Turn-of-the-Century Toughs

Turn-of-the-Century Toughs is a cycle of historical fantasy series by Dusk Peterson about disreputable men on the margins of society, and the men and women who love them. The novels are set in an imaginary version of Maryland and other Mid-Atlantic states between the 1880s and the 1910s. One of the series in the cycle, Waterman, combines elements of the 1910s with retrofuturistic imagery from the 1960s.

Updated July 2011.

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Booktrailer

Trailer cover art: Edwardian man smoking a cigarette

Turn-of-the-Century Toughs booktrailer at YouTube.

Novels

Currently the cycle consists of the following series:

The Eternal Dungeon, a historical fantasy series set in a land where the psychologists wield whips. In a cool, dark cavern, guarded by men and by vows, lies a dungeon where prisoners fearfully await the inevitable. The inevitable will be replaced by the unexpected.

Life Prison, a historical fantasy series about male desire and determination in Victorian prisons. They are imprisoned until death, and their lives cannot get worse . . . or so they think. But when an unlikely alliance forms against their captors, the reformers risk losing what little comforts they possess.

Michael's House, a historical fantasy series set in a Progressive Era slum. In a world where temples are dying and sacred theaters have been replaced by brothels, what will happen when a hard-headed businessman joins forces with an idealist?

Waterman, a historical fantasy series and retrofuture series inspired by the Chesapeake Bay oyster wars, boarding school rivalries in British public schools in the 1910s, and 1960s visions of things to come. Meredith is from the Eastern Shore of the Bay. Carr is from the Western Shore. . . .

Research

See also the following blog entries made by the author on research for the cycle. In some cases, check for the subheadings within the entries.

Eternal Dungeon research.
Life Prison research.
Waterman research. Earlier entries are labelled "Prison City research."

Geography

The geography of the "Midcoast nations" of Turn-of-the-Century Toughs is based upon the geography of the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.

Map of the Midcoast nations

Larger version of the above map (277 KB).

The Midcoast nations are as follows:

Yclau. Technologically advanced, the Queendom of Yclau espouses ideals of egalitarianism and encourages humane treatment of commoners and criminals. It is the birthplace of various reform movements. However, Yclau struggles with class divisions that are reflected in its punitive justice system. Yclau folk are believers in eternal rebirth, a concept that foreigners find puzzling.

Vovim. Considered the epitome of barbaric violence and ignorance by its neighbors, the Kingdom of Vovim is a multiracial home for various cultures who are united by their love of the gods and their devotion to the arts, especially theater. Vovim is located to the north and west of Yclau. Its ancient system of government finds itself under strain at the beginning of the cycle, leading to social upheavals.

The Dozen Landsteads: Originally the most politically advanced of the Midcoast nations, the Dozen Landsteads finds itself being overshadowed by Vovim and Yclau. Religiously and ethnically, the Landsteaders are identical to the Yclau, but the Landsteaders remain stubbornly traditional, holding to a centuries-old system of ranking masters, liegemen, and servants. The official name of the bay-oriented nation is "The Alliance of the Dozen Landsteads," for the individual Landsteads refuse to centralize their political power, other than through a high law that tries to settle differences between the leaders of the Landsteads. As a result, the Dozen Landsteads' greatest conflicts are usually internal . . . but that will change as pressure builds at the nation's western border.

Mip. This tiny nation – north of Yclau, south and east of Vovim, and west of the Dozen Landsteads – has long been the battleground for Vovimian and Yclau troops who try to control it. As a result, Vovimian and Yclau culture play a strong role in this land. Virtually ignored is Mip's own native tribe, which is on the verge of extinction. However, the poor people of the Magisterial Republic of Mip take heart from the tales of the tribe's struggle to free itself from its oppressors.

Akbar. Located to the east of the Dozen Landsteads and Vovim, Akbar plays a cameo role in the first novel of Waterman.

Timeline

A timeline is available for the series. It includes spoilers for political events but not for events in the lives of individual characters.

In Turn-of-the-Century Toughs, the period in our world between 1880 and 1912 is spread out to cover just under a century. A later series in the cycle, Waterman, combines elements of the 1910s with retrofuturistic imagery from the 1960s.

In the United States of America, the first two decades of the twentieth century are referred to as the Progressive Era. In England, the same period is called the Edwardian Era. In both countries and in other English-speaking countries, this period and the two decades preceding it was a time of intense interest in social reform. The social reformers sometimes looked to the past for inspiration and sometimes strove to depart from the past through new technologies and through changes in social structure. This era of social reform would climax in World War One, when traditional values eroded in trench warfare.

Turn-of-the-Century Toughs takes the social concerns and outward appearance of the late Victorian and Edwardian Eras and applies them to events in a different world.

Communications and Computers

The ternary (base 3) system is used in the Dozen Landsteads (and was used in the early history of Yclau) for the alphabet, numbers, telelecommunications, and much else. The ternary system would also eventually be used in computers throughout the Midcoast nations. A page is available on Landstead ternary symbols and their meanings.

Bibliographies

The Boer War and Turn-of-the-Century Firearms. Bibliography for Life Prison and the upcoming Triad series.

Islanders and Watermen of the Chesapeake Bay. Bibliography for Waterman and the upcoming Triad series.

Masculinity, Crime, and Everyday Life in Victorian and Edwardian Times. Bibliography for all of the series in the Turn-of-the-Century Toughs cycle.

Retrofuture: Visions of the Future, 1945-1975. Bibliography for Waterman.

Index page for all the bibliographies.

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This text, or a variation on it, was originally published at duskpeterson.com as part of the novel cycle Turn-of-the-Century Toughs. Copyright © 2006-2011 Dusk Peterson. Some rights reserved. The text is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0). You may freely print, post, e-mail, share, or otherwise distribute the text for noncommercial purposes, provided that you include this paragraph. The author's policies on derivative works and fan works are available online (duskpeterson.com/copyright.htm).

Cover designs: Dusk Peterson. Art credits. Permission is granted for the reposting and reprinting of the banners, cover arts, and story summaries for the purposes of providing information on the books. Please link to duskpeterson.com if possible.