This week, my book club met to discuss The Lost Apothecary. Almost all found it deeply annoying. The past timeline—murder, poison, betrayal—had some narrative pull. But the present-day plot never got off the ground. Caroline, the modern lead, didn’t read like a person so much as a placeholder. Her husband cheats, she flies to London, finds a mysterious vial in the mud, and is somehow admitted to a graduate program at Cambridge despite having no real qualifications. We were also asked to believe she stumbled upon a major feminist historical discovery in a pocket of central London that property developers have mysteriously overlooked. None of it made sense. And beyond the implausibility, Caroline existed to echo the book’s point more than to embody a story. She wasn’t there to make choices. She was there to affirm a message—men betray, women rediscover themselves—and to marvel at the past while delivering her lines about empowerment on cue.
Dual timeline novels are everywhere right now, and it’s not hard to see why. The structure promises resonance: a secret from the past casts a long shadow, and a modern woman uncovers the truth and, ideally, something about herself. The past is usually intense and atmospheric. The present is designed to reflect or resolve. The goal, always, is to give the reader the feeling that history isn’t over—that it’s alive, unfinished, personal. But that promise falls flat when only one half of the novel feels inhabited.
When they work, these stories are a gift. Kate Morton, in The Secret Keeper, Homecoming, and, my favorite, The Forgotten Garden shifts between eras with confidence and purpose. Her historical settings are immersive and her modern storylines holds their own. Fiona Davis has written some excellent ones. This same book club loved The Lions of Fifth Avenue, where the lives of a librarian in 1913 and her granddaughter in 1993, both connected by the New York Public Library, are well explored. Lauren Willig’s The Summer Country takes place in Barbados, alternating between 1854 and 1812, and both timelines are equally fascinating.
Not all dual timeline novels achieve this balance. In The Golden Hour by Beatriz Williams, there is just too much going on and the stories are too dissimilar. In Ariel Lawhon’s I Was Anastasia, the chronology of the two timelines is baffling and just doesn’t work.
My issue is not, thus, with the structure itself. It’s with how often it’s used to compensate for thin material. Writers reach for a dual timeline when they don’t have enough plot for one era or when they want the historical storyline to feel “relevant” without having to do the work to make it immediate. Symmetry is used in place of depth and the the novel reads as a mirror rather than a window.
If the either timeline wouldn’t stand on its own, it doesn’t belong in the book. If the modern heroine is just there to marvel at the bravery of her ancestors, she’s not a protagonist—she’s a device. And if her only role is to confirm the lesson we were already being taught, the novel stops being a story and becomes a sermon. (I’ve yet to read a dual timeline novel where the present is better rendered than the past.)
I’d love to know what you think. Which dual timeline novels have stayed with you, and which ones made you wish the author had picked a lane? What makes one work across eras—and what makes you skim? Tell me which you love, which you loathe, and whether this structure still feels worth it.
The Outlander series works to perfection for me and many of my friends who are also great fans. Hurry up with No. 10, Diana!!
Still a winner for me too!
Two dual timeline stories I very much like are on sale today.
The Paris Apartment by Kelly Bowen is on sale for 2.99 here.
Homecoming by Kate Morton is on sale for 1.99 here.
I was going to recommend The Paris Apartment – it’s one of the few dual timeline books that I’ve read and I wouldn’t normally seek them out, but I like the author, and I’m so glad I read it!
If done well, dual times can tell a really good story. Two of my favorites are actually not romance: People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks, and Dream of Scipio by Iain Pears. And then there is Green Darkness by Anya Seton. I know I have read and enjoyed a few romances that utilized a dual timeline. I just can’t think of any right now off the top of my head. I don’t really consider Outlander as dual timeline, it’s more time travel. She goes back and forth between the two time periods, and there isn’t a separate future story line running parallel to the main story that happens in the past… it’s just a continuation of the main story. I would define dual timeline as having two separate casts of characters, each having their own story line, with the plot of the past having some type of impact on the present. You’re right, each story line has to stand on its own. The present time line can be used as a framing device for the events in the past. But the events in the present need to both rely on the past events and tell their own story. I don’t know if I explained that well, but there has to be some interconnection.
I think I agree that time travel plots are quite different than dual timeline. Dual timeline has different characters, operating in their own time and place; not the same characters in more than one point in time.
I immediately thought of Lauren Willig’s Secret History of the Pink Carnation – and much of the rest of that series – which I thoroughly enjoyed. Like many of the questions we consider here at AAR, it comes down to the quality of the writing. Talented writers can make almost anything work.
I must not read many of this type of plot, however, because nothing else (good or bad) is coming to mind.
I love this writing device, but as you say, it comes down to quality.
That series is the only one that sprang immediately to mind. It’s a fairly successful example of a dual timeline done well – and I’ll echo what pretty much everyone else has said here which is that it comes down to the execution as to whether it’s a trope I enjoy or not.
100 percent all about execution for me!
Wasn’t Possession by A. S. Byatt a popular example some years ago?
Yes. I adore Possession–the book was published in 1991! It’s a challenging but gorgeous read.
This is probably my oldest’s favorite book, or at least in the top ten. I really need to read it.
It’s amazing. I’ve read it twice and, at some point, will do so again!
oh that is a good one! That’s the thing, when it’s done well, I don’t realize it’s a dual timeline plot. I’m just completely immersed. If I notice, it means the writer hasn’t done their job.
I don’t usually seek out books with this structure for the same reason that I always avoided romantic sagas when they were popular: I don’t like reading about characters who I know are all going to be dead by the end of the book. I can think of one mystery which was compelling in two timelines: Robert Goddard’s Caught in the Light, although a lot of my enjoyment probably came from Michael Kitchen’s sublime narration. The solution of the mystery was pretty crazy but the past and present were both important and well integrated.
As nblibgirl said below, it comes down to the writing. For years, Susanna Kearsley used dual timelines and came up with some absolutely amazing novels utilizing this structure. Winter Sea is probably my favorite, but you can’t go wrong with anything she writes. Rachel Hore has written several, as has Melanie Dobson. Echoes by Erin Gray, Lady of Hay by Barbara Erskine . . . .honestly, I love these books when they are done well. Simone St. James is the queen of writing fantastic mysteries that often have dual timeline stories. Her The Sun Down Motel remains one of my favorite books ever.
Too often, however,this is used to cover thin writing, as you said. I’ve found that in more than a few mystery novels lately, where we get a detailed look into the past when the characters remembering snippets in real time would have sufficed.
I was going to mention Susanna Kearsley as an example of doing it right. The first book of hers that I read was Season of Storms. and in addition to playing with the timelines, it has such a gorgeous sense of place.
Her books are always lovely, and the historical portions are richly detailed. It’s a pleasure to dive into them.
I don’t usually like dual timeline novels, I remember reading the Night Circus I disliked that book a lot of people loved it I Didn’t get it .The only writer I liked the dual timeline perspective was books written by Anne Rice.
My memory could certainly be faulty, but I don’t remember that THE NIGHT CIRCUS had dual timelines. IIRC it wasn’t that one of the stories took place in one time period and the other in a different one. As I remember the book, it told the stories of the MMC and the MFC growing up separately but in parallel, starting when they were children and then showing them as adults when they finally met.
I just remember that I didn’t like it and it went backwards and forwards in time.The only thing that really stuck with me was the romance there was two ,one straight the other gay or a lesbian couple both ending pretty tragically.
A couple of my favorites are The Impossible Us (2022) by Sarah Lotz. The two lead characters talk to each other through their timelines. It’s more like alternate timelines. It’s very interesting. Love it. Another I thought of was Maybe in Another Life (2015) by Taylor Jenkins Reid, which is once again, more like alternate timelines since it has a Sliding Doors premise.
I do love Sliding Doors. I’ll have to check out that Reid.
Would PORTRAIT OF JENNIE, both the book and film, be considered dual timeline? I remember reading it and seeing the movie on TV when I was a teenager. At the time, I found it immensely romantic and tragic. Not sure what I’d think today.
Like anything, it depends on the skill of the author, my knowledge (or lack of) the subject matter or setting, and my mood.
I’ve enjoyed a couple by Jojo Moyes: The Girl You Left Behind and The Last Letter from Your Lover.
I don’t generally like then. I did like “One Day” narratively, though I hate the ending. There are very few books that need to be told this way. A handful of “twist” books or “reveal” books, and maybe a time travel book or two. But otherwise, it feels like a gimmick that comes down to the editor moving things around because they’re so used to “beats” being in specific places in the book. I think that as a reader, I’d just prefer a story, told linearly, that doesn’t adhere to the very canonical story structure.
I liked most of the dual timelines in Suzanne Brockmann’s early Troubleshooters series. Interestingly, it is one series where I liked the contemporary story more than the historical. I generally skim the historical sections on rereads.
Re the Lost Apothecary – I actually found the historical timeline to be mostly exposition and I found it boring. I actually enjoyed the modern day story so much better.
Usually I love Dual timeline stories. Now I want to write one of my own.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was wonderful, I thoroughly enoyed both timelines and I gave that book 5/5
I saw the Movie Possession by A S Byatt (with Gwyneth Paltrow) a long time ago and I really enjoyed that – both timelines. Must go back and read the book.
I also loved Sliding Doors, the movie, also with Gwyneth Paltrow,I liked both timelines, but I loved the potential for an HEA. This one is more of a what if she caught or missed the train. Still does the dual timelines, but they are both set in the modern day.
People of the Book by Geraldine brooks is another big favourite of mine.
Thats the style I want to write my dual timeline in. Someone finds a book or a manuscript and then the book goes into details of the history.
The Source by James Michener is in a similar style as well. Except those characters are digging up an archaeological site.
I am currently reading People of the Book for my book club!