Miss Bristol Rents a Room

De: Tom Hoffman

Narrado por: Gillian Wiggin

An epic historical time travel fantasy from the award winning author of The Translucent Boy.

Tom Hoffman's Miss Bristol Rents a Room is a quietly mesmerizing blend of historical mystery, time travel, and emotional rediscovery. The novel begins with an elegant young woman—dressed in 1910 fashion—stumbling into modern-day Brooklyn with no memory of who she is. Known only as Miss Bristol, her journey of piecing together the past gradually unveils a century-old archaeological secret, a lost love, and an alien artifact with the power to displace time itself.

Hoffman's writing is graceful and immersive, capturing the contrasts between eras with subtle humor and genuine warmth. Miss Bristol is a deeply likable heroine—poised, intelligent, and resilient. The novel explores grief, memory, and belonging through well-drawn characters like Silas, Sky, and the quietly heroic Arthur. The science fiction elements are understated but impactful, serving as a thoughtful backdrop to a very human story. With echoes of The Time Traveler's Wife and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, this is a novel that lingers long after the final word. Heartfelt, imaginative, and quietly profound.

This is Miss Bristol’s story, the remarkable tale of a woman born in 1885 who lost herself, found herself, and learned how to eat pizza like a New Yorker in 2025.

©2025 Tom Hoffman (P)2025 Tom Hoffman

A Scifi romp of the first order!

When I heard the opening epigraphs from Wells, Bohr and Campbell, I knew I was in for a fun one. Our story starts with a woman randomly appearing in Brooklyn dressed in Gilded Age garb and with absolutely no memory. Drawn to specific people and locations, she seems to have an interesting connection to Meso America…and then we jump to discover a man, in the same alley, with no memory and a certain connection to Brooklyn and Meso America.

The mystery takes us across continents, timelines— and perhaps galaxies—and comes together with a synchronicity that feels like kismet. The characters are well drawn and incredibly performed by the narrator, Gillian Wiggin. There are twists that are satisfying because you feel them coming, and some that are absolutely shocking. The experiences and slow path to recovered memory are incredibly well written, and it is delicious that we get to experience that more than once and in different time periods.

Honestly, I can’t wait to listen again and find the threads that the author buried so well in the opening.