This document provides an overview of steampunk by discussing its origins, key works, authors, and how it has evolved from a genre of science fiction to a broader cultural movement. It traces steampunk back to 19th century authors Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, and Mary Shelley, and highlights Nikola Tesla as a real-life proto-steampunk figure. Key works discussed include the Leviathan trilogy, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen graphic novels, and children's books like The Larklight Trilogy and Her Majesty's Explorer. The document also explores steampunk's expansion into areas like fashion, art, engineering, and online communities.

1. ELE 616 Research in Children’s Literature Fall 2012
Steampunk

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What is Steampunk?

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What is Steampunk?
Where does the name come from?
Well to begin with let‘s clear up the name.
―Steampunk‖ started as a joke. There was a
movement in science fiction to write in a genre
known as ―Cyberpunk‖. When various
writers began exploring similar concepts and
ideas but setting them in a pseudo Victorian
world one of those writers, K.W. Jeter
coined the term ―steampunk‖.
As a tongue in cheek descriptor it stuck.
What is Steampunk: An overview for 2011

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What is Cyberpunk?
What is Cyberpunk?
Cyberpunk, essentially, is a form of speculative fiction that deals with a
high-technology future. Cyberpunk is almost never happy, and
usually leaves the reader in a ‗life sucks‘ mood. The reader should
not want to enter the little world that you create. Cyberpunk is a
warning as to what might happen in the future.
Required reading material for people who want to know more about
cyberpunk is:
• Neuromancer, by William Gibson
• Count Zero, by William Gibson
• Snow Crash, by Neil Stephenson
• Mirrorshades, a cyberpunk anthology, edited by Bruce Sterling

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Who are the antecedents?
1. Jules Verne
―. . . the sheer volume of the man‘s work
precludes looking at his writing
beyond the most popularly known
novels. My research over the past two
years has demonstrated repeatedly
that 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is
the work most steampunks reference
when speaking about Verne as proto-
steampunk.‖
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
by Jules Verne: Part I, Chapters 1-7

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Who are the antecedents?
2. H.G. Wells
To Steampunk, The Island of Doctor Moreau
gives the kind of blind scientific ambition that
characterizes many of the mad scientists of the
subgenre, as well as the concept of degeneration
of society that it shares with dystopian fiction.
That science brought on this degeneration is an
integral part of many near-future dystopian
science fiction stories, and the aesthetic of the
darker Steampunk works.
Source: Blog Free the Princess
The Roots of Steampunk -- H.G. Wells's The Island of
Doctor Friday, April 16, 2010

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Who are the antecedents?
3. Mary Shelley
Frankenstein gives to Steampunk its focus on
dangerous science and pushing at what we
already know. Novels like Boneshaker, where
science gone wrong is one of the central facets of
that world‘s history, owe a debt to tales like
Frankenstein. Mary Shelley and other writers of
Gothic literature that crafted terror over science
in their readers were the progenitors of ―mad
science‖ in fiction.
Source: Blog Free the Princess
The Roots of Steampunk -- Mary Shelley's
Frankenstein Thursday, April 8, 2010

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A non-literary, real-life antecedent
The prototype mad scientist?
First off, Nikola Tesla was brilliant. And not just like Ken
Jennings brilliant, either - I mean like, ―holy crap my
head just exploded (from all the awesome)‖ brilliant.
The Croatian-born engineer spoke eight languages,
almost single-handedly developed technology that
harnessed the power of electricity for household use,
and invented things like electrical generators, FM
radio, remote control, robots, spark plugs, fluorescent
lights, and giant-ass machines that shoot enormous,
brain-frying lightning bolts all over the place like crazy.
Badass of the Week 01/09/09
See also Steampunk Notables: Nikola Tesla from

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Tesla as a steampunk character
Books by Scott Westerfeld
In Behemoth, the sequel to Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, the
Steam/Diesel Punks that make up the Central Powers have
‗Tesla Cannons,‘ which are, predictably, lightning generators. In
the third book in the trilogy, Goliath, Tesla becomes a major
character. He is a great deal more unstable than in real life.
Nikola Tesla in tvtropes Concept art by Keith Thompson
for the series

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Author of the Leviathan
trilogy
Leviathan, Behemoth, Goliath
Leviathan lesson plan

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Alternate History

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Alternate United State s History

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A Middle School Level Trilogy
The Larklight trilogy by Philip Reeve

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Steampunk Graphic Novel
Other titles in the The League of Extraordinary
Gentlemen series:
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The: Black
Dossier
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The: Century #1
(1910)
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The: Century #2
(1969)
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The: Volume 1
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The: Volume 2

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Steampunk Internet?

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Steampunk is a culture

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Steampunk Week
Steampunk Week on Tor.com
With steampunk ―hitting the mainstream,‖ the big question
nowadays has changed from ―What is steampunk?‖* to ―Where is
it going?‖
Although this is only a week-long theme, I‘ve packed it to the brim
with contributions from both established and up-and-coming
voices in the steampunk community. I‘m especially proud of the
diverse range of voices worldwide who offer a look at steampunk
from various angles — from Eurocentric to multicultural, artsy to
lowbrow, politics to fandom, and everything in between.
Ay-leen the Peacemaker Mon Oct 3 2011
Steampunk Week index page.
* For those who have been living in a cave and have no
idea what steampunk is, I suggest checking out
Tor.com‘s previous blogging events: Steampunk Month
in 2009 and Steampunk Fortnight in 2010 for some
clues.

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So, what is Steampunk?
Many things!
Over the years, steampunk has evolved into more than just a sub-genre of
Science Fiction and Fantasy. Steampunk now extends into fashion,
engineering, music, and for some, a lifestyle. With the Victorian British
Empire or American Wild West as the backdrop, steampunk projects
are a challenge of making something elegant out of random bits and
bobs. Picture MacGyver or The A-Team in the 1800‘s. Consider Dick
Van Dyke‘s Caractacus Potts and his creations in Chitty Chitty Bang
Bang, or the ingenious contraptions from Artimus Gordon‘s laboratory
in the television show The Wild, Wild West. What others see as junk or
scrap parts, steampunk artists transform it into something new and
expressive, be it an original creation or a modification of a modern
convenience.

20. Steampunk for kids?
Scourge: A Grim Doyle Adventure
http://davidhburton.com/?page_id=4113
See also An Interview with Author David Burton « STEAMED!

22. A Steampunk Bedtime Story
Three Cheers for Steamduck!
Fear not, youngest steampunks, Steamduck to the
rescue! Or rather, Emilie P. Bush and William Kevin Petty with their
charming picture book, Her Majesty‘s Explorer: a Steampunk
Bedtime Story. Readers follow St. John Murphy Alexander,
Automaton of Her Majesty, on a mission of exploration, then home to
his regiment, where he gets ready for bed with a routine that your
child will relate to (even if they don‘t have to unscrew their ears every
night). Our automaton hero is adorable, the illustrations by Petty are
enchanting, with plenty of detail to interest readers of all ages. The
book comes with a bonus poem, an ode to Steamduck which leaves the
reader with only one question – where can I get my own steamduck
for the bath?
See author Emilie P. Bush‘s blog
at Coal City Steam
A video Interview with author Emilie P.
Bush and Illustrator William Kevin Petty.