''Asylum'' is a

BBC Books BBC Books (also formerly known as BBC Publishing) is an imprint majority-owned and managed by Penguin Random House through its Ebury Publishing division. The minority shareholder is BBC Studios, the commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasti ...

original novel written by

Peter Darvill-Evans Peter Darvill-Evans (born 1954) is an English writer and editor. Early life He was born and lived in Buckinghamshire until he went to university, graduating in 1975 from University College, London with a degree in History. Career In 1976 Darvil ...

and based on the long-running British

science fiction television Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...

series ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

''. It features the

Fourth Doctor The Fourth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Tom Baker. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from the ...

and Nyssa (resulting in a slight temporal paradox as the Nyssa featured here comes from a time some time after she stopped travelling with the

Fifth Doctor The Fifth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Peter Davison. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from t ...

Plot synopsis

Alfric, the proctor of the Franciscan friary would be otherwise enjoying his life in the town of Oxford in 1278. However, one of his friars is missing and the town is being disrupted by a noblewoman and her traveling companion, a man calling himself 'The Doctor'. The missing friar turns up dead. Alfric teams up with the two newcomers to solve the mystery. Their efforts lead them to

Roger Bacon Roger Bacon (; la, Rogerus or ', also '' Rogerus''; ), also known by the scholastic accolade ''Doctor Mirabilis'', was a medieval English philosopher and Franciscan friar who placed considerable emphasis on the study of nature through empiri ...

, a famous scholar who has ties to Nyssa's technographical life. 2001 British novels 2001 science fiction novels Past Doctor Adventures Fourth Doctor novels Novels by Peter Darvill-Evans Novels set in Oxford {{DoctorWho-stub