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Wold Newton family

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The Wold Newton family is a literary concept derived from a form of crossover fiction developed by the science fiction writer Philip Jose Farmer. Farmer suggested in two fictional "biographies" of fictional characters, ("Tarzan Alive" and "Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life"), that a radioactive meteorite fell in Wold Newton, England in the late 18th century resulting in genetic mutations affecting the occupants of a passing coach. The progeny of these travellers were purported to have been the real-life originals of the semi-fictionalised characters, both heroic and villainous, in fiction over the last few hundred years, for example: Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, Doc Savage, Lord Peter Wimsey etc.

An earlier proponent of this sort of fiction was the Victorian cleric and novelist Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould who wrote a fictional biography of Sherlock Holmes.

The premise has subsequently been adopted by the graphic novelist Alan Moore in his series The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The comic book series Planetary has a similar premise of fitting many different superhero, science fiction and fantasy elements into the same universe.


Sites which explore the Wold Newton universe in more depth may be found at:

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