Anna Hanover

**Anna Hanover** is a character in Pulp Musicals. Anna is a colleague of John Herschel and is his intellectual equal. She features in The Brick Satellite and is played by Jaime Lyn Beatty.

## Background

At the age of nine, Anna joined her father on a voyage on his ship. During the voyage, the ship was thrown off course by a storm and as a result lost track of its location. The ship then crashed and was destroyed causing Anna to be thrown into the waves. While Anna was eventually rescued, her father died. Following this experience, Anna vowed to never allow another person to lose their place in the world.

Anna attended university with John Herschel. While there, Anna and John came up with the idea for the Brick Satellite and she helmed the operation of their plan in South America for almost three years. Anna considers the Brick Satellite to be her life's purpose.

## The Brick Satellite

Anna meets Rose, Samuel, Margaret and John upon their arrival in Township Number Nine. She excitedly greets John, calling him his nickname Herschey, while he greets her by her nickname, Nova. She then introduces herself to Rose, Samuel and Margaret. John and Anna then inform the rest of the group of the project they're working on in the township. They talk about their plans for a satellite made of brick that can be used by sailors to allow them to calculate their longitude while navigating. Anna also explains the reason she wants to build the satellite: her father died in a shipwreck after losing track of his location. Herschel and Anna then explain that in order to build the satellite they need to make twelve million bricks. Rose, Margaret and Samuel then agree to help.

Months pass as the group works at building the satellite. However, there is a problem with the clay the bricks are made from: it has too much lime in it which causes the brick to crumble. As well as this, damage is made to the flywheels which suggests that there is a saboteur within the township. One night when work has finished for the day, Anna, Rose and Margaret sit and drink together, toasting to Maria Cunitz a highly influential astronomer.

After months of work, the satellite is finally finished and the township celebrates with a party. While there, Anna gave a speech thanking everyone for their help. The next day, Anna and John watch as Rose paints the name Sagitta on the side of the satellite. However, they're interrupted by an attack from the town's governor Charles. Charles corners John and Anna and is about to shoot them but he is knocked out by Rose and her printing press plate. In order to avoid the attacking mercenaries, Anna, John and Rose climb the satellite and hide with Samuel and Margaret inside. Inside the satellite is dark but it is then illuminated by Margaret who begins to glow, much to Anna's confusion. However, Margaret's power also causes the ground to shake, causing the satellite to launch.

The satellite launches successfully and takes the group into orbit. As the group recovers from the shock of the launch, they begin to realize that they are trapped in the satellite and will likely die there. Anna then reflects on her life and reveals to her friends that she was on her father's ship when it crashed and barely survived. She then goes to be by herself for some time. As time passes, the air in the satellite becomes thin and the group passes out. When they come to, they find the Sagitta completely covered in vines and other plants. They move through the satellite and find Margaret speaking with a woman known as The Traveler. The Traveler's magic gives the group the opportunity to return to Earth but Anna chooses to remain on the satellite to log all the plants and look after the satellite. She thanks John and says goodbye to him and is left on the satellite while the others return to Earth.

## Personality and Traits

Anna is skillful, honorable and has a childlike sense of fun that brings out the best in those around her. She is also a born leader and is highly intelligent thriving in the fields of mathematics, astronomy and civil engineering.

## Skills

* **Mathematics-** Anna is highly skilled in the field of mathematics.
* **Astronomy-** Anna has a deep love and understanding of astronomy.
* **Civil Engineering-** Anna is very skilled in the field of civil engineering.

## Relationships

### John Herschel

John Herschel is Anna's good friend. The two met while at university and share a love of astronomy and physics with Herschel viewing Anna as his intellectual equal. They are very close, having nicknames for each other: Nova and Herschey. The two trust each other implicitly and know each other better than anyone else in the world. They also regard each other very highly and often work together as it makes their collective work better. Anna and John worked together in order to create the Brick Satellite.

### Rose Stratford

Rose Stratford is Anna's friend and colleague. The two have a lot in common due to being women within the incredibly male-dominated field of science. Alongside this, they both face sexism in the 1830s society in which they live. The two share a love of reading and are both highly intelligent. While Rose is somewhat jealous of the relationship Anna has with John, she does not let this taint her relationship with Anna and becomes one of her closest friends.

### Margaret Cavendish

Margaret Cavendish is Anna's friend and colleague. Much like Rose, Anna and Margaret have a lot in common due to being women in the field of science, as well as the sexism of their society. Margaret regards Anna's faith and love for the Brick Satellite very highly and as a result of this, is willing to donate her fortune in order to allow Anna to build the satellite. As a result of this, Anna has a deep love for Margaret and views her as one of her closest friends.

### Charles T Coram

Charles T Coram is Anna's enemy. After being assigned as governor of Township Number Nine, Charles had a number of ideas for what he wanted to use the land in the township for and viewed the arrival of the scientists as a hindrance to this. While Charles initially tolerated the scientists, Herschel leaving Anna in charge of the satellite project caused Charles to become angry with the project as he finds Anna incredibly irritating and less capable due to her being a woman. This causes Charles to begin to resent Anna, causing him to want her dead.

### Anna's Father

Anna's Father is the person Anna idolizes most in the world. She views her father in extremely high regard and will often speak of him as such. Her father's death is the main motivation for Anna and it leads to her creation of the Brick Satellite.

1. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfXF1P5CHT4&t=2s&ab\_channel=PulpMusicals