Multicultural Steampunk
The Victorian era was a time of unprecedented global interaction (yes, usually with unfortunate results). Miss Kagashi has devoted herself to exploring some of the wonderful (and usually non-British) dress, customs, and rituals of the time. If you need inspiration, go there!
For example, here is a wedding dress from the Magnes Collection:
Steampunk Rat
One of the special things about steampunk is that it covers literature, music, dress/jewellery, and art.
Here‘s an impressively intricate steampunk rat built by an artist. Deviant art has a lot of great steampunk art.
Thank you to the reader who emailed this to me.
Dark, exquisite steampunk: Cherie Priest
Cherie Priest
(This picture was taken from wikipedia.)
“Dreadnought”
Scott Westerfeld is the king of steampunk, and Cherie Priest is the queen. While Westerfeld is quite light and fun, Priest is dark, with strong horror elements (her zombies are truly awful).
The rest of this review has been moved to Comfy Chair, where I get paid for it.
What is steampunk?
To me, the question is simple. Steampunk is fiction inspired by the Victorian era (generally featuring steam technology) – and by “inspired by” I mean it is always deliberately anachronistic (especially in the area of fantastical tech). It is used to cover clockpunk (same thing, but pre-Victorian, when clock technology was the wonder of the age), and dieselpunk (post-Victorian, with lots of diesel tech especially zeppelins).
Here is an article on someone else’s take – featuring lots of great quotes. I’ve included this one because I agree with it:
Steampunk simply embodies a time and a place. The time… the late 19th century. The place… a steam powered world, where air travel by fantastical dirigibles is as common as traveling by train or boat (or submarine). A place where national interests are vastly different than our own version of history. A place where the elegant and refined are as likely to get pulled into a grand adventure, as the workers, ruffians, and lower classes. A place where the idea of space travel is not so far fetched. A place where lost civilizations are found and lost again. A place where anything is possible, and science can be twisted to meet ones own ends. That to me is the essence of Steampunk. It can have political overtones and commentary, or it can be straight escapist fiction. Either way, if it meets these criteria. It is Steampunk.
:-Joshua A. Pfeiffer a.k.a. Vernian Process
And here for your delectation is a slightly clockpunk (yes the clock is real, the entire table was made by hand, and it works) photo of my cat:
YA steampunk: The Sky Village
“The Sky Village” by Monk & Nigel Ashland
It hurts my brain trying to figure out if I love or hate this book. The front cover and the title location – a village of hot air balloons strung together – appear steampunk, but it’s not steampunk. It’s post-apocalyptic YA.
The rest of this review is at Comfy Chair, where I get paid for it.
The female mad scientist
Here‘s an article outlining the history – fictional and otherwise – of the female mad scientist.
And here’s the cat picture I forgot to post yesterday (she’s lurking because she’s hunting mice):
Australian steampunk novel
“Ichabod Hart and the Lighthouse Mystery” by James Roy
This book was written as children’s Australian steampunk, and it ticks a lot of boxes.
The rest of this review has been moved to Comfy Chair, where I get paid for it.
Sword Canes
I’ve mentioned the brilliant steampunk blog and resource Trial by Steam at least once before.
Here is an article on sword canes. Yep, sword canes. How good is that?
Here’s an excerpt:
Please note that these weapons are illegal in the states of California and Wisconsin. It is your responsibility as a potential owner of a lethal weapon to check your local laws for other stipulations which may affect the transport or use of a sword cane if you choose to purchase one. Please be a responsible owner.
The delicate business of husband-hunting
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: If you want to write steampunk, read “Victorian London” by Liza Picard. She is often extremely detailed – and often extremely funny.
Here is some of her section on how a Victorian lady should conduct herself – continued from last week:
With all these hints as to advisable demeanor for every day, the reader may think that nothing remains to suggest for the delicate business of husband-hunting. Alas, in these days when any gentleman belongs to a club where he can find almost every advantage of matrimony, potential husbands are like shy animals, vanishing when most hotly pursued. Do not be tempted to offer, in your own person, those advantages of matrimony which are not available in his club. He is all too likely to obtain these, too, elsewhere than at the domestic hearth. Subtlety is needed, and evasion on your part, never fleeing so swiftly, of course, as to be beyond the reach of the most ponderously slow suitor if he is potentially acceptable. As to your own appearance, I suggest, as with the management of carriage steps and the width of your smile, some consideration in the privacy of your own room. Which is your most advantageous profile? Or is an umbrageous candlelight advisable? An expression of admiring pleasure should be possible to sustain for most of the evening without becoming a rictus. Practise daily, for increasing periods. A conviction that your intended is the most desirable gentleman in every way already resides in his breast. Show him, shyly but unmistakeably, that you share this conviction.
. . . One investigation I must advise, however, before any notable expenditure of time and effort takes place: what is his financial position?. . . Fine whiskers are delightful, but a good income is infinitely more attractive.
“Soulless” by Gail Carriger: hilarious steampunk
I promised to review a book that I really liked, and this is it.
It stands alone, but is the first of many Alexia books by the delectable Gail Carriger.
This review has been moved to Comfy Chair, where I get paid for it.
Felicity Banks 