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.

Epic Adventure Through Time & History

Miss Bristol Rents a Room is an epic historical time travel fantasy that combines fascinating archaeological history, memory loss, self-discovery, and star-crossed love.

The story begins in 2025 Brooklyn, where Miss Bristol, a young woman, appears out of nowhere dressed in early 20th-century clothing and has no memory of her past. She’s completely disoriented by the world around her—the cars, the phones, the noise, the pace of everything. With the help of a friendly old man, Ben, she rents a small room from a kind landlady, Mrs. Wiggins. As fragments of her memory surface, she recalls her life in 1910 as a scholar working on an archaeological dig in Teotihuacan, Mexico. There she was connected to a lost love and mysterious artifacts with hidden powers!

Miss Bristol is a curious, highly intelligent, and resilient protagonist that readers will easily become emotionally invested in. Her desperate need to make sense of her memory loss and the foreign, modern world gives her a depth that feels authentic and compelling. All of the relationships she builds in the modern world begin as fated connections and slowly lead her to a journey of rediscovering her true identity. Ben quickly becomes a steady and compassionate presence in her life and helps to ground her in the modern world. Miss Bristol’s relationship with her landlady, Mrs. Wiggins is one of the emotionally resonant parts of the story and their relationship quickly evolves from landlady and tenant to something like family—the found family trope is strongly pronounced here and will pull at readers’ heartstrings!

The story is told through multiple POVs, but mostly from Miss Bristol’s perspective in present-day and in 1910. Miss Bristol’s past and present POVs give readers a lot of insight into her true identity and the mysterious artifacts—and readers often know more than the characters about how everything is interconnected! The story spans three major timelines: 2025, where Miss Bristol first appears and begins her journey of self-discovery; 1910 Brooklyn, NY, and Teotihuacan, Mexico, where Miss Bristol is a young anthropologist on an archaeological dig; and 1968, where a man suddenly appears in New York City with amnesia, very similar to Miss Bristol in 2025!

The author also does a wonderful job blending historical facts with fiction, making the story feel immersive and believable—particularly regarding the archaeological dig in Mexico. Firstly, Miss Bristol’s and the professors’s journey from New York City to the Teotihuacan archaeological site in 1910 is depicted with a lot of historical authenticity—they travel via steamship across the Atlantic, they take trains (of that era) to Mexico City, and then they travel by horse-drawn carriages and mules to reach the Teotihuacan site. It’s a fascinating, immersive journey that will vividly transport readers back to the era. Their dig site at Teotihuacan is a real pre-Columbian Mesoamerican city—and actual archeological sites like the Temple of the Feathered Serpent and the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon are not only referenced but described in great detail, which shows the level of research that was done in writing this book!

The story has great pacing from start to finish—the early chapters hook readers with the mystery of Miss Bristol’s arrival and her getting settled in 2025. The midsection only slows pacing when exploring her past (in detail), the archaeological expedition, her relationships, and the stakes surrounding the mysterious artifacts. The ending ties all the threads and timelines of the story together in an unpredictable and immensely satisfying way! It’s the kind of ending that will leave readers reflecting on the story long after the final page!


NARRATOR PERFORMANCE:

The audiobook of Miss Bristol Rents a Room is an immersive, compelling listen narrated by Gillian Wiggin, a voice actress known for her engaging performances in different book genres.

Wiggin portrays the protagonist, Miss Bristol, with an intelligent-sounding, curious voice that has a more formal tone, reminiscent of how women spoke in the early 20th century, bringing the character fully to life and making her very endearing! By adding small cracks to her voice and an undertone of unease when Miss Bristol is at first in the modern world, Wiggin conveys the character’s vulnerability and wonder as she navigates a world she doesn’t recognize. In the 1910 timeline, Wiggin subtly shifts her tone to give Miss Bristol an air of confidence and ambition, giving listeners a sense of her authentic self.

In contrast, Wiggins portrays Ben with a warm, gentle voice that makes him feel trustworthy and familiar. The dialogue between Miss Bristol and Ben is one of the highlights of the story, and their heartfelt, friendly chemistry is evident from their first encounter. Mrs. Wiggins is given a kind, no-nonsense voice with a touch of dry humor, perfectly capturing the empathetic woman who not only gives Miss Bristol a chance to rent her room but also helps her settle into modern life. The surrogate family dynamic that Miss Wiggins and her son Silas provide Miss Bristol is extremely heartwarming.

Wiggin paces the narration well throughout. During introspective inner monologues and descriptions of the archaeological dig site, Wiggin slows the pace so listeners can absorb the details without feeling rushed or overwhelmed. During confrontational and travel sequences, Wiggins uses faster pacing and a wider vocal range to maximize the tension and excitement the characters are experiencing—and it all feels very immersive and cinematic! Wiggin’s use of distinct voices for the large cast of characters not only helps differentiate them but also makes it easier for listeners to follow the shifting timelines and perspectives and remain engaged throughout the entire audiobook!