Steampunk Research & Resources

World Building an Alternate Victorian World

I’ve been on numerous panels on this subject, Gentle Reader, not to mention being asked this question at various signings. So I thought I might provide a blog of my most frequently asked questions about researching Victorian London and steampunk.

What type of research did you have to do while writing the Parasol Protectorate series?

I had a fair bit of expertise in certain aspects of the era (fashion, food, manners, literature, theatre, upper class courting rituals, antiquities collecting) when I started but great gaps in other areas that I quickly realized needed to be filled.

I spent a lot of time researching the gadgetry and technology of the day, travel and communications techniques, medical and hard science advances, not to mention other things like major wars and military strategies, configuration of army regiments, geographical lay out of London in the 1870s (shops and streets names), newspapers, and government policies.

I also looked into vampire and werewolf lore at the time. That’s the thing, you never know what information you are going to need until you need it, and inevitably the internet doesn’t have it. Since I’m writing alt history I can always disregard the facts, but I like to get it right first, before I mess with it. Most people won’t care to look up the details (or get it wrong by confusing my setting with Austen or mid–Victorian, I’m specifically 1773) but even if it doesn’t make it into the book, it will irritate me if unwritten background information is flawed.

Some resources pertaining to STEAMPUNK

Beck, Ulrich. 1992. Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity deals with the subject of Reflexive Moderization recommended by the Steampunk Scholar for those interested in steampunk as a social movement.

33 Formative Steampunk Books & Magazines

(This is only a sample but the best way to understand steampunk is simply to read some of it.)

1. The Windup Girl ~ Paolo Bacigalupi
2. The Women of Nell Gwynne’s ~ Kage Baker
3. New Amsterdam ~ Elizabeth Bear
4. Crystal Rain ~ Tobias S. Buckell
5. Scar Night ~ Alan Campbell
6. Clockwork Angel ~ Cassandra Clare
7. The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters ~ Gordon Dahlquist
8. The City of Ember ~ Jeanne DuPrau
9. Neverwhere ~ Neil Gaiman
10. The Difference Engine ~ William Gibson & Bruce Sterling
11. Boilerplate: History’s Mechanical Marvel ~ Paul Guinan & Anina Bennett (great historical education for kids!)
12. Infernal Devices ~ K.W. Jeter
13. The Affinity Bridge ~ George Mann
14. Perdido Street Station ~ China Mieville
15. A Nomad of the Time Streams ~ Michael Moorcock
16. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen ~ Alan Moore
17. Anno Dracula ~ Kim Newman
18. Airborn ~ Kenneth Oppel
19. The Anubis Gates ~ Tim Powers
20. Boneshaker ~ Cherie Priest
21. The Prestige ~ Christopher Priest
22. The Golden Compass ~ Phillip Pullman
23. Mortal Engines ~ Philip Reeve
24. The Invention of Hugo Cabret ~ Brian Selznick
25. The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer ~ Neil Stephenson
26. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea ~ Jules Verne
27. The Time Machine ~ H.G. Wells
28. The Wizard Hunters ~ Martha Wells
29. Leviathan ~ Scott Westerfeld
30. Extraordinary Engines: The Definitive Steampunk Anthology ~ Nick Gevers (ed.)
31. The Steampunk Bible ~ Jeff VanderMeer
32. Girl Genius Comic Strip: www.girlgeniusonline.com
33. Exhibition Hall fan zine.

20 Best Steampunk Films (a sample only) 

1. Around the World in 80 Days
2. Castle in the Sky
3. The City of Lost Children
4. The Golden Compass
5. The Great Train Robbery
6. Edward Scissorhands
7. Howl’s Moving Castle
8. Hellboy
9. The Illusionist
10. Last Exile – Positional Play
11. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
12. Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events
13. Perfect Creature
14. The Prestige
15. Sherlock Holmes (new)
16. Stardust
17. Steamboy
18. Van Helsing
19. Wild Wild West
20. Young Sherlock Holmes

5 Fun Websites Focused on Steampunk 

1. The Steampunk Scholar
2. Datamancer
3. The Steampunk Workshop
4. The Insect Lab
5. The Aether Emporium

Want still more? Here’s a full post on

research tips and resources for writing a Victorian era setting

Here’s a fun interview I did about the writing and marketing side of being a steampunk author.

Want more behind the scenes sneak peeks? Join the Chirrup

Want more?

25+ Tips for Researching Victorian Set Steampunk

All About Steampunk Fashion from Author & Style Maven Gail Carriger

Gail’s Daily Dose

Your Tisane of Huh?

The Old Foodie on Milk Soup

Quote of the Day:

“Writing for adults, you have to keep reminding them of what is going on. The poor things have given up using their brains when they read. Children you only need to tell things to once.”

~ Diana Wynne Jones

Tags: Behind the Magic, Parasol Protectorate