Recently, I had the pleasure of reading Innocent’s Progress, an erotic Steampunk anthology by Peter Tupper.  I am typically the ‘go to’ girl for erotic fiction sent to the Chronicle, recently there’s been a bit of a dry spell as far as my assignments go. Naturally, I devoured my this fresh little book with gusto.  I had only a moment’s pause due to the book’s unfortunate cover.  While the model herself is a lovely girl I am sure, the nature of the very modern looking photograph as well as the choice of  bright red eyelashes and barely better than Victoria’s Secret corset that was too big for her sweet petite frame: all lent to the impression that the story within was going to be trite, poorly researched and a sad representation of what I believe any novel should be, let alone one that is Steampunk.  Because one hopes that Steampunk is, if nothing else, a culture with finely attuned aesthetics as well as literary tastes.  That said, I can assure you that this is definitely a book you should not judge by its cover, for the stories within represented the Steampunk genre at its best. I have done my best not to spoil too much with this review, just tease you into wanting more.  

In the first story of the anthology “Innocent’s Progress,” you begin to pull back the veil of Tupper’s world at a place called the Razor Lotus Theatre.  I was immediately thrown into the world of Sternberg’s “The Blue Angel,” with a smattering of Anne Rice’s “Theatre de Vampires,” a theatre where it seems dramatic stories and talents are not the only thing the performers sell to keep their theatre open.  You see an audition, as well as a few plays, and through the characters you begin to grasp the way things work.  This story has a particular erotic flavor to it, though it is markedly tame compared to some of my previous assignments and recreational erotic fare.  However, I was elated to find that the sexuality was far more cerebral than harlequin-romance worthy.  That said, this initial story is not my favorite.  While the characters were well written, they didn’t seem to go anywhere and the overall story arc left me a bit flat and yes, wanting more.  Despite the criticism, it definitely hooked me into devouring the book as quickly as I possibly could.   

The second story, “The Pretty Horsebreaker,” opens the door wide open for me so that I get to talk about my biggest pet peeve about Steampunk literature in general: over usage of technology in order to make it relevant to the genre.  It infuriates me to no end read the word dirigible in every other paragraph paired with a few references to corsets and bustles and then voila!!! ‘I have a Steampunk novel!’  Peter Tupper did exactly what I have been wanting to see, which is write something that reads EXACTLY like historical fiction while blending in just the perfect amount of tech to make the Steampunk seem believable rather than a fetish, or worse,  just forced.  In this story he introduces Ccri, or as I like to think of her, the River Song of this world.   She is by far the most fleshed out character in this story.  She’s fierce, but vulnerable, running away from who she was, but strong and confident in who she is. She is a courtesan enlisted by a friend calling in a favor.  Her friend hopes to procure certain chapters of pornographic materials in order to complete a posthumous book.  Her methods border on crass; through her little adventure you see her at her best and most raw.  I definitely identify with her, I lament only that Ccri was so beautifully written that I wish that some of the other characters I enjoyed could have gotten the same treatment.  

“Delicate work” was by far my favorite story.  You meet a young girl named Tangwyn.  Think Oliver Twist as a genius mechanist.  And a girl. This was by far the most sexual of all of the stories.  In it, you find a rather interesting mix of a Sibian and hysteria machine as well as some other delicious sexual encounters.  What makes this story so fantastic is that you see the darker elements of the Victorian era that many Steampunks tend to forget about.  Sweatshops, filth, child abuse, slave labor and the strictest of class systems. This story has most of the Steampunk aesthetic we know and love.  But what I like  most about it is that it justifies all those silly little costume choices deemed Steampunk by weaving it into the world with meaning and significance.  For example, the importance of goggles to the “tinker” class, you meet one girl who was blinded for not wearing them, and served as almost a safety mascot to her fellow sweatshop workers.  The advent of wearing of corsets on the outside of the clothes, also an act of the lower class seems to be a statement, almost as if bohemian underworld Suffragettes use their minds and hands as a means to live from day to day in the underworld. Defying the societal norms  that accept that women should be sex workers, maids, or mothers. I really enjoyed this story but then, I adored Oliver Twist as well, so there was most definitely a whiff of nostalgia within.  It even has a positive uplifting ending despite its almost hopeless listlessness throughout.

The third story is entitled “The Slave.”  If “Delicate work” is my favorite then this is most certainly a close second.  My fascination with the World’s Fair was titillated by this story.  Tupper calls it The Exhibition and part of this exhibition is a great marble statue of a slave.  Inspired and haunted by this beautiful work of art, an upper class beauty submits herself to what could be a terrifying and dangerous situation to the workers at the fair.  While this story is again far more cerebral in its sexual exploits, you can almost taste the tension through the turns of phrase and Tupper’s innate sense of pacing.  She comes out of the situation safely, but most certainly changed.  The end was extremely poignant and drives home yet another reminder that this was not the time of milk and honey when the young girl is reminded that slavery in its true form is not beautiful or admirable.

The next story is “The Impurity,” a retelling of Jekyll and Hyde with a few fantastic twists.  In this story, Hyde's historically ambiguous twisted exploits are explored a bit deeper and Mary, the maid, falls willingly into the sexual deviant that he is for love of Jekyll and for enjoyment of the monster’s sadistic perversions.  I liked this story a lot on its own, but I think because it was based on a classic story and did not really explore the world as much as the others, I would have rather seen it as a bonus story as opposed to something right in the middle. That’s not to say that it wasn’t excellent. The emotional turmoil involved, and Jekyll's incapacity to handle or integrate a great power that he invented was quite a fun read, but to me the best character in the whole book is the world setting. In this, the world gets sorely neglected to favor a retelling of an existing story with fictional characters.  Had I not ever heard of Jekyll and Hyde, I might not have noticed, nor given it a second thought, but as it was, I found it distracting to experiencing the book as a whole.

Lastly was “Spirit of the Future.”  We get to see Ccri here again.  Older and just as spunky as ever. Tupper even weaves a new character into one of the more memorable scenes in “The Pretty Horsebreaker.”  The story is about a young boy coming of age and eventually rebelling against his upbringing, but really, I found myself scratching desperately through the text to find out what antics Ms. Ccri was up to. The plot unfolds through the young man’s eyes and you find out what it’s all about. The high adventure to save the largest most impressive collection of pornographic literature in the world from being destroyed by the government to protect the masses.

The end of the book is a real treat. Mr. Tupper takes you through each of the short stories and informs you of a few thought processes and historical references. Many of the main characters are based on actual figures and personalities through history.  I thought this was a nice touch and rounded out the experience of the anthology incredibly well. As I have stated  before, I love to read historical fiction that makes me research the past to see what’s been changed to protect the mundane.

In conclusion, I simply adored this book.  It was written with seamless transitions, was fast paced, yet still had the feel of a truly Victorian work of fiction blended with all those lovely little anachronistic details we Steampunks look to see in our literature.  I plan to add more of Mr. Tuppers work to my collection in the near future, and I suggest you do the same! As for “Innocent’s Progress” I give it 4 ½ cogs out of five! I enjoyed this book so much, I even contacted Mr. Tupper for an interview.  In the interest of brevity, I’ll be sharing that part of my review next time.  Stay tuned gentle readers.

Talloolah Love is a contributor to the Steampunk Chronicle, founder of the Atlanta Burlesque & Cabaret Club, as well as a burlesque sensation and promoter of events.  You can follow her activities at www.talloolah.com.