Victorian

[close] Information about eras past in different parts of the world. Help for readers who may feel lost in an unfamiliar historical setting, may not understand the terminology of the period and may just want to get a feel for the time before stepping into it vicariously.

[close] What is steampunk? Steampunk is Victorian science fiction or "Steampunk" is the science-fiction of the Steam Age; the Industrial Revolution re-imagined with the advantage of modern hindsight. Drawing upon the wealth of historical technology and the scientific fantasies of the Victorian and Edwardian periods, steampunk seeks to reinvent modern wonders (such as the computer) as the people of that era might have envisioned them. Following in the footsteps of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells, steampunk authors blend history, science and imagination into a world of wonder that might have been. This is a place on Goodreads to talk about Steampunk literature, both old and new. Share your love for a good book and find others who hold the same tastes.

[close] This is a group for discussing Victorian era literature and Royal history books.

[close] Inspired by the Ph.D. Qualifying 50-Book Exam administered to second-year Ph.D. students in the English Department at the University of Pennsylvania, I have created my own version of that daunting task - meaningfully read 50 books across a diverse range of historical periods; generic and formal categories; national and geographic origins; and personal and societal identifications - all from a catalogue of texts spanning more than 1000 years. In the spirit of the exam, I encourage participants to organize their selected 50 works into three broad rubrics according to Genre; Historical Period; and Theme or Theory. Each topic should provide a framework to structure their reading with works that speak to one another. Each of the three rubrics should also include one or two critical, theoretical, or historical works. Keeping with their guidance, all or most of the works from the period chosen should be included in the Historical Period list (i.e., not in the Genre or Theme/Theory lists) to prevent that period's overrepresentation in the challenge as a whole; no more than 20 works from that period should appear on the full list. In other words, at least 30 of the 50 works should be outside of one's designated period of specialization. I want to use this group to make this challenge dynamic. Whether it's weekly discussion posts on specific themes or genres, a support group for those who jumped head-first into the Medieval period, or a deep-dive into the oddities of a specific literary movement or author, an ongoing dialogue is encouraged. The Reading List: https://www.english.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/Ph.D.%20Qualifying%20%252250-Book%2522%20Exam%20Book%20List.pdf For further insights on how to think about Genre, Historical Period, and Theme/Theory when building our your list and rubrics: https://www.english.upenn.edu/graduate/requirements-rules-procedures/first-year-oral-exam