Gloria Harchar

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In researching certain aspects of Steampunk and the Victorian era, I stumbled upon an article on how to write steampunk by Richard Harland. (See article).

London Streets

Should an author endeavor to study the Victorian era when preparing to write a Steampunk novel? Harland says no. He indicates that too much research will cause the author feel as if she must stick to the facts. Furthermore, he maintains that Steampunk is an alternate society/speculative fiction and if the author collects a copious amount of information concerning 19^th century clothing, furniture, etiquette and the like, she will then feel obliged to include the trivia merely because they are true.

I don’t agree. Steampunk is all about an alternate Victorian society. I believe it’s important to understand the Victorian era, their values, social ranking, clothing, etiquette, etc., so that the author can then tweak the facts, or distort them. Even verbiage and speech patterns are vitally important. Nothing throws me out of a Steampunk setting faster than if the characters speak in a contemporary style. It’s important to have the characters use proper English, and to refer to items as in Victorian times. For instance, a lady or a gentleman didn’t ask where the bathroom was, but rather they asked where they could “wash up.”

The flavor of the alternate Steampunk world is enhanced with Victorian dialog. For instance, beginning a sentence with, “I say, don’t I know you from somewhere?”  sounds very Victorian. So does “By George, you’ve got it!” (Which reminds me of Mr. Higgins in My Fair Lady). Here are some examples that you can use to give your work that Steampunk flair:

I will discuss other aspects of the Victorian era that can be useful in developing an alternate Steampunk society.

Click here for more Victorian slang.