Due to a passing in the family a few years ago and my subsequent health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for years after the bereavement. Thank you for the opportunity.

The review copy I was sent had very few pages and was very abrupt, it was more like a blurb than the actual book. The little I saw of it I thought it would have been a book I might have liked a lot.

This is a book about how the fiction genre of Victorian Steampunk is inspired by attempted inventions or real technology created during the reign of Victoria. The author started by explaining what steampunk is, and he frequently referred to various novels that were inspired by the real technology that he's describing. I think this book was aimed more at fans of this genre than history buffs as I've read most of this material in more detail in books by other authors. This was more of an overview of the many ideas that were coming out at the time with some general descriptions of how they worked and why they didn't endure.

He talked about various steam-powered vehicles (cars, buses, lorries, dirigibles, a motorcycle, and a plane) and described why petrol vehicles "won" when electric and steam-powered vehicles were much more desirable (quieter, more reliable, etc.). He described several stretches of pneumatic railway that were actually built and why the technology was abandoned. He talked about wind-powered cars, the mechanical telegraph network, mechanical computers and calculators, wireless sunlight phones, telegraph fax machines, recording voice on metal wire or disks, their understanding of how televisions could be made, home stereo music over the telephone line, attempts to make mechanical men or animals, and solar-powered generators.

My thanks to Pen & Sword for a digital copy of Simon Webb’s “The Real World of Victorian Steampunk: Steam Planes and Radiophones’ in exchange for an honest review. It was published on 30 June in ebook and paperback editions.

A highly informative study that explores the real inventions mainly during the Victorian period that inspired the sub genre of steampunk in science fiction and fantasy, which has further influenced fashion, art, and design.

Webb clearly has a strong grasp of the technology of the period covered alongside a passion for the literature associated with steampunk. He cites many works and their relation to the original inventions.

It really is a treasure trove and almost on every page I found that I was amazed by the revelations including of many inventors and their inventions sidelined by history. I had no idea that the electric car predated the petrol driven one by decades or that Victorians were exploring solar power and other sustainable energies.

I felt that I was learning a great deal about the history of science and technology alongside a deeper appreciation of steampunk in literature.

In his Endword Webb writes: “The world created by the authors of steampunk novels and short stories strikes us as outlandish and fantastic, simply because we do not know enough about the history of the real world in which we live. It is hard to find a single invention mentioned in steampunk literature which did not have its counterpart in the age of the Victorians.”

He concludes: “Steampunk, although generally described as a genre of science fiction, has in fact far more in common with science fact than most aficionados ever realize.”

Just fascinating from start to finish. I would love to see this commissioned as a television series! Highly recommended.

I didn't have a full copy to review, but what I saw of this book looks great. I will leave a fuller review after I have read the whole book after release.

Read. This. Book. I confess that the title didn’t really appeal to me. I have a vague concept of what steampunk is, but I would I describe my interest as being on the tepid side of mild. However, this is the most interesting non-fiction book – no, scrap that qualifier. This is THE most interesting book I have read for a looooong time.

This book is very well researched indeed. The author, Simon Webb, is obviously a steampunk fan and this book simply seeks to explain the real science and inventions behind some of the fictional technology in steampunk books. I couldn’t believe how long ago the first versions of what we consider to be modern technology appeared. Yet, what could have been a dry-as-dust geeky tome is very well written and is very readable indeed.

You think of Victorian transport as slow and primitive compared to modern vehicles? Read about Brunel’s pneumatic railway that ran between Exeter and Newton Abbot with a journey time of 20 minutes in 1847. The fastest non-stop train I can find in today’s online timetable is 18 minutes. Not much of an improvement after 170+ years of technical progress, is it? There was also a pneumatic railway in Dalkey, near Dublin! Frank Ebrington rode the line before schedule services began and his carriage reached 84mph in 1843.

Horseless carriages? The first one was invented in 1770.

Fax machines? 1843.

Sending messages as quickly as possible? Admittedly, modern email systems are fast (usually!) but a message sent from Portsmouth to London in 1797 took three minutes to travel 70 miles – that’s a speed of 1400 mph.

ASCII code (used by modern computers to store and display characters on a screen)? Based upon the telegraph system invented by an English clergyman and first built in 1795.

Everyone knows, of course, that the Wright brothers were the first to take to the air in a heavier-than-air flying machine? Ummm… apart from the lad who flew one of George Cayley’s gliders in 1849. Perhaps the Wrights made the first powered flight? Except for Henri Gifford’s steam-powered dirigible from 1853. What about the first powered heavier-than-air flight? That would be John Stringfellow in 1848.

I can just see James May putting together a TV series using this book as the guide. Do it, James, just do it!

#TheRealWorldOfVictorianSteampunk #NetGalley

This was a great book to read! I love history and I know a lot about it, I would say, but here were so many new things for me that I couldn't stop being surprised. I've learnt so much by reading this book. The style is very easy, even for somebody like me (not being a mother-tongue Englisch speaker), I could understand even the technical details, which I didn't expect. The author knows how to make the reader interested, mostly through this connection to steampunk novels. I love it that the author does nor only describe the different machines or vehicles, but also answers the questions why we use the vehicles or machines we do. It is this bigger picture that makes the book even more fascinating.
A great read!

This is an interesting book, full of interesting facts and information.
It's well researched, informative and entertaining.
Some more pictures in the text would help.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Review copy only had a few images and text, maximum of five pages, not enough content on which to write a review.