The time travel romance is a genre with a devoted fanbase, ever since the Outlander series. Interesting that so many readers (mostly women, I assume) were caught in the throes of a romance involving a handsome, learned man’s man who knew how to defend his woman. Also, the eighteenth century being a time we can crystallize and imagine as when a woman could be a real woman, unlike the gender confused present, when most are separated from nature, both its hard realities and pleasures. The Ministry of Time reverses the equation, bringing individuals from England’s past eras into the near future.

When a time travel machine is discovered and appropriated by the British government, the Ministry of Time is formed, overseeing the project of bringing a select group into the present for careful study. Five “bridges” are selected, people who will live with the people rescued from the past, tasked with assisting the travelers with their complicated adjustment, and carefully observing all aspects of their functioning and reporting back to the Ministry. Our narrator is a female, with a British father and Cambodian mother, previously working as a translator and civil servant, who remains nameless throughout (for reasons that later become apparent.) Each bridge has a handler, who monitors their progress, provides training where needed, and makes adjustments to the plan as more is learned about the travelers’ functioning.

The travelers selected include Thomas Cardingham, from 1645, the Battle of Naseby, during one of Britain’s civil wars; Margaret Kemble, from 1665, pulled from the Black Death epidemic; Anne Spencer, from 1793, snatched from the French Revolution; Arthur Reginald-Smyth, from 1916, snatched from the World War I Battle of the Somme; and Graham Gore, from 1847, pulled from a failed Royal Navy Arctic expedition. Our narrator is the bridge for Graham Gore, and their chemistry is apparent early on, made the more slow-burning by his early Victorian era manners and mores. As travelers, known as expatriates, learn of the modern era, and then socialize with one another to learn of each other’s eras, as have alot of material for humor, misunderstandings, and hilarious discoveries. Bradley makes great use of this, all the while advancing the plot and romance.

The further plot twists evolve into a Bond-like spy novel. Time travel stories can be very tricky plots to master, and the people who create the machine are not happy about having it stolen. If they are smart enough to create the machine, they are likely to be clever about getting it back. I will not say more, so as not to spoil the fun.

Bradley earns a “C+” for her first novel, mainly for character development, humor, and romance. The plot gets a bit jumbled when the puzzle pieces start coming together toward the climax. It fits together, mostly. She posits many common ideas about the future, validating the idea many of us believe, that we are teetering on the edge of the end of an era of plenty, even excess. All good things must end. I can see why Good Morning America selected this novel, a fun summer adventure. Fortunately, the author did not get too carried away with racial, gender, or colonization issues. Read for the fun of it— we need a little escapism right now.