Jeffrey Cook's Blog - Posts Tagged "regency"
Steampunk Foundations
The most common question I’m asked when I tell people I’ve written a book is “What is it about?” While I could (and likely eventually will) go into the tale of a band of explorers opening up the world, first and foremost, the Dawn of Steam trilogy is about history. Yes, it’s a work of fiction. Things happen in the book that didn’t in the real world, but it also incorporates elements of our own world: the storm that turned Long Island into an island, the year without a summer of 1815-1816, the slave trade, the island of Dejima as the only contact Japan had with Europe. For that matter, Benjamin Franklin, Lewis and Clark, Gregory Blaxland, and other historical figures appear in reference, even if not in person. Ultimately, though, it’s an alternate history of a world with some strong similarities to our own. Really, it’s an alternate history, potentially, of a lot of worlds, specifically Steampunk worlds.
One of the driving inspirations behind the Dawn of Steam stories is taking a look at some common characteristics of the Steampunk genre that weren’t a mirror of the real world — and then to explain how those things came to be by the Victorian era. One, of course, is the spread of technology. Fantastic elements like commercial dirigibles and steam-powered robots appear alongside very real, but more widespread elements like railroads to everywhere and ever-present jeweler’s lenses to define the look of the world when viewed in concert with fancy Victorian gowns and sepia tones. There’s also the common feel of the rise of technology over the fantastic: supernatural elements may or may not be present in a Steampunk story, but either way, there’s often a feeling of the age of technology and enlightenment banishing old superstitions and ignorance.
But more separates Steampunk settings from the actual Victorian era than just science. The image of the plucky female mechanic in high fashion by night, and overalls, goggles and grease stains by day wouldn’t surprise any fan of the genre. More egalitarian social mores than existed in the real world are a Steampunk trope in general. The fashions and ideas of England in particular have a greater sway on the typical Steampunk world than they did in real history.
Dawn of Steam, ultimately, is about the rise of those things. Most of them don’t exist yet. The books travel back to 1815, where the technology, the social conventions, and the shape of the world have not deviated quite so much from the historical 1815. Sure, there’s some elements which remain different or fantastic. A lot of the research into this alternate history worked from a single premise and how it could alter the world. The single greatest difference in this story stems from the 1600s. The works of a few scholars convinced all of England that a gentleman or nobleman could be defined not by leisure, but by education, and moreso in the practical sciences than anything else. Money was shoveled into institutions of higher learning, and breakthroughs in the sciences could turn a person into a celebrity quickly. Wealthy families devoted extensive resources to nurturing any scientific talent they could in their sons.
This led to a few radical differences: with their advanced military technology (and, admittedly, the dirigible accident which killed George III) the British Empire was able to retain and negotiate with its American colonies. The Napoleonic Wars also have a much different feel and reason behind them, though they still occurred. In fact, a lot of things may have slight alterations, but are very similar to real history.
In 1815, there’s an awful lot of unknown corners of the globe. High technology may be all the rage in England, but they just fought a war to keep it solely in their own hands. People still scoff at Erasmus Darwin’s ideas about young women and their ability to handle a full education, or even handle a heavy wrench. Slavery is still legal, if a topic of debate. Corsets and repeating weapons are works in progress, but not yet developed into their final Victorian/Steampunk forms. Dirigibles had a key role British Imperialism, but most of them are still purely designed and outfitted for the military, not exploration or tourism.
Every Steampunk setting is unique, with its own elements and quirks. Dawn of Steam isn’t necessarily meant to represent the background of any specific world – but part of the point is that it could. The book, and eventually books, are an exploration of one way the tropes most fans take for granted within the genre could have taken root. While not the official history of anyone else’s setting, it could be, at least in part, related to the history of numerous other worlds. Steampunk has been written across multiple times, but its heart is still fairly firmly within the Victorian era. Dawn of Steam is an adventure novel, and a Steampunk story in its own right. It’s also, from its beginning, an exercise not just in world-building, but world-revealing through the travel that takes place through the story. Amidst the world-building, there’s an emphasis on foundation, and leaving a lot of the building blocks wide open so there’s plenty of places other blocks could be added on or go in different directions from the foundation, towards the construction of a world familiar to most fans of the Steampunk genre.
One of the driving inspirations behind the Dawn of Steam stories is taking a look at some common characteristics of the Steampunk genre that weren’t a mirror of the real world — and then to explain how those things came to be by the Victorian era. One, of course, is the spread of technology. Fantastic elements like commercial dirigibles and steam-powered robots appear alongside very real, but more widespread elements like railroads to everywhere and ever-present jeweler’s lenses to define the look of the world when viewed in concert with fancy Victorian gowns and sepia tones. There’s also the common feel of the rise of technology over the fantastic: supernatural elements may or may not be present in a Steampunk story, but either way, there’s often a feeling of the age of technology and enlightenment banishing old superstitions and ignorance.
But more separates Steampunk settings from the actual Victorian era than just science. The image of the plucky female mechanic in high fashion by night, and overalls, goggles and grease stains by day wouldn’t surprise any fan of the genre. More egalitarian social mores than existed in the real world are a Steampunk trope in general. The fashions and ideas of England in particular have a greater sway on the typical Steampunk world than they did in real history.
Dawn of Steam, ultimately, is about the rise of those things. Most of them don’t exist yet. The books travel back to 1815, where the technology, the social conventions, and the shape of the world have not deviated quite so much from the historical 1815. Sure, there’s some elements which remain different or fantastic. A lot of the research into this alternate history worked from a single premise and how it could alter the world. The single greatest difference in this story stems from the 1600s. The works of a few scholars convinced all of England that a gentleman or nobleman could be defined not by leisure, but by education, and moreso in the practical sciences than anything else. Money was shoveled into institutions of higher learning, and breakthroughs in the sciences could turn a person into a celebrity quickly. Wealthy families devoted extensive resources to nurturing any scientific talent they could in their sons.
This led to a few radical differences: with their advanced military technology (and, admittedly, the dirigible accident which killed George III) the British Empire was able to retain and negotiate with its American colonies. The Napoleonic Wars also have a much different feel and reason behind them, though they still occurred. In fact, a lot of things may have slight alterations, but are very similar to real history.
In 1815, there’s an awful lot of unknown corners of the globe. High technology may be all the rage in England, but they just fought a war to keep it solely in their own hands. People still scoff at Erasmus Darwin’s ideas about young women and their ability to handle a full education, or even handle a heavy wrench. Slavery is still legal, if a topic of debate. Corsets and repeating weapons are works in progress, but not yet developed into their final Victorian/Steampunk forms. Dirigibles had a key role British Imperialism, but most of them are still purely designed and outfitted for the military, not exploration or tourism.
Every Steampunk setting is unique, with its own elements and quirks. Dawn of Steam isn’t necessarily meant to represent the background of any specific world – but part of the point is that it could. The book, and eventually books, are an exploration of one way the tropes most fans take for granted within the genre could have taken root. While not the official history of anyone else’s setting, it could be, at least in part, related to the history of numerous other worlds. Steampunk has been written across multiple times, but its heart is still fairly firmly within the Victorian era. Dawn of Steam is an adventure novel, and a Steampunk story in its own right. It’s also, from its beginning, an exercise not just in world-building, but world-revealing through the travel that takes place through the story. Amidst the world-building, there’s an emphasis on foundation, and leaving a lot of the building blocks wide open so there’s plenty of places other blocks could be added on or go in different directions from the foundation, towards the construction of a world familiar to most fans of the Steampunk genre.
