Victoriana: The Adventures of Victoria & Romney, #1

By Michael White

"To the casual observer, the age of steam and the subsequent industrial revolution was to revolutionise the structure of Great Britain in almost every fundamental way. This time saw the rise of the middle class and the entrenchment of the upper class. The working class moved from rural employment to factories and mills. Towns and docks and harbours grew around the industries that the steam engine created to cater for them, and there it could have stopped.
The Difference engine however created by Sir Charles Babbage was the first indication that the industrial revolution could head beyond industry, and with the completion of the Analytical Engine in 1834 a new revolution began to take place: this was the age of the technocrat, and the computational engines began to proliferate and become more commonplace. Machines that could think and make decisions, driven by steam and mechanisms of wood and brass, the likes of which had never been seen before. This was a very British revolution however. Queen Victoria sat upon her throne and saw her country grow to dominate the world, her trade and technology so advanced beyond any other that computational devices were common and in most well to do homes. Yet the workforce was needed even more, and outstripped the supply. By the middle of the nineteenth century drastic measures had to be taken by her majesty's government and the working classes were placed in designated areas, their currency being their availability for work in the factories and mills, the computational engines and the data sheds that they produced. The poor house was the start of this process, but with the new technology it was greatly expanded, and now all of the working classes were under the jurisdiction of the local mill and factory owners, the true drivers of this data fed industrial age. In the skies above London, Zeppelins filled the air, swollen with lighter than air gas and flame, and on the ground even the most trivial of items were gathered and improved upon by the computational engines. This was the age of steam, yes, but it was also the age of the analytical engines, and they made Britain the greatest power that the world has ever known."

(Taken from "Great Britain - A History"
by William Rothschild)

"Victoriana" is a steampunk novella featuring Victoria Neaves and her licensed demon assistant Romney. When the government calls in Victoria to assist with a delicate matter concerning the Germanic states, all is not quite what it seems, and soon Victoria (and Romney's) lives are to change forever...

"Victoriana" is the first of a series of six novellas with the next title entitled, "THE STRANGE CASE OF THE DENWICK BEAUCHAMP FAIRIES".

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mike White
• Release date: Mar 5, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215128534

Michael White

Michael White was a science lecturer before becoming a full-time writer and journalist. He is the author with John Gribbin of the bestselling ‘Stephen Hawking – A Lifetime in Science’. He is a regular contributor to the ‘Sunday Times’, the ‘Observer’,the ‘Daily Telegraph, GQ, Focus’ and ‘New Scientist’.

Book preview

Victoriana

Copyright © 2023 by Michael White / EDP. All rights reserved worldwide. No part of this publication may be replicated, redistributed, or given away in any form without the prior written consent of the author/publisher or the terms relayed to you herein.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.  Any resemblance to actual persons, living, dead or generally lurking around a steam funnel is entirely coincidental.

Contents

Victoriana

Widdengham Manor, Buckinghamshire, London 1883

The Licensing of Séance’s and the Rise of Demonology

The State of Nations

Automata

Victoriana

"To the casual observer, the age of steam and the subsequent industrial revolution was to revolutionise the structure of Great Britain in almost every fundamental way. This time saw the rise of the middle class and the entrenchment of the upper class. The working class moved from rural employment to factories and mills. Towns, docks, and harbours grew around the industries that the steam engine created to cater for them, and there it could have stopped.

The Difference engine, however, created by Sir Charles Babbage, was the first indication that the industrial revolution could head beyond industry. With the completion of the Analytical Engine in 1834, a new revolution began to take place: this was the age of the technocrat, and the computational engines started to proliferate and become more commonplace. Machines that could think and make decisions, driven by steam and mechanisms of wood and brass, the likes of which had never been seen before. This was a very British revolution, however. Queen Victoria sat upon the throne and saw her country grow to dominate the world, her trade and technology so advanced beyond any other that computational devices were common and in most well-to-do homes. Yet the workforce was needed even more and outstripped the supply. By the middle of the nineteenth century, drastic measures had to be taken by her majesty’s government. The working classes were placed in designated areas, their currency being their availability for work in the factories and mills. The poor house was the start of this process, but with the new technology, it was greatly expanded. Poor houses became labour camps. Now all of the working classes were under the jurisdiction of the local mill and factory owners, the true drivers of this data-fed industrial age. In the skies above London, Zeppelins filled the air, swollen with lighter-than-air gas and flame. On the ground, even the most trivial of items were gathered and improved upon by the computational engines. This was the age of steam, but it was also the age of the analytical engines, and they made Britain the greatest power the world has ever known."

(Taken from Great Britain - A History

by William Rothschild)

Widdengham Manor, Buckinghamshire, London 1883

Victoria Neaves stood in the ballroom of the great hall in Widdengham Manor, staring at the vast array of people gathered there. The dance floor was crowded with dancers parading in their finest, the small orchestra nearby loud but not overly so, the room being large enough to absorb the sound relatively easily.

Yet all of these people made the room stuffy, the air clinging. It was a warm July evening, and the doors that led out to the balconies around the outside of the manor hall were wide open, revealing lit gas lamps illuminating the open areas.

Canape? said a brass-clad butler as he wandered past, waving a tray to her.

No, thank you, she said politely, moving within the crowd towards the windows. As she did so, she saw herself in one of the mirrors at the end of the hall. She was not so tall, five foot one or so, and slim. She had long blonde hair pinned in a bun on her head, but she knew that if she released it, her hair would fall halfway down her back. A short tiger's eye necklace hung at her neck, the large orange stone inert but not overly ostentatious.

Her ball gown was long and a dark shade of lilac, her cosmetics matching perfectly. The gown was ruffled high at her neck and pooled about her ankles, completely covering her small but well-rounded figure. She smiled at herself, realising how attractive she was, which was helpful.

Ah. Victoria. There you are. said a voice nearby, and she smiled, recognising her suitor who had accompanied her to the ball, George Rushden.

George. she smiled, half apologetically, We seemed to have become separated.

Indeed, said George stiffly, failing to keep the edge of annoyance out of his voice. Still. You are here now. She smiled and, linking arms with him, began to move towards the balconies outside, taking him with her. Fresh air. she