Bøger i Queen Victoria's Magicians serien

Revolution has broken out across Europe. Kings and emperors have been overthrown. In Britain, the establishment has faced down the non-violent Chartist movement. But revolutionaries still plot to subvert the Chartist movement and overthrow the monarchy. The leading agitator has been identified and has gone on the run. He has been cornered on several occasions but each time he has managed to escape. The Guild of Magicians has been asked to hunt him down. But the agitator is said to be a magic user himself. If the Guild locate him, will he use magic to escape once again?Britain's factories are dangerous places. Accidents are frequent and casualties are high. Factory workers, angry at these deaths, riot in protest. Many of them sympathise with the revolutionaries. Will they intercede to protect the revolutionaries? In London Ada, Countess of Lovelace, is using Mr. Babbage's Analytical Engine in a project to calculate the progress of storms at sea. If she can succeed, her warnings may save countless lives. Her initial attempts have been promising. But if she makes too many errors, the government will withdraw its support. She believes that a powerful storm is approaching Britain. She has decided to warn as many people as possible. If she is correct, her attempts will be vindicated. A failure may destroy the project. But she feels honour-bound to go ahead.

This is a steampunk novel set in 1848. Revolutionaries have tried to overthrow monarchies in countries all across Europe. In Britain, the Chartists demanded the right to vote. They claimed their mass rallies were peaceable, but the Government feared the worst. The new police force cannot cope. The Government called out the army and put the aged Duke of Welington in charge. Agitators within the Chartist movement conspired to subvert their rallies to their own ends.In London, the Chatelaine of the Guild of Magicians has died in mysterious circumstances. Her niece Samantha is told that she must leave school and inherit her aunt’s role. Her duties are mainly honorary. But, as the male leaders of the Guild bicker, she is able to arbitrate between them. Nervous politicians want the Guild to protect them. Samantha hopes to use her limited authority in an attempt to thwart the reactionaries. But she suspects that her predecessor was murdered. Those around her fear that she is the next target.

In 1851, the United States and the British Empire have stumbled into a war. The veterans of the US Army brushed aside the untried Canadians and advanced towards the St. Lawrence. Their advance was stopped only by the grim earthworks defending Montreal. Casualties have been high on both sides. A peace conference offered hope but it was wrecked by mutual suspicion. The harsh winter has kept the US Army from delivering a knockout blow. But everyone fears they will attack as soon as spring returns. This is a vicious war of raid and counter-raid. The frontier is a long one and the enemy could attack anywhere. The British are desperate enough to recruit Blacks, refugees who escaped north along the Underground Railroad. But these men are untrained and uncertain of themselves. They ask themselves whether they can stand against the seasoned professionals of the US Army. The men and women of Montreal can hear the enemy cannons but can only guess how the battle is going. This is a new sort of war where telegraph operators, men and women, know more about the battle than the generals. Grace is an Abenaki Indian, sent to a convent school in Quebec by ambitious parents. She ran away, hoping to find employment in the big city. She trained as a telegraphist, but was then given a more challenging task - preparing punched cards for the Analytical Engine. The airships of the Royal Mail Service are slow and fragile. They need reliable weather forecasts if they are to operate safely. Everyone expects the men operating the Analytical Engine to get it right every time. The industrial revolution has given Britain superior technology, but the government is reluctant to spend money on this war. Ships of the Royal Navy, operating from their impregnable base in Bermuda, are blockading US ports. They too depend upon weather forecasts. The US Army of Maine is led by the famous General, Winfield Scott, clever and popular. The British have the equally famous Colonel Lord Cardigan. He thinks that his aristocratic breeding is all that he needs to lead troops. Martin Wycombe made his way north from Alabama, hoping to gain freedom and self-respect. He expected to meet a heroic death in his first battle. Instead, he survived a series of squalid skirmishes. He has begun to ask what he is fighting for. The answer, when he found it, surprised him.

This is a steampunk story set in 1850. A dangerous revolutionary has been arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London. He boasts that no conventional prison can hold him. He threatens to use magic to escape. The Guild of Magicians must use their own magic in attempt to restrain him. In another factory accident, workers have been killed. The government seems to be indifferent to the deaths. Can the authorities prevent another riot? The British government, confident the country's engineering skills, has sent an airship across the Atlantic. In New York, conspiracy theorists warn that the airship is a threat. In New York, too, riots are frequent. City politicians think they can benefit from violence, Anyone who appears to have British sympathies is under threat. The British consul and his daughter try to prevent the violence from escalating.