At FaRoFeb, our aim is to celebrate Fantasy Romance in all its variety. But what exactly are the subgenres of Fantasy Romance? In this brand new series of blog posts, we explore the many different categories that fall under the FaRoFeb umbrella.
Today we welcome S.L. Prater, author of Gaslamp Romance, to tell us more about her love for this relatively unknown genre!
What is Gaslamp?
I blame my love for Gaslamp romance on my young obsession with the atmosphere of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes and the magic found in great books like Howl’s Moving Castle. But what exactly is Gaslamp fantasy?
Gaslamp has a lot in common with steampunk, and as a result, they are often mistaken for one another. They’re arguably kissing cousins. Both subgenres share ancestry with historical fantasy and gothic fiction. Both feature settings and a system of values from the Victorian or Edwardian Era. And both can be high fantasy, set in a secondary world, or low fantasy and set in a world familiar to us.
Steampunk separates itself with a focus on steam powered technology. This technology (or mad science) is often futuristic in nature despite the historical environment. Whereas, magic, its use and existence, is an aspect of world building that sets Gaslamp novels apart. If Sherlock Holmes, Jane Austen, and Harry Potter had a love child together, their love child would be a Gaslamp fantasy romance book.
Why Gaslamp romance?
So why is it called Gaslamp? Well, the lighting of course! Electricity isn’t usually an option in these historically inspired 19th-century worlds (with a few fun exceptions). Instead, either a magical option or gaslights are used. Steam powered tech, alternate history, telegrams, corsets, dresses down to the ankles, trains, dukes, barons, rakes, witches, magicians, magical beings, and monarchies feature frequently in this subset of historical fantasy.
Historical romance is another favorite of mine. Give me a handsome rakish duke and a clever woman in want of a husband and I’ll stay up reading well past my bedtime. Gaslamp romance combines these two favorites, mixing a magical, fantasy-driven world and all our favorite romantic tropes with a 19th century backdrop.
Favorite Gaslamp romance books
If you’d like to explore the world of steampunk/Gaslamp romance further, here are a few of my favorites:
The Lord of Stariel
by A.J. Lancaster
Subversive
by Colleen Cowley
The Paper Magician
by Charlie N. Holmberg
About S.L. Prater
S.L. Prater shares her Indiana home with three wild little girls and a husband so handsome he makes everyone else look like a potato. In no particular order, she fills her time reading fiction, eating tacos, and serving her community as a child welfare social worker. Visit her at: https://www.streetwitch.net/