John Meaney's "The Whisper of Disks": Technology for faster than light travel

This two track story traces the early life of a now 100+ year old woman in early 22nd century on one track, & that of her mysterious ancestors among the aristocrats of England in nineteenth century (or may be eighteenth!).

I found the former quite readable. Later might be enjoyed by someone familiar with feudal history of England; to me this part was utterly uninteresting.

Story summary.
Augusta Medora de Lauron is the heroine of the story - lives in US, traces roots to England. Most of the story is general human interest stuff - sf items are introduced at a completely unexpected point, & don't occupy many pages.

May be a third of the story is in nineteenth century - tracing palace intrigue, incestuous relations, & illegitimate babies.

Another third is a rather tender account of Augusta's childhood memories of her mother - the only blood relation she knew. This was the part I really liked.

Rest is her story - of a child prodigy, great inventor, entrepreneur, & physicist. Somewhere in this tale she discovers a refinement of the known structure of space-time. Initially a lab device is built to send an electronic signal a few feet away within lab but via another dimension. Towards end, an experimental spacecraft visits Alpha Centauri & returns in the blink of the eye.

Fact sheet.
The Whisper of Disks, short story, review
Author: John Meaney
Rating: B
Length: 11,000 words (approx)
First published: Oct 2002 issue of Interzone
Publication history.

This story is included in the following collections.

1. "The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twentieth Annual Collection". Anthology edited by Gardner Dozois.