Queen Victoria's Book of Spells: An Anthology of Gaslamp Fantasy
Billed as an anthology of “Gaslamp Fantasy,” this collection features 18 stories, all of which are set in a magical version of the nineteenth century. Popularized by authors such as Neil Gaiman and Susanna Clarke, gaslamp fantasy has recently been picking up steam, propelled by a current generation of writers who have added a new dimension to some classic settings and sensibilities. Fantasy fans and historical-fiction aficionados will find much to admire and devour in these genre-bending tales featuring an engaging combination of the old and the new. Fantasy, magic, and fairylands were popular in the increasingly industrialized nineteenth century, and, as the editors theorize in the introduction to this innovative collection, “as our own technological revolution causes sweeping societal changes and upheaval, many of us turn to fantasy for the same reasons: to escape the modern world.” --Margaret Flanagan