list of writers. However, he was responsible for one of the most influential books ever written, the King James Bible. His zealous approach to hunting witches in Lancashire put him at odds with the Doctor, as his actions led to innocent people being killed.

It wasn’t just the King’s fervour that the Doctor had to deal with, as the muddy Morax had escaped from their prison, and were scheming to release their own king!


Shakespeare's play is the thing!
The Shakespeare Code

The greatest wordsmith who ever lived, up against aliens that used words as weapons! When the Doctor and Martha met the Bard, he was in the middle of writing Love’s Labour’s Won, the sequel to his play Love’s Labour’s Lost. For the Carrionites, the trio of word wielding aliens who looked like witches, the play really was the thing!

They planned to use it to summon the rest of the Carrionites on the opening night of Love’s Labour’s Won. As the play began, the Carrionites made their grand entrance, pursued by a Time Lord.


HG Wells takes a trip in a time machine
Timelash

While the other entries on this list took place on Earth, when the Doctor teamed up with Herbert George Wells, it was for an adventure that was literally out of this world!

After an alien from the planet Karfel appeared in his cottage, Herbert teamed up with the Doctor and Peri to help liberate Karfel from its tyrannical ruler, the Borad. Herbert wanted to stay on Karfel afterwards, but the Doctor insisted that he return to Earth, as he still had a few books he needed to write.


Mary Shelley vs. The Modern Prometheus
The Haunting of Villa Diodati

In the isolated Villa Diodati on the shore of Lake Geneva, a legendary novel was created. What took place here inspired Mary Shelley to write Frankenstein, but first she needed to survive the night!

When Team TARDIS arrived, they were simply looking for shelter, but the Doctor quickly realised it was a night for mystery, as well as for horror. Something was stalking the halls of Villa Diodati. Something that was going to change the Doctor’s life forever.

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