The Panchronicon

In Short

When Copernicus Droop invites two New Hampshire sisters aboard the Panchronicon—a flying, time-navigating vessel that reverses history by orbiting the North Pole—their modest six-year journey goes wildly off course. Instead of revisiting their youth, Rebecca, Phoebe, and Copernicus tumble back to 1598. Landing in Elizabethan England, the travelers navigate historical mishaps, courtly politics, and romantic entanglements with figures like Francis Bacon, William Shakespeare, and Queen Elizabeth herself. Written as a satirical science-fiction farce, Harold Steele MacKaye’s tale endures for its eccentric technological premise, rich period slapstick, and whimsical blend of Yankee practicality with classic time-travel misadventure.

The Story

In May 1898, sisters Rebecca and Phoebe Wise lead quiet lives in New Hampshire, reading old letters and tending their garden. Copernicus Droop arrives with a extraordinary machine: the Panchronicon, an aerial vessel capable of navigating backward through time by flying rapidly around the North Pole. Though Droop merely intends to backtrack six years to alter a personal financial regret, and the sisters hope to relive their youth, an accident at the Pole causes the machine to overspeed. Trapped under immense centrifugal pressure, the travelers watch centuries slip away, finally crash-landing in the year 1598.

Separated near London, the trio faces the unfamiliar realities of Elizabethan life. Phoebe, whose youth and beauty allow her to adapt quickly, adopts the persona of a local maid, Mary Burton. She soon finds herself entangled in a genuine romance with Sir Guy Fenton, a nobleman facing political danger. Rebecca, armed with her umbrella, handbag, and uncompromising 19th-century propriety, refuses to adopt historical garb or bow to court customs, stoutly referring to the monarch as "Mrs. Tudor." Copernicus Droop, eager to turn a profit, attempts to secure patents from Queen Elizabeth for modern inventions he brought along, including a bicycle and an Edison phonograph.

Their actions immediately alter history. Francis Bacon, seeking an escape from debt collectors, encounters Droop and borrows modern clothing, eventually slipping into the Panchronicon himself. Bacon discovers modern books revealing Shakespeare's literary fame and hatches a plot to claim authorship of the plays, planting the seeds of the Baconian authorship theory. Meanwhile, Phoebe navigates perilous encounters at the Boar's Head Tavern and the Peacock Inn, relying on her knowledge of old family letters to evade provost guards and save Guy.

When Droop presents his 1898 New York newspapers and mechanical marvels to Queen Elizabeth, Her Majesty is initially furious at the prospective hoax. However, the courtiers, including Sir Percevall Hart, manage to divert her wrath using the strange music of the phonograph and fashion plates from the modern press. Rebecca directly confronts the Queen to demand safe passage home, while Phoebe's lover Sir Guy is cleared of treason.

After reclaiming the time machine, Droop brings the sisters back to the modern era, along with Guy Fenton. Settled back in New Hampshire, Guy and Phoebe marry, retaining their Elizabethan speech, while Rebecca delights in recounting her adventures at court to her young nephew.

How It Unfolds

The voyage begins Copernicus Droop convinces Rebecca and Phoebe Wise to join him aboard the Panchronicon for a short voyage into the recent past. Equipped with household goods, a phonograph, and Sunday newspapers, they ascend into the atmosphere and head toward the North Pole.

Shipwrecked in time An excess of speed near the pole causes the vessel to anchor tightly to the earth's axis while spinning uncontrollably. The extreme centrifugal force disables the crew, sending the ship plunging back three centuries into the year 1598.

Arrival in Elizabethan England Landing near London, the travelers scatter into a world of taverns, May-pole dances, and bull-baiting rings. Phoebe embraces the era as Mary Burton, while Rebecca scandalizes locals by maintaining her New England dress and direct manner.

Trading places with Bacon Desperate to evade bailiffs, Francis Bacon tricks Droop into exchanging clothes and gains access to the Panchronicon. Finding modern literature inside, Bacon schemes to steal Shakespeare's future fame, laying the groundwork for historical literary hoaxes.

Audience with the Queen Droop and his allies attempt to gain royal patents for the bicycle and phonograph. When Queen Elizabeth examines an 1898 newspaper, her initial rage over the apparent deception is softened by modern fashion plates and recorded music.

Return to the present After rescuing Phoebe's lover Sir Guy Fenton from royal guards, the party secures the machine and returns to modern New Hampshire, bringing Sir Guy along to begin a new life.

The People

• Phoebe Wise: A romantic eighteen-year-old New Hampshire woman who longs for adventure. In 1598, she falls deeply in love with Sir Guy Fenton, shedding her trivial coquetries to bravely protect him from political arrest and ultimately bring him back to the 19th century.
• Rebecca Wise: Phoebe's older, pragmatic sister who values her garden plants and strict moral standards above all else. She stubbornly resists historical immersion, confronting Elizabethan society and Queen Elizabeth herself with sharp Yankee practicality and an umbrella.
• Copernicus Droop: An eccentric inventor who operates the Panchronicon. Driven by commercial ambition, he seeks to patent modern technological marvels like the bicycle and phonograph in the 16th century, though his lack of technical understanding frequently lands him in trouble.
• Francis Bacon: The historical philosopher and statesman, who uses Droop to escape his debts and uncovers modern historical records, inspiring him to claim credit for Shakespeare’s plays.
• Queen Elizabeth I: The formidable sovereign who reacts with sharp fury to modern anomalies, yet remains susceptible to the charm of 19th-century fashion magazines and recorded sound.

In Its Own Voice

"The increased speed acting through the inclined aeroplane had caused the vessel to rise sharply, and the rope had raised the ring by which it was attached to the pole until it came in contact with the steel ball at the top..."

Copernicus Droop's mechanical adjustments send the aerial vessel spinning wildly around the North Pole, launching its passengers back through centuries.

"Waving her umbrella high above her head, Rebecca, still standing upright in the boat, was calling at the top of her voice: 'Hallo there! Mrs. Tudor! Stop the ship, will ye! I want to speak to Mrs. Tudor a minute!'"

Rebecca Wise causes a scandal on the Thames by hailing the royal barge as if addressing a small-town neighbor.

"'Is dated in 1898,' said Droop, solemnly. 'This here bike and phonograph won't be invented by anyone else for three hundred years yet.'"

Copernicus attempts to explain his future technology to an incredulous Elizabeth I during a tense royal audience.

What It's Really About

Beneath its comedic premise, The Panchronicon explores the absurdity of temporal displacement and the stubbornness of human identity. MacKaye satirizes both Victorian American provincialism and romanticized notions of the Elizabethan era. By placing ordinary New Englanders alongside giants of history like Bacon and Shakespeare, the novel questions how history is recorded, altered, and remembered. It lightheartedly skewers literary conspiracy theories—specifically the Baconian authorship debate—by attributing them to a literal temporal mix-up involving modern books left in a time machine. Ultimately, the story suggests that practical common sense, represented by Rebecca, can navigate even the most bewildering historical shifts.

Why Read It Today

The Panchronicon offers a charming, early example of American time-travel fiction that predates many modern tropes of the genre. Readers who enjoy Victorian humor, historical farce, and quirky science fiction will appreciate its absurd scenarios and snappy dialogue. MacKaye writes with a theatrical flair, contrasting broad Yankee dialect with grand Elizabethan rhetoric to great comedic effect.

The book does reflect its era's stylistic quirks, including heavy dialect writing ("hev," "gal," "ye") and deliberate period melodrama that can occasionally feel dated. Additionally, the plot relies heavily on improbable coincidences and lighthearted slapstick rather than hard science fiction mechanics. However, its energetic pace, visual humor, and inventive satirical twists—such as explaining the Shakespeare authorship debate through misplaced modern texts—make it a memorable, delightfully warm read for fans of early speculative fiction.

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